AIRLINES

Air Classics, Nov 2004

LOCKHEED SIRIUS

Quick note to say how much I enjoyed Marshall Wainwright's article "Chasing the Winged Star" in the july issue. It is amazing to me how advanced these aircraft were for their day. As an historian, I thought I might provide a footnote to the section on the Lockheed Sirius and test pilot Herbert Fahy who crashed the City ofTacoma Il in 1929.

In late April 1930, Herh Fahy and his wife Claire flew on the new Sirius model to a small grass strip in Roscommon, Michigan, where they were to demonstrate the plane to a potential buyer - one R. Clifford "Cliff Durant, son of Billy Durant who was the founder of General Motors. Cliff was a wealthy and avid aviation enthusiast who had owned a number of different airplanes since 1919 when he started a flying service and built Durant Field in Oakland, California.

Apparently, Fahy and his wife had recently been made sales agents for Lockheed and the deal was that Durant had agreed to buy the plane if Fahy could conclusively prove that the Sirius could land and takeoff safely from Cliffs personal strip. Herb got the plane in all right, but as they were taking ciff, one of the wheels of the Sirius hit a partially submerged stump which flipped the plane over. According to the local news report, Fahy suffered a fractured skull and a severe concussion while Mrs. Fahy survived without a scratch. Rescuers had to cut away part of the plane's cabin (?) to extricate the fliers. Fahy was rushed to a local hospital where he died early on Sunday morning, 27 April, without regaining consciousness.

As a follow-up to the story, the local paper noted that Herb's body was to he taken to Washington for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Before his death, Herb had supposedly announced that he and Claire were to embark on a round-the-world flight starting from Detroit in june.

In closing, I wonder if Mr. Wainwright has found any records or photographs of this particular airplane. I have to assume that, after the crash, the Sirius was either scrapped or taken apart and removed from Roscommon to Detroit.

Joseph Freeman

121 Mount Vemon St.

Boston, MA

02108

Editor's Note: The Sirius which Mr. Freeman mentions was Sirius Model 8 c/n 142 and registered NR12W. The aircraft was completed on 13 March 1930 and was fitted with a P&W Wasp C. The aircraft, the third Sirius, had been built for Mexican pilot Roberta Fierro but, in an agreement with the pilot, was to be used for a short period as a demonstrator. As can be seen, the plane had a very short life and had probably logged just a few flight hours. Colonel Fierro obtained a replacement Sirius, c/n 149, which was registered X-BADA and named Anahuac. Along with mechanic/copilot Arnulfo Cortes, Fierro made the first New York City to Mexico City non-stop flight on 21 June 1930. The Mexican War Department used the Sirius as a command ship for awhile before gwing it to now-General Fierro as a gift. After flying the Lockheed for a couple of years, the Sirius was sold to agents of the Spanish Republican Air Force. Shipped to Spain, the aircraft was reported as being lost on the Basque front on 22 August 1937.

SUPER SABRE

Thanks for the gorgeous picture of our F-100D Super Sabre in the September issue. The deck angle shown in the photo is about what it felt like at 210-KIAS. I was surprised at the stability of the Hun at that speed with a gross weight of about 30,000-lbs with no flaps extended. I really helped that Harold Kindsvater held his P-51D rock-steady during the photo runs. I had never seen a P-51 up close in the air before and it was thrill to see that big propeller turning.

Lee Holcomb

"Fat Cat 4"

El Dorado Hills, CA

"ONE OF MY MISSILES"

It was interesting to read "One of My Missiles Has Fired!" in August issue. I was assigned to the 95th Bomb Wing in 1963 and we were all told the story. However, the B-5 2s at Biggs were not E models, but rather B models. B-52B s/n 53-0380 Ciudad Juarez was the aircraft shot down. The B-52Bs replaced the 95th's B-36s and the unit was active until 1966 when its aircraft were flown to Davis-Morithan for storage and scrapping. The base still exists as part of the Fort Bliss Army Post and is still referred to as Biggs Army Air Field.

Robert Veigel, USAF (Ret.)

via e-mail

BUCKEYE BELLE

I have a couple questions regarding a photo on page 52 of the june issue which illustrates a B-17 crew. The nose art on the plane in the background is identical to that on Buckeye Belle, B17G s/n 44-8541 which was assigned to the 546th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group (my father was a crew chief in the 384th's 547th BS, hence my interest in the group!). The PFF-equipped plane flew its first mission on 15 February 1945 and its last on 20 April of the same year ( see list of missions).

My question is, do you have any further information on the photo or the people in it? The photo is typical of those taken of a lead crew after a mission. I have been trying to obtain as much information as I can for the members of the 384th and their families, so some names to go with the weary faces in the photo would he most helpful.