Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1 WNr. 111711 (U.S. Air Force)
31 March 1945: Messerschmitt Aktiengesellschaft test pilot and technical inspector Hans Fay (1888–1959) defected to the Allies at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany.
He brought with him a brand-new Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1 twin-engine jet fighter.
Fay had been waiting for an opportunity to bring an Me 262 to the Americans, but feared reprisals against his parents. When he learned that the U.S. Army controlled their town, he felt that it was safe to go ahead with his plan.
On 31 March, Fay was ordered to fly one of twenty-two new fighters from the Me 262 assembly factory at Schwäbisch-Hall to a safer location at Neuburg an der Donau, as they were in danger of being captured by advancing Allied forces. His airplane was unpainted other than low visibility Balkenkreuz markings on the wings and fuselage, and standard Luftwaffe markings on the vertical fin. Fay was the fourth to take off, but instead of heading east-southeast toward Neuburg, he flew north-northwest to Frankfurt, arriving there at 1:45 p.m.
Hans Fay’s Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1 at Frankfurt Airfield. (U.S. Air Force)
The Messerchmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the first production jet fighter. It was a single-place, twin-engine airplane with the engines placed in nacelles under the wings. It was 10.6 meters (34 feet, 9.3 inches) long with a wingspan of 12.51 meters (41 feet, 5.2 inches) and overall height of 3.85 meters (12 feet, 7.6 inches). According to Fay, the fighter’s empty weight was 3,760 kilograms (8,289 pounds) and the maximum gross weight was 7,100 kilograms (15,653 pounds) at engine start.¹
The Me-262 wings had 6° dihedral. The leading edges were swept aft to 20°, while the trailing edges of the inner panels swept forward 8½° to the engine nacelle, then outboard of the engines, aft 5°. The purpose of the sweep was to keep the airplane’s aerodynamic center close to the center of gravity, a technique first applied to the Douglas DC-2. The total wing area was 21.7 square meters (233.6 square feet).
Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 WNr. 111711 at Frankfurt Airfield. (U.S. Air Force)
The Me 262 A-1 was powered by two Junkers Jumo TL 109.004 B-1 turbojet engines. The 004 was an axial-flow turbojet with an 8-stage compressor section, six combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The 004 engine case was made of magnesium for light weight, but this made it vulnerable to engine fires. The engine was designed to run on diesel fuel, but could also burn gasoline or, more commonly, a synthetic fuel produced from coal, called J2. The engine was first run in 1940, but was not ready for production until 1944. An estimated 8,000 engines were built. The 004 B-1 idled at 3,800 r.p.m., and produced 1,984 pounds of thrust (8.825 kilonewtons) at 8,700 r.p.m. The engine was 2 feet, 10 inches (0.864 meters) in diameter, 12 feet, 8 inches (3.861 meters) long, and weighed 1,669 pounds (757 kilograms).
24 March 1946: The Jumo 004 was tested at the NACA Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio. The axial-flow compressor section is visible. (NASA)
During interrogation, Hans Fay said that for acceptance, the production Me 262 was required to maintain a minimum of 830 kilometers per hour (515 miles per hour) in level flight, and 950 kilometers per hour (590 miles per hour) in a 30° dive. The fighter’s cruise speed was 750 kilometers per hour (466 miles per hour).
A number of factors influenced the Me 262’s maximum range, but Fay estimated that the maximum endurance was 1 hour, 30 minutes. U.S. Air Force testing establish the range as 650 miles (1,046 kilometers) and service ceiling at 38,000 feet (11,582 meters).
Lt. Walter J. McAuley, Jr.
The Me 262 A-1 was armed with four Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 108 30 mm autocannons with a total of 360 rounds of ammunition. (The Me 262 A-2 had just two autocannons with 160 rounds.) It could also be armed with twenty-four R4M Orkan 55 mm air-to-air rockets. Two bomb racks under the fuselage could each be loaded with a 500 kilogram (1,102 pounds) bomb.
1,430 Me 262s were produced. They entered service during the summer of 1944. Luftwaffe pilots claimed 542 Allied airplanes shot down with the Me 262.
Hans Fay’s Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1, WNr. 111711, was transported to the United States and was tested at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
711 was lost during a test flight, 20 August 1946, when one of its engines caught fire. The test pilot, Lieutenant Walter J. “Mac” McAuley, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps, safely bailed out. The Me 262 crashed 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) east of Lumberton, Ohio, and was completely destroyed.
Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 Schwalbe WNr. 111711. (U.S. Air Force)
Walter J. McAuley, Jr.,² was born 10 March 1917 at Fort Worth, Texas. He was the fourth child of Walter J. McAuley and Lola Mahaffey McAuley. Walter attended Texas A&M College at College Station, Texas. While there, he also worked as a mechanic. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1941.
McAuley had brown hair, blue eyes, was 5 feet, 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall and weighed 160 pounds (75.6 kilograms).
McAuley enlisted as a seaman, second class, United States Naval Reserve, and served from 11 April to 3 December 1941. He transferred to the U.S. Army as a private, Air Corps Enlisted Reserve Corps (A.C.E.R.C.), 2 May 1942. Private McAuley was accepted as an aviation cadet, Air Corps, 18 October 1942.
Aviation Cadet McAuley was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), 29 July 1943, and placed on active duty. He was promoted to first lieutenant, A.U.S., one year later, 1 August 1944.
Lieutenant McAuley was promoted to captain, Air-Reserve, 30 July 1947. On 10 July 1947, he received a permanent commission as a first lieutenant, Air Corps, United States Army. His date of rank was retroactive to 10 March 1945.
After the establishment of the United States Air Force, Lieutenant McAuley was transferred to the new service. He was number 6,626 on the register of Air Force first lieutenants.
McCauley rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was released from duty 31 December 1962.
Walter J. McAuley Jr., married Miss Mary Elizabeth Sloss, 8 May 1943. They divorced 25 March 1969. He then married Lillian R. Zwickl, 3 April 1969. They also divorced, 10 September 1971.
Lieutenant Colonel McAuley died 11 March 1985. He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park, Fort Worth, Texas.
Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 WNr. 111711 at Wright Field. (U.S. Air Force)
¹ A technical report from RAE Farnborough gave the empty weight of the Me 262 as 11,120 pounds (5,044 kilograms). Its “all up weight,” less ammunition, was 14,730 pounds (6,681 kilograms).
John W. Konrad in the cockpit of the prototype Vought XF8U-1 Crusader, Bu. No. 138899. (Vought Heritage)
25 March 1955: Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation experimental test pilot John William Konrad took the first prototype XF8U-1 Crusader, Bu. No. 138899, for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of Southern California.
The new fighter had been transported from the factory at Dallas, Texas, aboard a Douglas C-124C Globemaster II, on 3 March 1955. It was reassembled and all systems were checked. Taxi tests began on 14 March.
During the first flight on 25 March, the Crusader went supersonic in level flight. It was able to maintain supersonic speeds (not only for short periods in a dive) and was the first fighter aircraft to exceed 1,000 miles per hour in level flight (1,609 kilometers per hour).
Chance Vought test pilot John W. Konrad talks with engineers following the first test flight. (Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation photograph via Bill Spidle’s “Voughtworks” http://voughtworks.blogspot.com)
The F8U Crusader has a unique variable-incidence wing which can be raised to increase the angle of attack. This created more lift at low speeds for takeoff and landing aboard aircraft carriers, but allows the fuselage to remain fairly level for better forward visibility.
The test program went so well that the first production airplane, F8U-1 Crusader Bu. No. 140444, made its first flight just over six months after the prototype’s.
Prototype Vought XF8U-1 Crusader Bu. No. 138899 during a test flight, 25 March 1955. (Vought Heritage)
The Chance Vought F8U-1 was nearly identical to the prototype XF8U-1. It was a single-place, single-engine swept-wing fighter designed to operate from the United States Navy’s aircraft carriers. The F8U-1 was 54 feet, 2.75 inches (16.529 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 8 inches (10.871 meters) and height of 15 feet, 9.1 inches (4.803 meters). With wings folded, the airplane’s width was reduced to 22 feet, 6 inches (6.858 meters).
The Crusader’s wing angle of incidence was adjustable in flight. It had a total area of 375 square feet (34.8 square meters). The leading edges were swept aft to 47°, and the outer panels had a 1 foot, 0.7 inch “dog tooth.” The wings had 5° anhedral, while the horizontal stabilator had 5° 25′ dihedral. The stabilator’s leading edges were swept 50°.
Its empty weight was 15,513 pounds (7,037 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 27,500 pounds (12,474 kilograms).
Prototype Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader in landing configuration. (Vought Heritage)
Early production aircraft were powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57-P-4 engine. This was a two-spool, axial-flow turbojet engine with a 16-stage compressor and 3-stage turbine. The J57-P-4 had a normal power rating of 8,700 pounds of thrust (38.70 kilonewtons); military power, 10,200 pounds (45.37 kilonewtons), and a maximum rating of 16,000 pounds (71.17 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The engine was 20 feet, 10 inches (6.350 meters) long and 3 feet, 5 inches (1.041 meters) in diameter.
The F8U-1 had a cruising speed of 494 knots (569 miles per hour/915 kilometers per hour). Its maximum speed was 637 knots (733 miles per hour/1,180 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level—0.95 Mach—and 860 knots (990 miles per hour/1,180 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters)—Mach 1.50. It had a service ceiling of 42,300 feet (12,893 meters) and combat range of 1,280 nautical miles miles (1,473 statute miles/2,371 kilometers).
The F8U Crusader was known as “The Last of the Gunfighters” because it was the last American fighter aircraft to be designed with guns as the primary armament. It carried four Colt Mark 12 20-mm autocannon with 500 rounds of ammunition. It could also carry two AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-homing air-to-air missiles.
Because of a high accident rate, the Crusader has also been called “The Ensign Killer.”
Vought XF8U-1 Crusader Bu. No. 138899 parked on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base. (Vought Heritage)
The Vought F8U Crusader was in production from 1955 through 1964 with a total of 1,261 built in both fighter and photo reconnaissance versions.
Vought XF8U-1 Crusader Bu. No. 138899 parked on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base. (Vought Heritage)
During five years of testing, Bu. No. 138899 made 508 flights. It was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960. The restored prototype is now at The Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.
According to information recently discovered by The Museum of Flight, fighter pilot, test pilot and future astronaut John Herschel Glenn, Jr., made his first flight in a Crusader when he flew Bu. No. 138899 on 4 May 1956. According to Glenn’s logbook, he made two flights in the prototype on that date, totaling 2 hours of flight time. Many thanks to Mike Martinez, a docent for the museum for providing this information.
The first of two prototypes, Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader, Bu. No. 138899, has been restored by The Museum of Flight at Paine Field, Seattle, Washington. The Crusader’s variable incidence wing is in the raised take-off/landing position. (The Museum of Flight)
John William Konrad was born 25 November 1923 at San Diego, California. He was the second of three children of William Konrad, a salesman, and Emma Louise Stensrud Konrad.
Konrad became interested in aviation at an early age, learning to fly in a Piper Cub at the age of 15. After graduating from high school, he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Corps at San Diego, 26 February 1943. Konrad was 5 feet, 3 inches (1.60 meters) tall and weighed 118 pounds (53.5 kilograms). He trained as a pilot and flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers with the 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), stationed at RAF Chelveston, during World War II. He later flew Douglas C-47 Skytrains during the Berlin Airlift.
Konrad married Miss Harriet Marilyn Hastings at Clearwater, Florida, 11 February 1945. They would have two children.
Following the War, Konrad was selected for the first test pilot training class at Wright Field, then was assigned to Muroc Army Airfield (Edwards Air Force Base) in California, where he graduated from the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School, Class 51-C, 19 May 1952.
Konrad resigned from the Air Force in 1953 and joined the Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation in Dallas, Texas, as a test pilot. In addition the the XF8U-1 Crusader, he also made the first flight of the Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II, and the experimental LTV XC-142 tiltwing V/STOL transport in 1964. He was appointed Director Test Operations in 1965. Konrad retired from Vought in 1988 after 25 years with the company.
After retiring, John Konrad continued to fly a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair with Commemorative Air Force.
John William Konrad, Sr., Captain, United States Air Force, died 20 September 2006 at Dallas, Texas. He is buried at the Dallas–Fort Worth National Cemetery.
John William Konrad. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
McDonnell Douglas F-15E-47-MC Strike Eagle 89-0487 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Ericka Engblom, U.S.Air Force.)
14 February 1991: An unusual incident occurred during Desert Storm, when Captains Tim Bennett and Dan Bakke, United States Air Force, flying the airplane in the above photograph, McDonnell Douglas F-15E-47-MC Strike Eagle, 89-0487, used a 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb to “shoot down” an Iraqi Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter. This airplane is still in service with the Air Force, and on 17 May 2024 logged its 15,000th flight hour.
Captain Bennett (Pilot) and Captain Bakke (Weapon Systems Officer) were leading a two-ship flight on a anti-Scud missile patrol, waiting for a target to be assigned by their Boeing E-3 AWACS controller. 89-0487 was armed with four laser-guided GBU-10 bombs and four AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. Their wingman was carrying twelve Mk. 82 500-pound (227 kilogram) bombs.
The AWACS controller called Bennett’s flight and told them that a Special Forces team on the ground searching for Scud launching sites had been located by Iraqi forces and was in need of help. They headed in from 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) away, descending though 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) of clouds as the went. They came out of the clouds at 2,500 feet (762 meters), 15–20 miles (24– 32 kilometers) from the Special Forces team.
With the Strike Eagle’s infrared targeting pod, they picked up five helicopters and identified them as enemy Mi-24s. It appeared that the helicopters were trying to drive the U.S. soldiers into a waiting Iraqi blocking force.
Iraqi Army Aviation Mil Mi-24 Hind (helis.com)
Their Strike Eagle was inbound at 600 knots (1,111 kilometers per hour) and both the FLIR (infrared) targeting pod and search radar were locked on to the Iraqi helicopters. Dan Bakke aimed the laser targeting designator at the lead helicopter preparing to drop a GBU-10 while Tim Bennett was getting a Sidewinder missile ready to fire. At four miles (6.44 kilometers) they released the GBU-10.
Mission count for the 10,000+ flight hours of F-15E 89-0487. The green star indicates the Iraqi Mi-24 helicopter destroyed 14 February 1991. (U.S. Air Force)
At this time, the enemy helicopter, which had been either on the ground or in a hover, began to accelerate and climb. The Eagle’s radar showed the helicopter’s ground speed at 100 knots. Bakke struggled to keep the laser designator on the fast-moving target. Bennett was about to fire the Sidewinder at the helicopter when the 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) bomb hit and detonated. The helicopter ceased to exist. The other four helicopters scattered.
Soon after, additional fighter bombers arrived to defend the U.S. Special Forces team. They were later extracted and were able to confirm the Strike Eagle’s kill.
A Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot checks a GBU-10 Paveway II 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) laser-guided bomb on an F-18 Hornet. This is the same type of bomb used by Captains Bennett and Bakke to destroy an Iraqi Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter. (RAAF)
The Strike Eagle was begun as a private venture by McDonnell Douglas. Designed to be operated by a pilot and a weapon system officer (WSO), the airplane can carry bombs, missiles and guns for a ground attack role, while maintaining its capability as an air superiority fighter. It’s airframe was a strengthened and its service life doubled to 16,000 flight hours. The Strike Eagle became an Air Force project in March 1981, and went into production as the F-15E. The first production model, 86-0183, made its first flight 11 December 1986.
The prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (modified from F-15B-4-MC 71-0291) is parked on the ramp at the McDonnell Douglas facility at St. Louis. (U.S. Air Force)
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-place twin-engine multi-role fighter. It is 63 feet, 9 inches (19.431 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9¾ inches (13.049 meters) and height of 18 feet, 5½ inches (5.626 meters). It weighs 31,700 pounds (14,379 kilograms) empty and has a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds (36,741 kilograms).
The F-15E is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan engines which produce 17,800 pounds of thrust (79.178 kilonewtons) each, or 29,100 pounds (129.443 kilonewtons) with afterburner.
The Strike Eagle has a maximum speed of Mach 2.54 (1,676 miles per hour, (2,697 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and is capable of sustained speed at Mach 2.3 (1,520 miles per hour, 2,446 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling is 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). The fighter-bomber has a combat radius of 790 miles (1,271 kilometers) and a maximum ferry range of 2,765 miles (4,450 kilometers).
Though optimized as a fighter-bomber, the F-15E Strike Eagle retains an air-to-air combat capability. The F-15E is armed with one 20mm M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon with 512 rounds of ammunition, and can carry four AIM-9M Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles and four AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided missiles, or a combination of Sidewinders, Sparrows and AIM-120 AMRAAM long range missiles. It can carry a maximum load of 24,500 pounds (11,113 kilograms) of bombs and missiles for ground attack.
A McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle over Iraq during Operation Northern Watch, 1999. (U.S. Air Force)
The Mil Mi-24 (NATO reporting name “Hind”) is a large, heavily-armed attack helicopter that can also carry up to eight troops. It is flown by a pilot and a gunner.
It is 57 feet, 4 inches (17.475 meters) long and the five-bladed main rotor has a diameter of 56 feet, 7 inches (17.247 meters). The helicopter has an overall height of 21 feet, 3 inches (6.477 meters). The empty weight is 18,740 pounds (8,378 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight is 26,500 pounds (12,020 kilograms).
The helicopter is powered by two Isotov TV3-117 turboshaft engines which produce 2,200 horsepower, each. The Mil-24 has a maximum speed of 208 miles per hour (335 kilometers per hour) and a range of 280 miles (451 kilometers). Its service ceiling is 14,750 feet (4,496 meters).
The helicopter is armed with a 12.7 mm Yakushev-Borzov Yak-B four-barreled Gatling gun with 1,470 rounds of ammunition; a twin-barrel GSh-30K 30 mm autocannon with 750 rounds; a twin-barrel GSh-23L 23 mm autocannon with 450 rounds. The Mi-24 can also carry a wide range of bombs, rockets and missiles.
The Mil Mi-24 first flew in 1969 and is still in production. More than 2,300 have been built and they have served the militaries of forty countries.
A Russian-built Mil Mi-24P Hind-F at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Center, Threat Support Activity, NAS Fallon, Nevada. (United States Air Force)
Test pilot Robert C. Chilton stands on the wing of a North American Aviation P-51B-10-NA Mustang, 42-106435. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
3 February 1943: North American Aviation test pilot Robert C. Chilton made the first flight of the first production P-51A Mustang, P-51A-1-NA, serial number 43-6003. A Model NA-99, the Mustang had manufacturer’s serial number 99-22106. This airplane was one of 1,200 which had been ordered by the United States Army Air Corps on 23 June 1942. (With the introduction of the Merlin-powered P-51B, the number of P-51A Mustangs was reduced to 310.)
The first production P-51A, 43-6003, shown with skis for winter operations testing. (U.S. Air Force)
The Mustang had been designed and built by North American Aviation, Inc., as a fighter for the Royal Air Force. Two Mustang Mk.I airplanes, the fourth and the tenth from the RAF production line, had been given to the Air Corps for evaluation and designated XP-51, serial numbers 41-038 and 41-039. Prior to this, the Air Corps had ordered 150 P-51 fighters, but these were Mustang Mk.I models to be turned over to England under Lend-Lease.
43-6003 was used for testing and was equipped with skis for takeoff and landing tests in New Hampshire and Alaska.
The second production North American Aviation P-51A-NA Mustang, 43-6004, (99-22107) was used for high-speed testing. It was called Slick Chick. (U.S. Air Force)
The North American Aviation P-51A Mustang was a single-seat, single-engine, long-range fighter. It is a low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear and is of all-metal construction. It was 32 feet, 2½ inches (9.817 meters) long with a wingspan of 37 feet, ¼-inch (11.284 meters) and a height of 12 feet, 2-½ inches (3.721 meters) high. It had an empty weight of 6,451 pounds (2,926 kilograms) and gross weight of 8,000 pounds (3,629 kilograms).
The third production North American Aviation P-51A-1-NA Mustang, 43-6005 (99-22108). (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The P-51A was powered by a right-hand tractor, liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,710.60-cubic-inch-displacement (28.032 liter) Allison Engineering Company V-1710-F20R (V-1710-81) single overhead cam (SOHC) 60° V-12 engine with a compression ratio of 6.65:1. The V-1710-81 had a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 870 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m., at Sea Level, and 1,000 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 14,400 feet (4,389 meters). It was rated at 1,200 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. for takeoff. The Military Power rating was 1,125 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m., to an altitude of 14,600 feet (4,450 meters). War Emergency Power was 1,480 horsepower. The engine drove a 10 foot, 9 inch (3.277 meter) diameter, three-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propeller through a 2:1 gear reduction. The engine was 7 feet, 1.87 inches (2.181 meters) long, 3 feet, 0.75 inches (0.933 meters) high and 2 feet, 5.28 inches (0.744 meters) wide. It weighed 1,352 pounds (613 kilograms).
Allison-engined P-51A-1-NA Mustang 43-6008. (99-22111). (NASA Langley Research Center Vintage Photographs Collection)
Maximum speed of the P-51A in level flight was 415 miles per hour (668 kilometers per hour) at 10,400 feet (3,170 meters) at War Emergency Power. It could climb to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in 7 minutes, 3.6 seconds, and to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) in 15 minutes, 4.8 seconds. Its service ceiling was 35,100 feet (10,699 meters) and the absolute ceiling was 36,000 feet (10,973 meters). Maximum range on internal fuel was 750 miles (1,207 kilometers).
The P-51A was armed with four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, with two mounted in each wing. The inner guns had 350 rounds of ammunition, each, and the outer guns had 280 rounds per gun.
Of the 1,200 P-51A Mustangs ordered by the Army Air Corps, 310 were delivered. The order was changed to the Packard V-1650 Merlin-powered P-51B Mustang.
The fourth production airplane, North American Aviation P-51A-1-NA Mustang 43-6006. This Mustang crashed in Alaska in 1944 and was recovered in 1977, then restored. It has FAA registration N51Z. (Kogo)
Robert Creed Chilton was born 6 February 1912 at Eugene, Oregon, the third of five children of Leo Wesley Chilton, a physician, and Edith Gertrude Gray. He attended Boise High School in Idaho, graduating in 1931. Chilton participated in football, track and basketball, and also competed in the state music contest. After high school, Chilton attended the University of Oregon where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity (ΣΧ). He was also a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).
Bob Chilton enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps, 25 June 1937. He was trained as a fighter pilot at Randolph Field and Kelly Field in Texas, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1938. Lieutenant Chilton was assigned to fly the Curtiss P-36 Hawk with the 79th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group, at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Because of a medical condition, he was released from active duty, 1 April 1939.
At some time prior to 1940, Bob Chilton, married his first wife, Catherine. They lived in Santa Maria, California, where he worked as a pilot at the local airport.
In January 1941, Chilton went to work as a production test pilot for North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, California. After just a few months, he was assigned to the NA-73X.
Chilton married his second wife, Betty W. Shoemaker, 15 November 1951.
On 10 April 1952, Bob Chilton returned to active duty with the U.S. Air Force, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served as Chief of the Republic F-84 and F-105 Weapons System Project Office, Air Material Command, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, until 9 March 1957.
From 1958, Chilton was a vice president for Horkey-Moore Associates, an engineering research and development company in Torrance, California, founded by former North American aerodynamacist Edward J. Horkey. In 1961, he followed Horkey to the Space Equipment Corporation, parent company of Thompson Industries and Kerr Products, also located in Torrance. Chilton served as corporate secretary and contracts administrator.
Chilton married his third wife, Wilhelmina E. Redding (Billie E. Johnson) at Los Angeles, 26 July 1964. They divorced in 1972.
In 1965, Bob Chilton returned to North American Aviation as a flight test program manager. He retired in 1977.
Robert Creed Chilton died at Eugene, Oregon, 31 December 1994, at the age of 82 years.
General Dynamics YF-16 Fighting Falcon 72-1567, 2 February 1974. (U.S. Air Force 071202-F-9999J-029)
2 February 1974: Test pilot Philip Francis Oestricher made the first test flight of the General Dynamics YF-16 Light Weight Fighter prototype, 72-1567, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 90-minute flight the airplane reached 400 knots (740.8 kilometers per hour) and 30,000 feet (9,144 meters).
A prototype General Dynamics YF-16 nears completion, 1973. (General Dynamics)
Built at Fort Worth, Texas, the prototype rolled out 13 December 1973. It was loaded aboard a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy heavy-lift transport and was flown to Edwards. During high-speed taxi tests on 20 January 1974 the YF-16 began to oscillate in the roll axis, threatening to touch the wingtips to the ground.
Philip Francis Oestricher, General Dynamics test pilot. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
To prevent damage, Phil Oestricher lifted off to regain control and after six minutes, touched down again.
The airplane had sustained damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. Engineers determined that the airplane’s roll control was too sensitive, and that the exhaust nozzle was improperly wired, resulting in too much thrust at low throttle settings. The YF-16 was repaired and was ready for its first test flight on 2 February.
The first prototype YF-16, 72-1567, during a test flight, March 1974. Edwards Air Force Base is visible under the airplane’s left wing. (Lockheed Martin)
The two YF-16 prototypes competed against the Northrop YF-17 for the role of the Air Force and NATO light weight fighter program. The YF-16 was selected and single-seat F-16A and two-seat F-16B fighters were ordered. The YF-17 was developed into the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet.
General DynamicsYF-16 72-1567 and Northrop YF-17 72-1569 prototypes. (U.S. Air Force)Phil Oestricher in the cockpit of the first General Dynamics YF-16 Light Weight Fighter prototype at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, December 1973. (Lockheed Martin)
The F-16 was designed to be a highly-maneuverable, light weight air superiority day fighter, but it has evolved into a multi-role fighter/fighter bomber with all weather attack capability.
The F-16 (now, a Lockheed Martin product) remains in production, with more than 4,600 having been built in the United States and under license in Europe. The United States Air Force had 1,017 F-16s in service as of 2021,
A U.S. Air Force F-16C Block 50D Fighting Falcon, serial number 91-0405, of the 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. This F-16 is armed with four AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and two air-to-ground AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM). It carries external fuel tanks and an electronics countermeasures unit. (U.S. Air Force)
The F-16C is a single-seat, single-engine Mach 2+ fighter. It is 49.3 feet (15.03 meters) long with a wingspan of 32.8 feet (10.0 meters) and overall height of 16.7 feet (5.09 meters). It has an empty weight of 20,300 pounds (9,207.9 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 48,000 pounds (21,772 kilograms).
The fighter is powered by one Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan engine which produces 17,800 pounds of thrust (79.178 kilonewtons) each, or 29,100 pounds (129.443 kilonewtons) with afterburner) (F100), or 29,500 pounds (131.223 kilonewtons) (F110).
Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 30H Fighting Falcon 87-0292, 121st Fighter Squadron, 113th Operations Group, District of Columbia Air National Guard (Lockheed Martin)
The Fighting Falcon has a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 (913 miles per hour, or 1,470 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and Mach 2+ at altitude. The fighter’s service ceiling is higher than 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). Maximum range is 2,002 miles (3,222 kilometers).
The F-16C is armed with one General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm 6-barreled Gatling gun with 511 rounds of ammunition, and can carry a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and bombs.
The first production F-16A made its first flight December 1976. The U.S. Air Force inventory 1,017 C/D (2021) More than 4,600 have been built, serving with 25 air forces world wide.
The F-16 Block 70 remains in production at Greenville, South Carolina . Lockheed Martin has a backlog of 117 Block 72 aircraft as of 31 January 2025.
Lockheed Martin F-16 under construction at Greenville, South Carolina. (Lockheed Martin)
The first prototype YF-16, 72-1567, is now on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia.
The first of the two General Dynamics prototype YF-16 Fighting Falcon lightweight fighters, 72-1567, on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia. (Rtphokie via Wikipedia)Philip Oestricher, 1948
Philip Francis Oestricher was born at Orlando, Florida, 26 September 1931. He was the first of four children of Albert Raymond Oestricher, a chiropractor, and Henriette Hyacinthe Dodane Oestricher.
He attended Orlando High School, where he was a classmate of his future wife, Patricia Ratti. Both graduated in 1949.
Oestricher then attended the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida, where he majored in engineering. While there, he was associate editor of Florida Engineer, and a member of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, Automotive Engineering Society, Sigma Tau (ΣΤ), an engineering honor society, and Phi Kappa Phi (ΦΚΦ), also an honor society. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering, 8 June 1952. Oestricher continued post-graduate studies and earned a masters degree in engineering in 1953.
Miss Patricia Ratti
Philip Francis Oestricher married Miss Patricia Maria Ratti, then a senior at the University of Florida, at 10:00 a.m., 27 December 1952, in a ceremony held at the St. James Roman Catholic Church at the corner of Orange Avenue and Robinson Street, in downtown Orlando, Florida. They would eventually have four children.
Oestricher worked for the Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Fort Worth, Texas, in 1953–1954.
Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1954.
Having enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, Private First Class Oestricher entered the USMC Officer Candidate Course at Quantico, Virginia, 12 April 1954. He graduated as a Naval Aviator and was commissioned a second lieutenant in July 1954. He attended flight training at NAS Pensacola, Florida, in 1955. He continued with advanced flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, 2 January 1956. On 27 January 1956, 1st Lieutenant Oestricher was cited as the outstanding fighter syllabus graduate from the Naval Air Advanced Training Command.
A flight of four Grumman F9F-8 Cougars of VMF(AW)-114, circa 1957. (USMC A135160)
Lieutenant Ostricher was assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 114 (VMF(AW)-114, “Death Dealers”) flying the Grumman F9F-8 Cougar and Douglas F4D-1 Skyray. The squadron deployed aboard the Midway-class large aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). The carrier had just completed the SCB-110 refit and emerged with a new angled flight deck deck.
Three Douglas F4D-1 Skyrays of VMF(AW)-114, prepare to launch from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42. (Sgt. Harold (“Woody”) Woodrom, USMC)
Following this tour at sea, Lieutenant Oestricher left active duty, but remained in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Phil Oestricher returned to Convair as an aeronautical engineer. He was assigned work on the B-58A Hustler, a Mach 2 strategic bomber; the Model 54, the U.S. Air Force NX-2 CAMAL ¹ nuclear-powered bomber prototype; and the RB-57F, a specialized strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
Artists rendering of the Convair Model 54, a proposal for the U.S. Air Force NX-2 nuclear-powered bomber. (Convair)General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra 63-13291. (U.S. Air Force 061031-F-1234P-021)
Phil Oestricher attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School (Class 44) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1966. The course included 420 classroom hours, and about 150 flight hours. Oestricher flew 15 different aircraft types. He graduated as his class’s outstanding student.
“He stood out as an exceptionally capable test pilot in all respects. We are proud to list him as a graduate of our school,” said D. Z. Skalla, acting director of USNTPS.²
“TEST PILOTS—Graduates of Class No. 44, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, inspect F-111A close up during a recent tour of Fort Worth division. Some will be flight-testing F-111Bs in the days ahead.” Phil Oestricher is sixth from right. (General Dynamics News)
Lieutenant Colonel Oestricher commanded VMF(AW)-112, the Marine Corps’ largest reserve squadron. At the time, the squadron was flying the Chance Vought F8U Crusader. Colonel Oestricher retired from the Marine Corps in 1973.
Phil Oestricher was a design safety engineer on the General Dynamics F-111 program. As a test pilot, he flew all models of that aircraft.
He made the first flight of the F-16B 8 August 1977.
In 1979, Oestricher was awarded the Iven C. Kincheloe Award of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for “outstanding professional accomplishment in flight testing.”
Phil Oestricher worked for General Dynamics as an engineer and test pilot for 33 years. He was the Director of Flight Test for 11 years. He retired in July 1992.
General Dynamics YF-16 LWF prototype 72-1568 with pilot, Phil Oestricher, May 1974. (Code One Magazine)
Lieutenant Colonel Philip Francis Oestricher, United States Marine Corps (Retired), died at Benbrook, Texas, 18 December 2015. He was 84 years old. His remains were interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park, Gotha, Florida.
¹ Continuous Airborne Alert, Missile Launching and Low-Level Penetration
² GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS, Wednesday, 30 November 1966, Page 6, Column 2
