Airdrop

I loved the February issue of Flight Journal, especially the article on the F-14 vs. F/A-18 E/F in which you showed a drawing of a proposed Tomcat II. May I know where you got that information? I belong to several aviation forums, and everyone would like to know more about the proposed Tomcat II! Can you help us?

Scot La Preze

Rockford, MI

To explain my comments in the F-14/F-18 article, I must take you back to an earlier initiative by Grumman known as the "Super Tomcat 21." I took an incentivized early retirement from Grumman in 1987 because I was unhappy with certain internal changes, and they were unhappy about my leaving, since I had a key job. While I was off, an ambitious group of "view graph" engineers came up with the "21," which, in a technical sense, was badly flawed. For example, one of the key changes was to completely redesign the flap/slat/wing system to lower the approach speed by 9 knots to increase the allowable "bring-back" high-value weapon load. This change had a massive impact. In 1989,1 was asked to return to Grumman as VP, Advanced Programs. The "21"group did not report to me, so I could only advise them. I suggested that we could reduce the approach speed by

12 knots by adding a rather large, fixed-glove extension that produced a forward upload, thereby relieving downtail loads and upping net wing lift. The engineering department studied the idea and endorsed an 11-knot speed reduction. A Tomcat II grew out of this thinking after the "21" was justifiably rejected by the USN. It was mostly my thinking.

For those with valid interests, I can provide the key elements of this concept.

Bob Kress

Needs more space

Thank you for the Mir space station article in the December 2001 issue. I hope you have more space station, Gemini, Apollo and moon-landing stories planned for future issues. The usual airplane/war articles are always topnotch, and I can't wait to devour the next issue. Thanks for a great magazine.

Michael Finkel

Hyannis, MA

EC-121

The December 2001 "Classics" about the EC-121M brought back memories of long ago! I was a Naval Flight Officer in WV-15 stationed at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, and flying in the Super Connies. Back then, between 1957 and 1959, it was the WV-2, or Willie Victor, before Congress stopped allowing the Navy to use its own designations, which not only identified the mission, but the manufacturer of the aircraft as well.

We flew 12-hour missions from Newfoundland to the Azores and back as a seaward extension of the "Dew Line" radar barrier. We had two crews who alternated three-hour watches between being on the radarscopes and "racked out" in one of the 10 bunks aboard. Three squadrons flew the Atlantic barner: WV-11, WV-13 and WV-15. Similar squadrons in the Pacific flew between Midway Island and Adak, Alaska. Radar picket ships (DEs) along our barrier were our navaids, and they searched the skies for high-flying aircraft. Our mission was the lower aircraft.

Taking off in winter from Newfoundland was exciting at times! When it was snowing before takeoff, the flight engineer would climb out on the wing with a broom to sweep off the snow before the plane roared down the runway. We needed all the lift we could muster to get the 141,000 pounds off the ground!

The August 2001 issue of "Naval Institute Proceedings" had an interesting article about a VQ-1 EC-121 that was shot down by North Korean MiGs in 1969. They were on an intelligence-- gathering mission in international airspace, unarmed, of course, and there were no survivors. They never had a chance. Thanks for the article and great photo.

John E. Lindgren

St. Simons Island, GA

In the "Classics" article about the Navy EC-121M, the author mentions that two MiG-21s shot down two F-105s, whose call signs were, by the way, Zinc 1 and 2. Those MiG-21s were, in reality, MiG-17s; they achieved their kills against the Thuds with cannon. The F-105s lost were part of a flight of 48 F-105s. Zinc flight was orbiting while waiting to strike the Than Hoa bridge on April 4, 1965. That day, the Thud tactics were terrible and the results predictable. As a result of this fiasco, we got serious about our MiG tactics and by late 1969, the F-105s had downed more MIGs with cannon than the total number of MIGs downed by the USN. There never was a documented case of a MiG-21 gun kill in SEA.

Additionally, the vast majority of the airborne radar surveillance in SEA was done by USAF EC 121Ds based in Korat RTAB, Thailand. That program was named "Big Eye Task Force."

Col. John C. Morrissey USAF (Ret.) Red River Valley Fighter Pilot's

Association Thud Driver

Will the real Bill Baron please stand up?

In February 2002 "Classics," Bill Baron is actually the shorter man on the left. I went through flight training with Bill, and we had some great times.

Bruce Fraites

Taylor, MI

Caudron G.III

The Caudron G.III (featured in February 2002 "Flybys") played a major role in training U.S. Navy personnel to become WW I antisubmarine patrol pilots and mechanics in 1917/1918.