CALIFORNIA BOOMERANG

Air Classics, Aug 2004 by Wainwright, Marshall

HOW A YOUNG AIR NATIONAL GUARD LIEUTENANT SET A MOST UNUSUAL RECORD

The day, 21 May 1955, had dawned foggy and damp at Van Nuys Airport in southern California. Referred to as "June Gloom" by locals, the fog was a yearly characteristic of a thick marine layer that traveled miles inshore every May and June - usually breaking up by mid-afternoon into extremely hot weather. A joint military and civilian field, the Air National Guard side of the airport was a bustle of activity as a crew swarmed over a North American F-86A Sabre.

The California Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Squadron had previously operated North American F-51D and F-51H Mustangs before being assigned USAF "castoffs" - six-year-old A model Sabres (the 115th traded in its F-51D/H Mustangs for Sabres during February 1955 and was redesignated the 115th Fighter Interceptor Squadron on 1 July 1955). However, they were jets and a big leap over the Guard's beloved Mustangs. As typical with Air Guard crew chiefs, much attention was lavished on their new charges and they were soon in better condition than during their operating days with the USAF.

On this particular day, TSgt. James C. Elledge, MSgt. Michael F. Jacobbauski, TSgt. David Kitchen, TSgt. Charles Crumrine, MSgt. Pete Mortensen, MSgt. Ken Yeabsley and others were directing their attention on a particular aircraft - F-86A USAF s/n 494049 that gleamed even under the dark layer of fog.

Besides being highly-polished, the Sabre boasted a number of other slight modifications courtesy of the ground crew. Every rivet head had been shaved to make sure it was perfectly flush-riveted, every seam had been filled and smoothed, each panel had been fitted and refitted to make sure there was no additional drag, and the six ports for the .50-cal Browning machine guns had been covered over with fabric, sanded smooth, and then painted with aluminum dope.

The flight controls had been carefully rigged to fractions of a degree while the wing slats were removed and then refitted to ensure a perfectly smooth fit. The J47 turbojet had been removed, disassembled and them reassembled using all-new parts when possible. Night-time tests may have woken airport neighbors as the crew attempted to get every pound of thrust from the powerplant as possible.

Flight tests with the finely-tuned Sabre were undertaken to make sure that all the modifications were turning in more performance. When they didn't, the plane went back into the hangar for more work.

What was the reason for all this feverish activity? It all came down to a young first lieutenant - John "Jack" M. Conroy of the 115th Fighter Squadron, 146th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard. Always a bit of promoter, Conroy had flown combat during World War Two - but not in fighters. Conroy's military service had started in 1942 and he became a Boeing Flying Fortress pilot operating out of Britain. However, he was shot down on his 19th mission and became a guest of the Germans until the end of the war. During his combat career, Conroy had accumulated the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, and other awards.

After the war, Conroy moved to Los Angeles and joined the Air Guard so he could continue flying. When he came up with his daring idea, he had accumulated only 250-hrs of fighter time. What Conroy wanted to do was to undertake a flight that would be more of a publicity stunt than any meaningful record. He wanted to have breakfast in Van Nuys, lunch in New York, and dinner back in Van Nuys! His idea struck a positive chord with his commanding officers who realized that the flight would gain a lot of media attention for the 146th FW - fondly known as the "Hollywood Guard" and, in an era of budget cuts, this would not be a bad thing.

With approvals in hand, the ANG crewmen set forth to finely tune the Sabre. North American Aviation handled the expense of having the event timed as an official record while Maj. James Reid and his staff did an excellent job obtaining radio, television, and newspaper coverage for the flight. Special art was applied to the nose and the aircraft received the name California Boomerang.

The 5058-mi route was carefully planned and the flight would take Conroy from Van Nuys to Floyd Bennett Field, New York. Two fuel stops were needed on the east-bound leg while three stops were required for the return. Air Guard units would provide the refueling stops (done with the engine running) while the 27th Division Air Defense Command would provide the essential navigational assistance.

The 21st of May was selected because it was also Armed Forces Day. Conroy launched on schedule from Van Nuys and flew on instruments through the fog layer before shortly popping out into bright sunlight and setting his course to the east. Now the only problem that remained was to see if Conroy could become the first pilot to fly from the west coast to the east coast and return between official sunrise and sunset.

Because of Maj. Reid's public relations effort, the flight was closely followed by the American public and they were able to experience some of the tension when Conroy had problems with fuel fumes in the cockpit and when a landing gear position light failed.