Lockheed SR-71A-LO 61-7972 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)
1 September 1974: Major James V. Sullivan, USAF, Pilot and Major Noel F. Widdifield, USAF, Reconnaissance Systems Officer, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over A Known Course when they flew a Lockheed SR-71A-LO, serial number 61-7972, from New York to London in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 56.4 seconds. They averaged 2,908.026 kilometers per hour (1,806.964 miles per hour).
This same SR-71 set numerous speed and altitude records during its career. It is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.
Lieutenant Colonel William Atkinson Jones III, United States Air Force.
1 September 1968: Two U.S. Air Force McDonnell F-4D Phantom II fighters were on a pre-dawn strike against the Ho Chi Minh Trail, near the Ban Karai Pass. Both Phantoms, call signs CARTER 01 and CARTER 02, were hit by anti-aircraft gunfire and their crews had to eject. Both pilots from CARTER 01 were quickly picked up, but the aircraft commander of CARTER 02 was hidden by the jungle. The Weapons System Officer was never seen again.
A Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission was immediately sent out to locate and rescue the missing airmen. Two Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant helicopters, the recovery team, were escorted by four Douglas A-1 Skyraiders to help in the search and to suppress any enemy gunfire that was trying to shoot down the rescue helicopters.
The Skyraider was a Korean War era carrier-based attack airplane originally in service with the U.S. Navy. It had been replaced by modern jet aircraft, but the Air Force found that its slow flight and ability to carry a heavy fuel and weapons load were ideal for the CSAR escort mission.
The four Skyraiders were from the 602nd Special Operations Squadron at Nakhom Phanom, Thailand. They operated with the call sign SANDY. Lieutenant Colonel William A. Jones III, the squadron commanding officer, on his 98th combat mission, was the on-scene commander flying SANDY 01, an A-1H, serial number 52-139738.
Lieutenant Colonel William A. Jones III, United States Air Force, in the cockpit of of a Douglas A-1H Skyraider, 1968. (U.S. Air Force)
MEDAL OF HONOR JONES, WILLIAM A., III
Rank and organization: Colonel, U.S. Air Force, 602d Special Operations Squadron, Nakon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand
Place and date: Near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, 1 September 1968
Entered service at: Charlottesville, Virginia
Born: 31 May 1922, Norfolk, Virginia
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Col Jones distinguished himself as the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider aircraft near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam. On that day, as the on-scene commander in the attempted rescue of a downed U.S. pilot, Col. Jones aircraft was repeatedly hit by heavy and accurate antiaircraft fire. On 1 of his low passes, Col. Jones felt an explosion beneath his aircraft and his cockpit rapidly filled with smoke. With complete disregard of the possibility that his aircraft might still be burning, he unhesitatingly continued his search for the downed pilot. On this pass, he sighted the survivor and a multiple-barrel gun position firing at him from near the top of a karst formation. He could not attack the gun position on that pass for fear he would endanger the downed pilot. Leaving himself exposed to the gun position, Col. Jones attacked the position with cannon and rocket fire on 2 successive passes. On his second pass, the aircraft was hit with multiple rounds of automatic weapons fire. One round impacted the Yankee Extraction System rocket mounted directly behind the headrest, igniting the rocket. His aircraft was observed to burst into flames in the center fuselage section, with flame engulfing the cockpit area. He pulled the extraction handle, jettisoning the canopy. The influx of fresh air made the fire burn with greater intensity for a few moments, but since the rocket motor had already burned, the extraction system did not pull Col. Jones from the aircraft. Despite searing pains from severe burns sustained on his arms, hand, neck, shoulders, and face, Col. Jones pulled his aircraft into a climb and attempted to transmit the location of the downed pilot and the enemy gun position to the other aircraft in the area. His calls were blocked by other aircraft transmissions repeatedly directing him to bail out and within seconds his transmitters were disabled and he could receive only on 1 channel. Completely disregarding his injuries, he elected to fly his crippled aircraft back to his base and pass on essential information for the rescue rather than bail out. Col. Jones successfully landed his heavily damaged aircraft and passed the information to a debriefing officer while on the operating table. As a result of his heroic actions and complete disregard for his personal safety, the downed pilot was rescued later in the day. Col. Jones’ profound concern for his fellow man at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of this country.
Medal of HonorLt. William A. Jones, Jr., Signal Corps, U.S. Army, circa 1918. (Elizabeth Hart Jones)
William Atkinson Jones III was born 31 May 1922 at Norfolk, Virginia. He was the son of William Atkinson Jones, Jr., an attorney in general practice, and Elizabeth Goodwin Hart Jones, a school teacher. Mr. Jones had served as a pilot in the Signal Corps, United States Army, during World War I. The Jones family had lived in Warsaw, Virginia, since the 1840s.
When his parents divorced in 1929, Bill and his mother relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia. Jones attended Lane High School in Charlottesville, where he was a member of the literary society, and played on the varsity football and basketball teams.
W. A. Jones III, 1942 (Corks and Curls)
Following his graduation from high school, Jones studied at the University of Virginia, which was also in Charlottesville. He was captain of the university’s fencing team, and a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ) fraternity. Jones graduated in 1942 at the age of 19 years, with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Cadet William A. Jones III, United States Military Academy, circa 1944. (Howitzer)
Already a university graduate, William Atkinson Jones III was appointed a cadet at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. He entered West Point on 1 July 1942, as a member of the Class of 1945. along with academics and military training, Cadet Jones was a member of the Army Fencing Squad.
Bill Jones graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree. On 5 June 1945, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, Air Corps, United States Army.
2nd Lieutenant W. A. Jones III in flight training, 1945. (Elizabeth Hart Jones)
Lieutenant Jones was trained as a pilot at several locations around the United States, including Oklahoma, New York, and Arizona. Lieutenant Jones served as a fighter pilot, stationed in the Philippine Islands, 1946–1948. Returning to the United States, Jones was assigned as a transport pilot based at Biggs Air Force Base, Fort Bliss Texas.
On 20 October 1948, Lieutenant Jones married Miss Lois Marie McGregor at Bisbee, Arizona, her home town. The ceremony was officiated by Reverend John L. Howard. They would have three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth and Mary Lee.
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars of the 40th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Wing, Germany, circa early 1950s. The airplane in the foreground is C-119C-17-FA 49-199. (317th Veterans Group)
In 1952, Jones was assigned as a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar pilot with the 317th Troop Carrier Wing at Rhein-Main Air Base, Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). He remained in Europe for the next four years.
In 1956 Jones transitioned to bombers, training as an aircraft commander in the Boeing B-47E Stratojet. He was stationed at Lake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana, and Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire.
Lockheed-Marietta B-47E-50-LM Stratojet 52-3363. (U.S. Air Force)
Jones attended the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, 1965–1966. He earned a master’s degree in international affairs. His next assignment was as a staff officer at The Pentagon.
In 1968, Major Jones requested a transfer to the Douglas A-1 Skyraider training course at Hurlburt Field, in Florida. On completion, he was assigned as the commanding officer of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base, Thailand.
Hurlburt Field Skyraider Class 68–07. Major William Atkinson Jones II is in the front row, just to the right of center. Other class members are, front row, left-to-right: Captain Al Hale, Captain George Marrett, Major Jones, and Lieutenant Colonel C. Riner Learnard. Back row: Captain Al Holtz, Colonel Webster, Captain Tom O’Conner, Major Richard Lee Russell, and Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Joseph. The airplane is a Douglas A-1E Skyraider. (The A-1 Skyraider Association)
Lieutenant Colonel Jones was severely burned during the rescue mission of 1 September 1968. He was transported back to the United States for extensive medical treatment at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
Bill Jones was promoted to the rank of colonel, 1 November 1969. One 14 November, President Richard M. Nixon approved the award of the Medal of Honor to Colonel Jones.
On 15 November 1969, Colonel Jones was flying his personal airplane, a Piper PA-20 Pacer, N7015K. The Pacer was a small, 4-place, single-engine light airplane. At 12:55 p.m., he took off from Woodbridge Airport (W22), a small, uncontrolled airport about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Washington, D.C.
Immediately after takeoff, Colonel Jones radioed that he was returning to the airport. The airplane was seen in a left turn with a nose down attitude. It crashed off the airport and caught fire. Colonel Jones suffered third degree burns over his entire body an died immediately.
Woodbridge Airport (W22), looking north, early 1970s. (Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields)
The NTSB accident report listed the Probable Cause as a complete engine failure for unknown causes, followed by a loss of control by the pilot, the cause also undetermined. (Some sources suggest that the Pacer struck wires while returning to the runway.)
At the time of his death, Colonel Jones had flown a total of 7,748 hours.
Colonel Jones was the author of Maxims for Men-at-Arms, published by Dorrance and Co., Philadelphia, 1969.
President Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Colonel Jones widow in a ceremony at the White House, 6 August 1970. At the award ceremony, Miss Mary Jones, Colonel Jones’ youngest daughter, gave a copy of her father’s book to the president.
Colonel William AtkinsonsJones III, United States Air Force, was buried at St. John’s Episcopal Cemetery in Warsaw, Virginia.
The William A. Jones III Auditorium of Anderson Hall at the Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, was named in his honor.
In 2011, The William A. Jones III Building at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, (just south east of Washington, D.C.) was also named in honor of Colonel Jones.
The William A Jones III Building. (Coakley & Williams Construction)
The United States Navy and Marine Corps adopted the Douglas Aircraft Company AD-1 Skyraider just after the end of World War II. The U.S. Air Force recognized its value as a close air support attack bomber, but it wasn’t until the early months of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War that a number of Skyraiders were transferred to the U.S.A.F.
This is the Douglas A-1H Skyraider flown by LCOL Jones, 1 September 1968. Though it was extensively damaged by anti-aircraft gunfire and the subsequent fire, 52-139738 was repaired and returned to service. On 22 September 1972, -738 was shot down over Laos. It was the last Skyraider shot down during the Vietnam War.
These aircraft were identified by Department of the Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics serial numbers, commonly referred to as “bureau numbers,” or “bu. no.” Once acquired by the Air Force, the two-digit fiscal year number in which the airplane was contracted was added to the bureau number, resulting in a serial number with a format similar to a standard U.S.A.F. serial number. For example, Lieutenant Colonel Jones’ Skyraider, A-1H 52-139738, was originally U.S. Navy AD-6 Skyraider Bu. No. 139738, authorized in 1952. (The Douglas AD series was redesignated A-1 in 1962.)
Douglas A-1H Skyraider 52-137593 (U.S. Air Force)
The Douglas AD-6 (A-1H) Skyraider was a single-place, single-engine attack aircraft. A low-wing monoplane with conventional landing gear, it had folding wings for storage aboard aircraft carriers. The A-1H Skyraider was 39 feet, 3 inches (11.963 meters) long with a wingspan of 50 feet, ¼ inch (15.246 meters) and overall height of 15 feet, 8 inches (4.775 meters). The total wing area was 400 square feet (37.16 square meters). Its had an empty weight of 12,072 pounds (5,476 kilograms) and its maximum takeoff weight was 25,000 pounds (11,340 kilograms).
The A-1H was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, direct-fuel-injected, 3,347.66-cubic-inch-displacement (54.858 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division R-3350-26WA Duplex-Cyclone (Cyclone 18 836C18CA1) engine. This was a twin-row 18-cylinder radial, with a compression ratio of 6.7:1 and water/alcohol injection. This engine had a normal power rating at Sea Level of 2,300 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m., and 2,700 horsepower at 2,900 r.p.m. to for take off. 115/145-octane aviation gasoline was required. The engine drove a four-bladed Aeroproducts constant-speed propeller 13 foot, 6 inch (4.115 meters) diameter, through a 0.4375:1 gear reduction. The R-3350-26WA was 4 feet, 7.62 inches (1.413 meters) in diameter and 6 feet, 6.81 inches (2.002 meters) long. It weighs 2,848 pounds (1,292 kilograms), dry.
The A-1H Skyraider had a cruise speed of 164 knots (189 miles per hour/304 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 297 knots (342 miles per hour/550 kilometers per hour) at 15,400 feet (4,694 meters). The A-1H could climb to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in 9.5 minutes. The ceiling was 31,900 feet (9,723 meters). Carrying a 2,000 pound (907 kilogram) bomb load, its combat radius was 260 nautical miles (299 statute miles/482 kilometers).
The A-1H was armed with four 20 mm M3 autocannon with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun. The Skyraider could carry a combination of external fuel tanks, gun pods, bombs or rockets on 15 hardpoints.
Douglas built 713 AD-6 Skyraiders at Santa Monica, California.
A Douglas A-1H Skyraider of the 6th Special Operations Squadron dive bombing a target during a close air support mission, Vietnam, 1968. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain Harold E. “Tom” Collins, U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of the FAI World Speed Record setting North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre 51-6145. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots and Flight Test Engineers)
1 September 1953: Captain Harold Edward Collins, United States Air Force, flying North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre, 51-6145, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 15-to-25 Kilometer Straight Course of 1,139.219 kilometers per hour (707.878 miles per hour) at Vandalia, Ohio.¹
North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre 51-6145, FAI World Speed Record holder.
This same F-86D (North American Aviation serial number 173-289) flown by Lieutenant Colonel William F. Barnes, set an FAI World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Straight Course of 715.697 miles per hour (1,151.803 kilometers per hour), 16 July 1953 at the Salton Sea, California. (FAI Record File Number 9868)
The F-86D was an all-weather interceptor developed from North American Aviation F-86 Sabre day fighter. It was the first single-seat interceptor, and it used a very sophisticated—for its time—electronic fire control system. It was equipped with search radar and armed with twenty-four unguided 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) rockets carried in a retractable tray in its belly.
The aircraft was so complex that the pilot training course was the longest of any aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, including the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.
North American Aviation F-86D-1-NA Sabre 50-463, the eighth production aircraft. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The F-86D was larger than the F-86A, E and F fighters, with a longer and wider fuselage. It was also considerably heavier. The day fighter’s sliding canopy was replaced with a hinged “clamshell” canopy. A large, streamlined radome was above the reshaped engine intake.
The F-86D Sabre was 40 feet, 3¼ inches (12.275 meters) long with a wingspan of 37 feet, 1½ inches (11.316 meters), and overal height of 15 feet, 0 inches (4.572 meters). The interceptor had an empty weight of 13,518 pounds (6,131.7 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 19,975 pounds (9,060.5 kilograms). It retained the leading edge slats of the F-86A, F-86E and early F-86F fighters. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators were replaced by a single, all-moving stabilator. All flight controls were hydraulically boosted. A “clamshell” canopy replaced the sliding unit of earlier models.
The F-86D was powered by a General Electric J47-GE-17 engine. This was a single-shaft, axial-flow turbojet with afterburner. The engine had a 12-stage compressor, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J47-GE-17 was equipped with an electronic fuel control system which substantially reduced the pilot’s workload. It had a normal (continuous) power rating of 4,990 pounds of thrust (22.20 kilonewtons); military power, 5,425 pounds (24.13 kilonewtons) (30 minute limit), and maximum 7,500 pounds of thrust (33.36 kilonewtons) with afterburner (15 minute limit). (All power ratings at 7,950 r.p.m.) It was 18 feet, 10.0 inches (5.740 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.75 inches (1.010 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms).
The maximum speed of the F-86D was 601 knots (692 miles per hour/1,113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, 532 knots (612 miles per hour/985 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), and 504 knots (580 miles per hour/933 kilometers per hour)at 47,800 feet (14,569 meters).
A potential adversary of the North American Aviation F-86D Sabre all-weather interceptor was the Tupolev Tu-85 long-range strategic bomber.
The F-86D had an area intercept range of 241 nautical miles (277 statute miles/446 kilometers) and a service ceiling of 49,750 feet (15,164 meters). The maximum ferry range with external tanks was 668 nautical miles (769 statute miles/1,237 kilometers). Its initial rate of climb was 12,150 feet per minute (61.7 meters per second) from Sea Level at 16,068 pounds (7,288 kilograms). From a standing start, the F-86D could reach its service ceiling in 22.2 minutes.
The F-86D was armed with twenty-four 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) unguided Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) with explosive warheads. They were carried in a retractable tray, and could be fired in salvos of 6, 12, or 24 rockets. The FFAR was a solid-fuel rocket. The 7.55 pound (3.43 kilogram) warhead was proximity-fused, or could be set for contact detonation, or to explode when the rocket engine burned out.
The F-86D’s radar could detect a target at 30 miles (48 kilometers). The fire control system calculated a lead-collision-curve and provided guidance to the pilot through his radar scope. Once the interceptor was within 20 seconds of its target, the pilot selected the number of rockets to fire and pulled the trigger, which armed the system. At a range of 500 yards (457 meters), the fire control system launched the rockets.
North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing a salvo of FFARs.
Between December 1949 and September 1954, 2,505 F-86D Sabres (sometimes called the “Sabre Dog”) were built by North American Aviation. There were many variants (“block numbers”) and by 1955, almost all the D-models had been returned to maintenance depots or the manufacturer for standardization. 981 of these aircraft were modified to a new F-86L standard. The last F-86D was removed from U.S. Air Force service in 1961.
After its service with the United States Air Force, the record-setting Sabre 51-6145 was transferred to a NATO ally, the Ellinikí Vasilikí Aeroporía (Royal Hellenic Air Force).
North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-3045. (U.S. Air Force)
1 September 1953: The Societé Anonyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne (SABENA) began scheduled international passenger service flying the Sikorsky S-55, a commercial variant of the military H-19 Chickasaw. It carried 8 passengers.
SABENA advertisement
For just over three years, since 21 August 1950, SABENA flew mail from Brussels to Antwerp, Liege, and Turnhout using the Bell Model 47D-1.
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation S-55 was flown by two pilots in a cockpit placed above the passenger/cargo compartment. The most significant design feature was moving the engine from directly under the main rotor mast to a position at the front of the helicopter. Installed at an angle, the engine turned a drive shaft to the main transmission. The engine placement provided space for a large passenger/cargo compartment. The aircraft was constructed primarily of aluminum and magnesium, with all-metal main and tail rotor blades.
Cutaway drawing of the Sikorsky S-55/H-19/HO4S/HRS. Note the rearward-facing, angled placement of the radial engine.(Sikorsky Historical Archives)
The main rotor consisted of three fully-articulated blades built of hollow aluminum spars, with aluminum ribs. Spaces within the blade were filled with an aluminum honeycomb. The blades were covered with aluminum sheet. The hollow spars were filled with nitrogen pressurized to 10 p.s.i. An indicator at the blade root would change color if nitrogen was released, giving pilots and mechanics an indication that the spar had developed a crack or was otherwise compromised. The main rotor turned counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) Flapping hinges were offset from the main rotor axis, giving greater control response and effectiveness. The tail rotor was mounted on the helicopter’s left side in a pusher configuration. It turned clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left.
The helicopter’s fuselage was 42 feet, 2 inches (12.852 meters). The main rotor had a diameter of 53 feet (16.154 meters) and tail rotor diameter was 8 feet, 8 inches (2.642 meters), giving the helicopter an overall length with all blades turning of 62 feet, 2 inches (18.948 meters). It was 13 feet, 4 inches (4.064 meters) high. The landing gear tread was 11 feet (3.353 meters). The S-55 had an empty weight of 4,785 pounds (2,173 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 7,200 pounds (3,271 kilograms). Fuel capacity was 185 gallons (698 liters).
The S-55’s large clam shell doors provided excellent access to the engine.
The S-55 commercial helicopter and H-19/HO4S and HRS military variants used an air-cooled, supercharged 1,301.868-cubic-inch (21.334 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division 871C7BA1 Cyclone 7 (R-1300-3) 7-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 6.2:1. The R-1300-3 was also a direct-drive engine, but was rated at 700 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., Normal Power, and 800 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. for Take-Off. The engine incorporated a large cooling fan to circulate air around the cylinders. The R-1300-3 was 49.68 inches (1.261 meters) long, 50.45 inches (1.281 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,080 pounds (490 kilograms).
SABENA Sikorsky S-55 OO-SHF. (Mike Hooks/Avia Deja Vu)
Douglas C-54D-1-DC Skymaster 42-72451 at RAF Brize Norton, England, 22 September 1947. (AP Wirephoto)
1 September 1947: Captain Thomas Jefferson Wells, United States Army Air Forces, flew a Douglas C-54D-1-DC Skymaster, 42,72451, named Robert E. Lee ¹ by its Alabama-born pilot, from Wilmington Ohio, to Presque Isle, Maine, then on to Jacksonville, Florida, and finally, back to Wilmington. The flight covered approximately 2,901 miles (4,669 kilometers).
What was unusual, though, is that Captain Wells WAS NOT FLYING THE AIRPLANE!
Captain Wells’ Douglas C-54 flew itself from Clinton Army Air Field, Wilmington, Ohio, to Presque Isle AAF, on to Jacksonville AAF, then back to Wilmington. Following Great Circle courses, this was a total distance of 2,901 miles. (Great Circle Mapper)
Captain John J. Herbert, Jr., wrote about the flight in Flying Safety, a publication of the United States Air Force:
. . . No doubt you have followed, with some degree of amazement, the flight records of the Automatic C-54. A few of the longer hauls have been well over the 2,000 mile mark. For instance: 1 September 1947, Wilmington, Ohio to Presque Isle, Maine to Jacksonville, Florida to Wilmington, Ohio. A total of 2,900 miles. Except for the fact that the pilot, Capt. Thomas J. Wells, lined up on the takeoff runway, and manually pressed a button marked Wilmington, Ohio, every phase of the flight was automatic. Homing in on a landing beam is an element of automatic flight used only when the automatic C-54 desires to land. On this 2,900-mile flight, the airplane flew to three destinations. The predetermined headings preset in the automatic controller directed the airplane to the first two destinations in turn, but the pre-selected landing sequence was set only for Clinton County.
There was no “remote control” over this airplane such as was used directing the “drones” used in the Bikini A-bomb tests. The Automatic Flight Controller, sometimes called the “Plane Brain” is entirely self-sufficient. Installed in the main cabin of the Automatic C-54, the brain stores information given to it before the flight begins, “reads” the flight and engine instruments, tunes and “listens” to beam signals, “computes” distances, time and airspeed and carries out the normal functions of the crew necessary to conduct a point-to-point flight.
The “Brain” retracts the gear when the airplane reaches 50 feet and retracts the flaps at 1,000 feet. The “brain” adjusts the power for continuous climb to cruising altitude. Navigation is done by two mileage counters and magnetic heading selectors. These instruments control the flight until the plane clicks off the preset number of miles on the present heading.
After the last mile has been clicked off, the airplane automatically homes on a predesignated radio station. When the airplane reaches “home,” throttles come back, props go forward, mixture goes full rich, wheels and flaps come down. The automatic C-54 then orbits the station, letting down at 500 feet per minute until it reaches 2,000 feet. At this time the airplane intercepts the glide path, makes a few corrections in azimuth, flies down the glide path and lands.
“Some touch-downs we have made, says Captain Wells, “could very easily have been classified as hard landings. But,” he adds, “that is the reason the C-54 was selected for this type of work. That gear can really take it.”
Another flight, which will take a front file in the archives of aviation history, began ast 1715 on the 21st of September 1947. With coloenl John M. Gillespie, Chief of the All-Weather Division in command, the automatic C-54 took off from Stephenville, Newfoundland on a transatlantic hop to Brize Norton, England. The elapsed time en route was 12 hours and five minutes. The distance 2,400 miles. Twelve sequences of the “no-hands” flight to England are shown in the accompanying illustration.
In summing up the future possibilities of automatic flight, let’s query Captain Wells, the man who pilots the pilotless airplane.
“We are strictly in the Model ‘T’ stage of development,” he says.
If a Model “T” can make it to England without the aid of a single human hand then I say, put us down for a ’48 model. We’ll buy it.”
—Flying Safety, Volume 4, No. 3, March 1948, at Pages 14–15
The Great Circle Route from Stephenville Air Base to RAF Brize Norton, 2,475 miles (2,151 nautical miles/3,983 kilometers). Stephenville was renamed Earnest Harmon Air Force Base 23 June 1948, and is now known as Stephenville Dymond International Airport. (Great Circle Mapper)Crewmembers for the transatlantic flight included T/Sgt Walter W. McKee, Wooster, OH, crew chief; James L. Anast, Columbus OH, chief of the automatic flight branch, Army All-Weather Flight Center; Captain Thomas J. Wells, Orlando, FL; T/Sgt Raymond Centolella, Utica, NY, radio operator, and S/Sgt John C. Nimon, East Canton, OH, engineer. (AP Wirephoto via radio from London. Published in The Minneapolis Star, 23 September 1974, Page 13)
For the transatlantic flight, the airplane was under the command of Colonel James M. Gillespie. Captain Wells acted as copilot. The navigator was Captain Roman J. Whiting, with Captain Frank G. Shea as assistant navigator. Also on board were civilian James L. Anast, chief of the automatic flight branch, Army All-Weather Flight Center, George B. Johnson, project engineer. The crew chief was Technical Sergeant Walter W. McKee, with flight engineer Staff Sergeant John C. Nimon (Menon?), Technical Sergeant Raymond Centolella was the radio operator. Observers were Major Thomas F. Weldon, chief of the flying research section of the Air Materiel Command, Charles Franklin, communications and navigation branch, AMC; W.W. Downs, Sperry Gyroscope Company; Wing Commander T.R. Jeff and Group Captain H.E. Boster, Royal Air Force.
The instrument panel of the Automatic Flight Controller MK. II, installed aboard the Douglas C-54 Skymaster. Left to right are Major Jerry H. Ayres, Associated Press reporter Ed Gooding, and civilian technician James L. Anast. (AP Wirephoto)
Colonel Gillespie was awarded the Octave Chanute Award by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. The award was presented by John Knudsen (“Jack”) Northrop, founder of the Northrop Corporation, during a ceremony held at the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles, California, 16 July 16 1947.
A British Pathé news reel filmed after the flight can be seen at:
https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/79348/
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster, circa 1943. (Library of Congress digital ID fsa.8b08002)
The Douglas C-54D Skymaster was a large four-engine military transport manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The C-54 made its first flight from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, 14 February 1942.
Douglas C-54 Skymaster three-view illustration. (U.S Air Force)
The airplane was 93 feet, 11 inches ( 28.626 meters) long with a wingspan of 117 feet, 6 inches (35.814 meters) and overall height of 27 feet, 5-5/16 inches (8.3645 meters). It was a low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear. The wings had 7° dihedral. The total wing area was 1,462 square feet (135.8 square meters). It had an empty weight of 38,565 pounds (17,475 kilograms), and takeoff weight of 82,500 pounds (37,421 kilograms). With a crew of five, it could carry 49 troops.
The C-54D was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-2000-11 two-row, fourteen-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.52:1. The engine required 100/130 octane aviation gasoline. The R-2000-11 drove three bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers with a diameter of 13 feet, 1 inch (3.988 meters) through a 2:1 gear reduction. This engine had a Normal Power rating of 1,100 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. at 7,500 feet (2,286 meters), and 1,000 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. at 17,000 feet (5,182 meters); Military Power, 1,350 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. at 3,000 feet (914 meters) and 16,000 feet (4,877 meters); Takeoff power, 1,350 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. (1,450 horsepower if the engine incorporated plain main bearings). The R-2000-11 was 49.10 inches (1.247 meters) in diameter, 59.62 inches (1.514 meters) long, and weighed 1,562 pounds (708.5 kilograms). The engine was sold commercially as the Twin Wasp 2SD11-G.
The C-54 had a maximum speed 267 knots (307 miles per hour/494 kilometers per hour) at 18,300 feet (5,578 meters), and maximum ceiling of 28,000 feet (8,534 meters). With a fuel capacity of 2,662 gallons (10,077 liters), its maximum range was 1,650 nautical miles (1,899 statute miles/3,056 kilometers).
Douglas built 515 C-54s at Clover Field (manufacturer code -DO) and 655 at Douglas Field, near Chicago, Illinois (manufacturer code -DC). 388 of these were the C-54D variant. The C-54 was produced commercially as the Douglas DC-4.
42-72451 (MSN 10556 was transferred to the United States Coast Guard, and retired to “The Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, 5 May 1964.
Douglas C-54D-1-DC Skymaster 42-72451 photographed at Eglin AFB, 1953. (ElectroSpark via Flickr)
Taylor Jackson Starr, Jr., was born 4 January 1921 at Selma, Alabama. He was the son of Taylor Jackson Starr, Sr., and Laura Adell Threadgill Starr. When his mother later married to Albert Patton Wells, Taylor’s name was changed to Thomas Jefferson Wells. In 1930, he lived with his maternal grandmother, Della Threadgill, in Selma, Alabama.
Wells attended Boys High School, Decatur, Georgia, graduating in 1936, followed by the Marion Military Institute, at Marion, Alabama, and then the Citadel Military College of South Carolina (“The Citadel”), Charleston, South Carolina, 1938–1940. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
After the United States entered World War II, Wells enlisted as a private in the United States Army. Selected for flight training, he was sent to Fort Worth, Texas, for primary training, and then to Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas. He graduated at Brooks Army Airfield, also in San Antonio, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, 6 March 1942.
Mrs. Wells, the former Miss Adelaide Elizabeth Dickson.
One month earlier, Aviation Cadet Wells married Miss Adelaide Elizabeth Dickson at St. James Rectory, Orlando, Florida, 9 February 1942. Reverend Father John Bishop officiated. Miss Dickson was a student at the Florida State College for Women, where she was a member of the Tri Delta (ΔΔΔ) sorority. They would reside at Albany, Georgia, where he was assigned to Turner Army Air Field as a flight instructor. They would have three children, Lauranne, Thomas N., and Barbara.
During World War II, Lieutenant Wells flew “The Hump,” the notorious transport route over the Himalaya Mountains from India to China. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. DFC and Air Medal. Captain Wells returned to the United States, arriving at LaGuardia Airport, New York, from Casablanca, Morocco, aboard a Douglas C-54A-5-DC Skymaster, 42-72179, at 8:30 p.m., 25 August 1944.
Following the War, Captain Wells flew in the Berlin Airlift, the Allied effort to supply Berlin after the city was blockaded by the Soviet Union, 24 June 1948–12 May 1949.
A U.S. Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster on final approach to Berlin Tempelhof, 1948. (U.S. Air Force)
Wells later served as the staff operations officer at the Air Force Missile Test Center, Patrick AFB, on the eastern coast of Florida.
After leaving active duty in 1956, Major Wells returned to The Citadel where he served as assistant professor of air science.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel 1 April 1962.
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Jefferson Wells died at Montgomery, Alabama, 4 April 1964, He was 44 years of age. His remains were interred at Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando, Florida.
¹ Another source called the Skymaster The Big Push.
