Airdrop

I really enjoyed the Lockheed 12A piece by Blankenburg and Bowers. I've admired this trend-setting ship for over 40 years, and I almost literally drooled over Budd Davisson's photos in the April 2000 issue.

Allow me to elaborate on the comparison with the Beech 18, though. The first 12A deliveries came in late 1936 and the Beech about a year later. By the time of Pearl Harbor, the Lockheed had outsold the Beech by two to one, despite any price differential. In addition to the 212s and 12-26s already delivered, Lockheed had a follow-on contract to build more 12s for the Netherlands government.

But Lockheed also had several U.S. military programs that were ramping upLightnings, Venturas, Lodestars and Constellations-plus the hush-hush P-80 Shooting Star. In essence, the War Department decided that Lockheed should focus its resources on the bigger programs, and it re-awarded the Netherlands follow-on contract to Beechcraft. This spelled the end of the line for the Lockheed 12 production and the beginning of mass-production for the Beech, even though customers clearly preferred the Lockheed.

Tom Emmert

Cincinnati, OH

Fighter Special Issue

Your special publication on WW 11 fighters contains some of the most interesting reading I've come across, and it's an excellent companion to your superb magazine. [email]

Charles Roesch, MD

"Japanese Fighter Pilot"

Congratulations on another outstanding issue of Flight Journal (April 2000). 1 read with great interest Ron Werneth's "Memoirs of a Japanese Fighter Pilot," especially the account of Minoru Genda. As a postscript, it may be of interest to many readers who follow history that Genda selected his Naval Academy associate Mitsuo Fuchida to be the lead pilot at Pearl Harbor. Both attended the academy in 1921, and they became close friends.

Fuchida's and Genda's career paths crossed often, including at the Naval Staff College in Tokyo, Air Staff positions and, finally, Fuchida's assignment as Senior Fleet Commander of the 1st Air Fleet. Genda commissioned Fuchida to put together a carrier-based strike force to attack Pearl Harbor. Over some objections by Genda, who later relented, Fuchida stressed the need for high-level bomber attacks-to get hits on ships whose hulls were protected by double berthing-followed by dive bombing and torpedo attacks. After only four months of intensive practice (August to mid-November 1941), these tactics bore fruit when Fuchida radioed "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" on that fateful Sunday morning.

After the War, Fuchida met "Doolittle Raider" Jacob DeShazer-a former POW who had been interned in Japanese prison camps. DeShazer had become a Christian while in prison and returned to Japan as a missionary. His influence was the turning point for Fuchida's conversion to Christianity in September 1949. He then came to the U.S. and traveled with evangelist Billy Graham.

Historian Gordon W. Prange's book "God's Samurai. Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor" (ISBN 0-08 037441-7) covers Mitsuo Fuchida's life in detail. Prange writes: "He enjoyed a measure of fame or notoriety, depending on one's viewpoint, as leader of the air attack on Pearl Harbor. Few Westerners realize that his career spanned the entire course of WW II in the Pacific. In those initial six months when the Japanese Navy fulfilled Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto's promise to 'run wild,' Fuchida either led or directed a number of air strikes. After recovering from wounds sustained at Midway, he participated in succeeding campaigns as a staff officer. And he, who opened the Pacific War, was present aboard the USS Missouri when Japan formally surrendered to the Allies."

I highly recommend Prange's book.

Peter A. Williams Gardnerville, NV

Executive Insight

I write to praise your fine magazine and to say how much I enjoyed Kent Blankenburg's article in the February issue. He talked us through an excellent demo flight and displayed an appreciation for the quality, design and long technical step that the management at Spartan courageously took at that time. Yes, those were tough times; I know, as I was there. My father, Ed Hudlow, was vice president and general manager during those days. (I refer to the article's sidebar, "Spartan Executive ... a profile.")

In 1934, I was 9 years old, and we lived at the airport in Tulsa within walking distance of the plant and the Spartan School. I truly haunted the place. I had unlimited access and knew everyone who worked there, flew out of there or had any interest in the company. I even took visitors on tours of the facilities. Yes, I knew Jimmy Ford, Ted Campbell, Jess Green, Johnny Carroll, "Doc" DeCelles, the test pilot Bill Welborn and all of the others, production workers included. "Old W.G. Skelly" was "Mr. Skelly" to me and everyone else there.

It was a grand venture, and I write to give credit to the man who really created the Executive that Kent so rightfully enjoys. As is noted in the article, the prototype first flew in January 1936. Company test pilots found Mr. Ford's design deficient in many ways. The aircraft didn't look as if it would fly well, and it didn't. I heard it called "squirrelly." I knew that the test pilot's reports caused great upset in the company.