The Boeing B-17G, better known as “Chuckie”

The Membership Newsletter for The Military Aviation Museum Summer 2013

Military Aviation Museumwww.MilitaryAviationMuseum.org

Virginia Beach Airportwww.VBairport.com

Fighter Factorywww.FighterFactory.com

Inside this Issue:

Flying Proms 2

The Museum’s Future 2

The Museum Used to Train Pilots 3

Aviation Summer Camp 3

Guided Tour of NAS Oceana 4

Nadia Popova and the Polikarpov Po-2 4

“Animals, Birds & Bugs” Lurk Here 5

Group Captain Clive Caldwell 5

Event Calendar 6

Hangar Happenings 7

In Memory of Captain William E. Crooker III 8

Warbirds Over the Beach - 2013By Boom Powell

Photos by Art Norfolk and Spectrum Photography

Is thirteen an unlucky number? Events of the week-end suggest, yes.

Thursday was a fun day for everyone at Pungo. The massively elegant Lancaster arrived in style and her attending C-47, er, Dakota, fl ew in soon after. The “Dak” was painted as she would have been as a plat-form for paratroopers in Southeast Asia in 1944. A BBC fi lm crew had hired a helicopter for a feature on the Mosquito and fl ew alongside, behind, in front as the “Mossie” performed touch-and-goes, er, circuits-and-bumps. Several “lighter” airplanes like the Storch made warm-up fl ights and discovered the fi rst sinister omen when they

taxied to their show ready area and made deep, muddy ruts in the turf.

Friday, was, well, Friday. The fi eld was wet and only a few airplanes got airborne. That night it rained and rained and rained into the small hours of Saturday—show day.

If the airfi eld was wet Friday it was sodden Saturday. The diffi cult decision was made not to risk the heavier aircraft. This was espe-cially disappointing for Mosquito fans that came from far away. The light on their “feet” Trainer/Liaison Staffel (L-5, Chipmunk, Storch, Rapide, PT-22, and Tigermoth) did fl y their part of the show. The airplanes which were to fl y started

We Are But Stewards and CaretakersBy Jonathan R. Lichtenstein, Museum Event Coordinator

Continued on page 7

The aircraft of the Military Aviation Museum have passed through the hands of many mechanics, pilots, owners, and operators in their long and sometimes convoluted careers. The Boeing B-17G-70-VE Path-fi nder (PFF), 44-8543, better known as “Chuckie,” is no exception.

Following delivery to the USAAF in 1944, “Chuckie” endured numerous modifi cations and the odd fender-bender, in government service. After a fi nal stint with the Federal Telecommunications Corporation,

Continued on page 3

she was pensioned off in 1959, sold to the American Compressed Steel Corporation, and changed hands several more times until 1963, after having been con-verted to fl y freight.

Dothan Aviation in Alabama then acquired the air-frame and adapted the B-17G for use as a large pes-ticide sprayer; tanks and spray bars were added. Un-der contract to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dothan then operated the plane until 1976, spraying for fi re ants in Florida and Georgia. When operations ended, the plane sat idle until 1979.

In October of that year, Dr. William Hospers, who had long dreamed of owning a B-17, found and rescued the plane from abandonment in Dothan, Alabama. His efforts led to the Boeing’s restoration, painted in the colours of the 486th Bomb Group. The plane’s no less colourful moniker was inspired by Dr. Hospers’ wife, Ms. Chuckie Hospers, from whom the plane was even-

Photo by Art Norfolk

IwdhcfliSRdaThe Lancaster on airshow day

Prom is short for promenade concert, a term whose origins may be traced to the 18th-century pleasure gardens of London. Such outdoor concerts afforded audience mem-bers the freedom to stroll the exquisitely manicured lawns and avenues, observing such choice elements of sculpture and soci-ety as might then be seen, to the accompa-niment of canorous entertainments. On 10 August, 1895, the fi rst of a series of indoor promenade concerts, in the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, was inaugurated. Today, they are among the most well-known in the world: The BBC Proms, alternately The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, named in honour of their most illustrious conductor, the late Sir Henry Joseph Wood. As one of the world’s largest classical music festivals, today the Royal Albert Hall hosts annually more than 70-concerts, but the outdoor com-ponent is continued through Proms in the Park performances. The rich and variegated heritage of the BBC Proms inspired the gov-ernors of Great Britain’s Shuttleworth Col-lection to create the original Flying Proms in 1997. Subsequently, in 2010, the Virginia Arts Festival, among the most ambitious contemporary festivals of classical music, came to appreciate the Military Aviation Museum's potential to host the fi rst and, so far, only Flying Proms in North America. Taking a leaf from those original promenade concerts of Cremorne, Marylebone, and Vauxhall Gardens, this year’s edition of the Proms was, as in years past, peerless in its consummate blend of pitch and prop.

Benjamin Rous, Associate Conductor, Vir-ginia Symphony Orchestra, once again as-cended the podium to lead the evening’s mu-sical component. From across the pond, in his role as host, raconteur, and veteran com-mentator of the Shuttleworth Flying Proms,

Mark Whall regaled the audience with bons mots a-plenty. Encamped on the Museum’s crosswind runway, with the sun setting be-hind the marquee, the crowd thrilled to the appearance overhead, of a hand-picked se-lection of the MAM’s catalogue, comple-mented by an appropriate program of musi-cal scores. Painstakingly compiled over the preceding months, the diverse assortment included the themes from such motion pic-tures as, “The King’s Speech,” “The Great Waldo Pepper,” and “Where Eagles Dare.” The latter opened the Proms, in a recreation of the fi lm’s opening title sequence – to the strains of Ron Goodwin’s score – with the Aviation Museum’s Junkers Ju 52 front row and center; we were unable to replicate the Alpine peaks featured in the movie. Henry Mancini’s up-tempo march from “The Great Waldo Pepper” showcased the Museum’s Great War collection. A last-minute substi-tute, the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, stood in for Waldo Pepper’s Sopwith Camel, with Ernst Kessler having his pick of Fokker Dr.I tri-planes. “The King’s Speech” struck a somber chord, with the Allegretto from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. For their beauty and appropriateness to the fi lm’s setting, two of the Museum’s contingent of de Havillands, the Dragon Rapide and Ti-ger Moth, were shown off to good advan-tage. In fact, it was de Havilland that would have the fi nal say in these proceedings. The saxophone exhausts of her twin Rolls-Royce Merlins heralding her approach, KA114, the world’s only fl ightworthy de Havilland Mos-quito, arrived on the scene to the accompa-niment of Ron Goodwin’s music from 633 Squadron. The concert performance at an end, seen in silhouette against a backdrop of fi reworks, the stilled aircraft of the Military Aviation Museum and musicians of the Vir-ginia Symphony Orchestra acquired an in-

candescent quality. We trust this year’s Flying Proms was conducted in accordance with a great tradition, and served as a memorable last night for the Virginia Arts Festival, 2013.

PAGE 2 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

The Flying PromsBy Jonathan R. Lichtenstein, Museum Event Coordinator

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The Prom crowd gathering in front of the Cottbus Hangar

Many members and visitors have voiced concern over the future of the Museum as rumors of our collection of planes being sold and the Museum closing continue to be widespread. Not true.

However, outside constraints and fi nancial restrictions have necessitated that a small portion of the collection be sold. And yes, seeing Chuckie, our B-17 bomber and the beautifully restored De Havilland “Dragon Rapide” fl y off into the sunset has been somewhat traumatic to those who have maintained and fl own them.

On a positive note, one can take some grati-tude that these wonderful examples have been returned to their original fl ying condi-tion and that other admirers in various parts of the country can now also enjoy them for many years to come.

The Museum is home to over 60 amazing bombers, fi ghters and trainers and consid-ered by many to be the best fl ying collection in the world. But even though the loss of a few may hurt, the Museum will continue to display a wonderful collection of planes covering the fi rst 50 years of aviation.

It may be that for a while it will be neces-sary to suspend fl ying these wonderful ex-amples; however, it is the Museum’s inten-tion to continue in 2013 and 2014 with its many successful events and programs. For the remainder of this year we have booked more than 25 events including car shows, WWI Radio Control air show, plane pulls, a 5k run and our very popular “Trains, Planes and Santa” with Santa fl ying in over the Thanksgiving weekend.

We also have several events booked sup-porting many charities as Operation Smile, Wounded Warriors, Disabled American Vet-erans, SPCA, Toys for Tots and Mercy Med-ical Airlift. So please come out and support your favorite charities.

During the last two months, the Museum has been visited by a record number of visitors and tourists from almost every state in the USA as well as from Europe, South America and Canada. I would like to take this oppor-tunity to thank our many volunteers who have made these daily tours possible.

The Museum’s FutureBy David Hunt, Museum Director

Once more the museum held its aviation summer camp, an action packed week of fun and aviation experiences. Camp members were aged from 9 to 14 years old.

The camp opened on Monday morning to the sound of the Curtiss Pusher taxiing on to the ramp for a group photo with pilot “Boom” Powell dressed in his period clothing. That day, the group experienced talks on early aviation and the Great War, making glid-ers from Styrofoam plates, a discussion on the Battle of Britain, time on simulator dog fi ghts, and, fi nally a talk from our very own Korean veteran and pilot, “Obie” O’Brien.

Tuesday started with airfi eld and cockpit ori-entation, a talk on the “Battle of Coral Sea,” bombers and fi ghters, a tour of the German Cottbus WW2 hangar and then making WW2 model aircraft.

Wednesday, an offsite tour of Langley AFB with a demonstration from the base crash and fi re department, tour of an F-15, Honor Guard demonstration, a military working dog demo and aerospace physiology tour. On the way back, the group stopped at the Hampton Air Power Park to check out mod-els and rocket exhibits.

Thursday was “Rocket Day,” fi rst a brief on rocket science then the building of the rockets and fi nally launching of them. The group par-ticipated in ground crew & fi re training. We also had a very special fl y in from a govern-ment King Air visiting from Andrews AFB who use our runway for practice touch and goes. The afternoon was also spent touring the Fighter Factory maintenance facility then fi nally participating in some RC plane fl ying.

Friday was spent fi nishing and decorating models, looking at strange designs of air-craft, history of engines, then culminat-ing with a glide-in organized by “Boom” Powell and a cook out with volunteers and staff. Finally graduates (and parents) gathered for their graduation presenta-tion in the museum’s theatre.

Thank you to all volunteers and partic-ipants who helped make this amazing camp a success.

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 PAGE 3

Any time of year, when the turf is dry and the sky is clear, it’s possible to see an aircraft practicing takeoffs and landings on the muse-um’s airstrip that is not yet represented among the historic aircraft hangared there. The air-craft is a U.S. Air Force C-12 (Beechcraft Super KingAir) painted much like Air Force One, with the same blue and white striping and “United States of America” proudly em-blazoned on the fuselage. The Department of Defense uses this aircraft to train pilots from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, destined for tours as military attachés.

The aircraft is based at Joint Base Andrews, just outside Wash-ington, D.C. The C-12 is no different than its commercial cousins. However, because this aircraft is based at U.S. em-bassies in Africa, Asia, and South America, these pi-

lot-diplomats are routinely tasked to trans-port U.S. ambassadors, embassy staff, senior foreign military and civilian dignitaries into remote locations with only grass or dirt run-ways. This is where the airfi eld at Virginia Beach comes in.

Most of the U.S. military pilots deploying to our embassies are expert in air-to-air com-bat, tactical helicopter operations, or stra-tegic airlift, but few have any experience landing an aircraft on dirt or grass airstrips they will encounter elsewhere. The airfi eld at the museum, longer and wider than most “unprepared” (not paved) runways either in

the states or over-seas, provides a unique and perfect environment to de-velop the skills and techniques needed to safely operate in and out of remote runways.

The Museum Used to Train PilotsBy Michael Wilson

thseunenvetetoanru“Air Force One” practicing landing at the museum

Aviation Summer Camp “Flies” AgainBy David Hunt

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Photo by David Grosz

Warbirds..Continued from page 1

Due to the rain the Mosquito was unable to perform

Due to the rain the

engines and the Navy airplanes folded and unfolded their wings for the crowd on the solid concrete ramp in front of the hangars. Onstage entertainment fi lled the afternoon and into the evening while the large contin-gent of reenactors interacted with visitors. The fi ring of the 88 millimeter fl ak gun got everyone’s attention. Since the runway at the Suffolk Airport is paved, the sleek Me 262 appeared over for multiple passes overhead. Late in the day, the Canadian contingent left for Norfolk International with its concrete runways. The risky part of operating from a soft fi eld is the landing not taking off. They fi gured that if the weath-er permitted, the Lanc could fl y the show without landing. The departure routine was spectacular. Steak dinners and dancing in the hangar ended the day. There was no rain overnight.

Sunday the airfi eld had drained...some-what. But clouds were building and grow-ing dark fast. A formation of Texan/SNJ’s opened the show early. Next up were the paratrooper reenactors. After a couple of passes to gauge the wind, the fi rst stick jumped and landed to the south in an open fi eld. The second stick got caught by their correction north and a big wind shift. Three jumpers landed in the trees. One poor guy landed high enough that the Virginia Beach Fire Department went to rescue him...and they got bogged down in a wet spot.

Meanwhile the Trainer/Liaison group was ready to go; the pilots eager to do at least some fl ying for the audience. At the south end radios and cell phones relayed the mes-sage, “Show is cancelled.” There was much grousing and mutters of “Why?” until a bolt of lightning crashed down across the road. Thus Warbirds Over the Beach ’13 ended not quietly, but with a bang.

PAGE 4 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

The summer months bring the reappearance of a familiar sight along Atlantic Avenue, Vir-ginia Beach. It’s the beautifully restored Brit-ish 1962 double-decker bus belonging to the Military Aviation Museum making its daily Monday through Friday trip taking visitors and locals alike out to Naval Air Station Oceana.

The tour is as unique as the bus itself, since it is the only regularly scheduled tour con-ducted aboard any military installation in the Hampton Roads area. It gives both sum-mer visitors and local residents an opportu-nity to see the daily exceptional routine of a Navy master jet base.

The tour guides are all volunteers provided by the Hampton Roads Association of Naval Aviation (HRANA). They are former Navy or Marine offi cers and senior enlisted who have retired in the area and have close ties to Oceana. They have held positions of leader-ship including commanding squadrons and carrier air groups. One is a former execu-tive offi cer of the air station. Together they represent years of experience and a wealth of knowledge about the Navy and Marine Corps’ power projection from the sea. When the tour reaches the air park, most point out the display aircraft just inside the gate that they have fl own while on active duty.

The HRANA keeps a demographic tally for the city. The lists show that the majority of the visitors are from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland. But every state is represent-ed during a typical summer season.

The tour is also quite popular with foreign visitors from Europe with occasional fami-lies from Mexico, South America, India, and Southeast Asia. Like the oceanfront itself, clearly the largest foreign contingent is from Canada. The association even provides a synopsis of the tour in French. The Canadi-ans are particularly interested in visiting the air station, since Les Forces Canadiennes – the Canadian Defense Force – also employs

the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 “Hornet” as its primary strike-fi ghter aircraft.

Security is also paramount for those who take the Oceana bus tour. They are told before boarding that they must have photo identifi cation, that the bus will go through a security check point, their IDs will be checked, and that their personal items will be inspected. They are also told that they will only be permitted to disembark from the bus at the air park where all the aircraft assigned to the air station are on display.

During the trip from Atlantic Avenue to the base, the riders have a brief history lesson about Oceana’s origin and development from an outlying fi eld in what was formerly Princess Anne County and was mainly farmland to ac-commodate the rapidly expanding Naval air as-sets at NAS Norfolk that had no room to handle tactical air unity, and how it has progressed to its present status as one of the largest and most advanced air stations in the world.

The highlight of the tour is the special per-mission granted by the Commanding Offi -cer, Captain Bob Geis, for the bus to go onto the fl ight line and park directly in front of the base operations tower to observe fl ight operations. The next in popularity is the 20 minute stop at the air park offering the visi-tors another photo opportunity with the 13 aircraft on display that includes the Hornet’s predecessor, the F-14 Tomcat.

The tours are conducted each weekday, weather permitting, for $14 per adult. They depart at 11:00 a.m. from 24th Street and Atlantic Avenue and return at approxi-mately 1:30 p.m. There are no lunch or restroom facilities available, so passengers are encouraged to bring snacks, water, and sunscreen. Cameras are permitted except at the security facility and the main gate. For further information, contact the museum at 757-721-7767.

Note: Last tour for 2013: August 30, 2013.

A Guided Tour of NAS Oceanaby Marshall LeFavor

The museum bus with the tower at Oceana

The Second World War’s 588th Night Bomber Regiment, Soviet Air Forc-es, says farewell to another veteran.

Nadezhda (Nadia) Vasil’yevna Pop-ova passed recently at the age of 91. She was one of the fi rst female military pilots in the Soviet Union. A highly decorated veteran, she was titled a Hero of the Soviet Union, that nation’s highest honor. Addition-al accolades included the Gold Star Medal, the Order of Lenin, and three Orders of the Red Star.

Nadia Popova was born in Shabanovka (now Dolgoye), Ukraine, and grew up near the Donetsk coal fi elds. She dreamed of becoming a dancer but after seeing an airplane, she knew she wanted to be a pilot instead. With-out telling her parents, she enrolled in a gliding club at age 15. At 16 she made her fi rst parachute jump and her fi rst solo fl ight, but not on the same day. After graduation from pi-

lot school, she became a fl ight instructor. More than one-quarter of the pilots trained in these clubs were women.

With the commencement of the Second World War, she volunteered to become a military pilot. The Soviet government ini-tially barred women from combat and turned her and many others away. But in October, 1941, Joseph Stalin issued orders for three regiments of female pilots to be deployed, one of which, the 588th Night Bomber Regi-ment, would become the infamous “Night Witches.” The Soviet pilot corps was in des-

Nadia Popova and the Polikarpov Po-2by Felix Usis

Continued on page 6Nadia and the Night Wtiches

DgcoasboeahabNadia and the Night Wtiches

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 PAGE 5

Group Captain Clive R. Caldwell

Top P-40 Ace of World War IIby Mark Kover

Our museum is known for its wide ranging collection of aircraft, but we have lots of “wildlife” here too!

ANIMALS: Look at our wild horse, the North American P-51 “MUSTANG!” She gave many wild rides to our pilots in WW2, probably bucked a few off, and was known as one of the best and most deadly in the sky. Then you have our post WW2 trainer, the de Havilland DHC1 “CHIPMUNK.” A feisty, fun little plane, sometimes called “the poor man’s Spitfi re.” De Havilland named their planes after animals indig-enous to Canada. Our Russian Polikarpov I-16 known as the “LITTLE DONKEY”, “RAT,” “FLY,” “FLYING SQUIRREL” and “HAWK,” depending on where it fl ew from the mid 1930’s through WW2, so you didn’t know whether to ride it, swat it or shoot it! Grumman’s little FM-2/F4F “WILDCAT” lived up to its name in the early years of WW2 fl ying off carriers and island bases. It was as tough and mean as its namesake. Now, the biggest “animal” at the museum, and I’m sure it loves peanuts, is our Con-solidated PBY Catalina. A fl ying boat that was nicknamed “DUMBO,” supposedly after Disney’s huge eared fl ying elephant and you can see a likeness, can’t you! She’s also known as the “CAT”, nine lives and all! BIRDS: Well, when you see our most famous “bird” out here you probably think “Tiger,” but that’s just our Curtis P-40 “WARHAWK” show-ing off its teeth. Our “bird of prey” is the offspring of its father, the P-36 Curtis “HAWK,” and many of our enemies were preyed upon by the P-40 in WW2. Then you have our big old, ponderous, Grum-man TBM torpedo bomber nicknamed the “TUR-KEY,” probably because it looked like one coming in for a landing with its “legs” down! A tough old bird that the enemy hated to see coming their way. At

the opposite end of “birds of prey” is our Naval Aircraft Factory N3N3 “CANARY.” No ordinary canary, this WW2 trainer could teach you to fl y off either land or water. In good company, but on opposite sides in WW2 is the German aerobatic trainer, the FW44 “Stieglitz” or “GOLDFINCH” in our language. She can dance about the sky like her namesake and taught many Luft-waffe pilots the fi ner points of aerobatics. BUGS: Our de Havilland DH-82 “TIGER MOTH” didn’t fl utter around light bulbs like some moths. It was too busy teaching the Brits, Canadians and many others to fl y, from the early 1930’s to the early 1950’s, and you needed to pay attention or the “Ti-ger” part might nip you occasionally. Once in a while she has a mind of her own! Now we come to the summertime nemesis, our fascinating de Havilland DH-98 “MOS-QUITO,” but don’t bring bug spray, it won’t do you any good, because with her twin Merlin engines, four 20mm cannons and four .303in. machine guns she has a sting unlike any mosquito you’ve come up against, and there’s no hum, just a beauti-ful roar. This “wooden wonder” wreaked

havoc on our en-emies throughout WW2. So enjoy it, because she’s the only one “roaring” in the world right now, and she’s a sight to behold! So, whether you ride, fl y or buzzzz, we have ‘em all at the museum. Come see

our “menagerie.” You’ll love it. Oh, and one more thing. If you want to see more of the museum’s “creatures” then on your way out stop and get up close to our Dinosaurs Park, but not too close! I’ve heard rumors

that on moonlit nights they’ve been seen roam-ing the local corn fi elds! Well, some dinosaurs are vegetarians, you know, but as for the others!? “Wait, what’s that roar?” “Never mind, it’s only the Mosquito...I think!”

thinWvb““MCurtiss P-40E “Kittyhawk”

“Animals, Birds and Bugs” Lurk Hereby Nelson Eskey

The top P-40 ace of World War II was an Australian, Group Captain Clive R. Caldwell, and he achieved most of his victo-ries before America entered the war.

Caldwell was born in Lewisham, New South Wales, in 1910. He learned to fl y in the Empire Pilot Training Program in 1938,

but by the time World War II started, he was considered too old to be a fi ghter pilot. To avoid being stuck fl ying transport and train-ing aircraft, he got a doctor to alter his birth certifi cate.

In the spring of 1941, he started fl ying com-bat missions in North Africa with the RAF’s No. 250 Squadron. It was equipped with P-40 Tomahawks. Pilot Offi cer Caldwell scored his fi rst victory on June 26, 1941 dur-ing his 30th sortie.

On November 23, 1941, Caldwell shot down German ace Wolfgang Lippert. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this action. On December 5th, he ambushed a group of Ju-87 Stukas. Within minutes, Caldwell shot down fi ve of the bombers. He was awarded a bar on his DFC and picked up the nickname ‘Killer.’ He was pleased with the victories but hated the nickname. “It’s your life or theirs. This is war,” he said. On January 1, 1942, he was elevated to the rank of Squadron Commander, taking charge of RAF No. 112 Squadron, the fi rst Commonwealth trained pilot to command a British squadron.

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Sfl Consolidated PBY Catalina or “DUMBO”

Continued on page 7

Group Captain Clive R. CaldwellGroup Captain Clive R Caldwell

perate need of personnel. Additionally, as some have pointed out, the escapades of such heroines made for good propaganda.

Nadia was assigned to the Night Bombing Regiment, fl ying the abundant but antedilu-vian Polikarpov Po-2, a biplane originally designed for crop dusting and training. The Po-2 had the capacity to carry just two bombs of moderate size. The Polikarpov remains the most produced biplane in the world, with over 40,000 having been built; it is the sec-ond most manufactured aircraft in general.

The 588th Night Bombing Regiment was dubbed Nachthexen (“Night Witches”) by the Germans, “because the whooshing noise their plywood and canvas airplanes made reminded the Germans of the sound of a witch’s broomstick.”

Precisely 23,672 sorties fl own, over 3,000 tons of bombs dropped (2 at a time), in a four year period – by a squadron of women that never exceeded 40 two-person crews at any one time – with a maximum of 45 air-craft available, and all done in the dead of night. The crews had no parachutes, guns, radios or radar, only maps and compasses.

Their uniforms were hand-me-downs from male pilots. Their faces froze in the open cockpits. Each night, the crews would fl y eight or more missions.

Taking advantage of the Po-2’s perverse handling characteristics, the “Night Witch-es” would sometimes cut their engines, in fl ight, and glide silently to the target, per-forming something akin to a contemporary stealth bombing mission. The Germans of-ten had no warning of these attacks. The ap-parent impunity with which the 588th op-erated instilled within their victims a great anxiety, far more impactful than any strate-gic advantage the Regiment may have held.

Pilots like Nadia Popova, learned to drive their enemies crazy with their harassment bomb-

ing – hitting areas to the rear, where soldiers were trying to rest after longs days of fi ghting – causing a general feeling of insecurity and restlessness within the enemy’s ranks.

The pilots’ skill prompted the Germans to spread rumors the Russian women were giv-en special injections and pills to, “give them a feline’s perfect vision at night.” Nadia later recalled, “This, of course, was nonsense.”

“Almost every time, we had to sail through a wall of enemy fi re,” Popova – who fl ew 852 missions – once said in an interview. The Messerschmitt Bf-109 fl ew far in ex-cess of the Polikarpov’s maximum speed, which was, in fact, less than the fi ghter’s stall speed. This conspired to make the little Po-2 an exceedingly challenging and frus-trating target. Despite the happy irony of her broomstick’s performance, Nadia Popova was shot down several times, although she never suffered any great injury.

The 588th was the most highly-decorated unit in the Soviet Air Force – each pilot fl ew over 1,000 missions, 23 were created He-roes of the Soviet Union. Thirty-one of its members died in combat.

PAGE 6 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

Polikarpov Po-2, a biplane P lik P 2 bi l

Popova..Continued from page 4

Event CalendarAugust NAS Oceana Tours runs through August 30th, 2013

September

27th-Brute Strength Strongman Plane Pull Competition sponsored by Brute Strength Gym. All proceeds benefi t the Wounded Warrior Project. 11:00am to 4:00pm. Admission is $10.00 per vehicle

28th-Wings & Wheels, The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), Tidewater Region, 40th Annual Meet, 8:00am to 3:00pm. Admission for spectators is $10.00 per vehicle October

3rd-6th-Tidewater RC will host 2nd Annual Meet, 9:00am to 4:00pm

26th-Air & Auto Classic, The Porsche Club of America (PCA), First Settlers Region, 4th Annual Meet from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Admission is $10.00 per vehicle

November

23rd-Virginia Beach Runway 5K race to benefi t the Untamed Spirit Therapeutic and Educational Program. Registration, opens at 7:30am 5K Race begins at 9:00am. Entrant Fees: • $25.00 before 1st November, 2013, • $30.00 from 1st November, through race day, • $10.00 for the ½ Mile Race

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 PAGE 7

Hangar HappeningsCrime Solvers “Pig Pickin” 2013

ByJimmy Capps, Board Member, Virginia Beach Crime Solvers & Pig Pickin’ Chairman

In 2007, the Virginia Beach Crime Solvers were discussing fundraising projects. The Military Aviation Museum in Pungo was then nearing completion. The Crime Solv-ers program received a tip about stolen tools from one of the contractors working on the project site. That tip led to an arrest and the tools were returned to the contractor. Subse-quently, a meeting was held with Mr. Yagen, the property owner, and the rest is history.

On 1 June, 2013, the Virginia Beach Crime Solvers sponsored their 7th-Annual Pig Pickin’ Fundraiser at the Military Aviation Mu-seum. The Museum was selected because it helps to promote ticket sales and heightens interest in the event itself.

Close to 450 people were in attendance of the most recent event, where they enjoyed the entertainment and cuisine served up by the Beach Nuts band and Thomas Mal-bon Catering, respectively; BBQ and fried chicken, with all the trimmings; Hoffman Beverage provided liquid refreshment. The Museum fl ew a selection of six aircraft from its spectacular collection, including the North American P-51D Mustang and SNJ-4. The afternoon was a great success.

The Virginia Beach Crime Solvers program is a partnership between the Vir-ginia Beach Police, local media and our civilian Board of Direc-tors. The proceeds from projects are used to pay rewards for infor-mation that leads to arrests in the community.

ginantoraremaco

‘From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered-We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother’ -Shakespeare’s HENRY V (1599)

On the night of June 5th, 1944, Norwood Thomas was in England as a member of the 101st Airborne, as featured in the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers.” They were locked down on an airbase waiting for the word that the weather had cleared and Operation Over-lord was a go. Just before midnight, his C-47 departed towards France in support of the largest amphibious landing in history, com-monly known as D-Day.

Sixty-nine years later, Sgt. Thom-as shared his ex-periences with a group of 200 peo-ple at the Muse-um. A highlight of his talk was when he pulled out his “cricket” which was used as a challenge. “When you heard

a ‘click’ you had to respond with a ‘click’” but then the cricket slipped from his fi n-gers before he could make the required 2nd click. He bent over to pick it up and said “I would have been dead.”

Sgt. Thomas talked about the mass confu-sion as the planes ran into clouds, fog and enemy fi re which caused planes to collide, and paratroopers to be dropped sometimes miles from their target.

Later, he was fl own in to Holland as part of Operation Market Garden and he was also at the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the Battered Bastards of Bastogne. He said it was very cold and many of the group shipped out with only summer uniforms.

One bit of history Sgt. Thomas wanted to correct was that Patton’s tank division broke through and relieved the 101st Screaming Eagles, not rescued them. Days before, they had gotten supplies air dropped and were about to fi ght their way out.

Keep an eye out for other Hangar Talks in the near future. If you know of WWII vets who might be willing to share their story, please contact Speaker Coordinator Richard Carmichael at 757-620-5293 or RLC@RLCARMICHAEL.COM.

Sgt. Thomas back in the day

Hangar Talk: Sergeant Norwood Thomas, Jr.by Richard Carmichael

Caldwell..Continued from page 5In February 1942, he got his most spectacu-lar victory while fl ying a P-40 Kittyhawk. While leading a patrol fl ight near Gazala, he spotted a group of German planes fl y-ing 2,000 feet above and ahead of them. Caldwell zoom-climbed, standing his plane on its propeller as he fi red off a couple of bursts at maximum range. His target, a Ger-man Bf 109, fell out of the sky. This would be his last victory in a P-40. With 20.5 vic-tories to his credit, he was sent on a tour of America, then to Darwin Australia where he took command of the RAAF’s 1st Fighter Wing fl ying Spitfi res. He would go on to shoot down six Japanese planes to raise his total to 28.5 making him Australia’s greatest ace of World War II.

Group Captain Clive Caldwell ended his military career in disgrace, being one of the few people ever prosecuted for smug-gling and selling liquor during wartime. He pleaded no contest, not wanting the govern-ment to waste time in a lengthy court battle. He was reduced in rank to Flight Lieuten-ant and left the RAAF within a month of his sentence.

After the war, he went on to become a suc-cessful businessman in the textile trade. He always spoke well of the P-40, saying that it was a fi ne aircraft and a match for anything the Italians and Germans had at the time – if it was fl own correctly.

Caretakers..Continued from page 1

tually acquired, in 2010. “Chuckie” arrived at the Aviation Museum in January, 2011, where she has benefi ted from great care and attention. Recently, however, she chased the sunset, en route to yet another billet.

On 29 June, 2013, 44-8543 departed MAM for her next duty station; she took wing from the Pungo aerodrome in a light drizzle late Saturday morning. The last surviving Path-fi nder likely followed her own Oregon Trail.

Thanks to all of you, her patrons and fans, past and present, and to everyone at the Military Aviation Museum and Fighter Fac-tory. And thanks, too, to Mr. Gerald Yagen, without whom none of us would ever have enjoyed a glimpse of this rare warbird, over the beach.

PAGE 8 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3

Membership Newsletter for The Military Aviation Museum

1341 Princess Anne RoadVirginia Beach, VA 23457

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PAIDVIRGINIA BEACH, VA

PERMIT NO. 235Museum Pilot Capt. William E. Crooker, III, 48, died from injuries resulting from a ve-hicular accident on Sunday, July 7, 2013. He was a native of Boston, Massachusetts and a resident of Hampton for 15 years. William was a pilot with Atlas Air for 14 years. He was a member of AOPA, Quiet Birdman (holding a prestigious title), the International Cessna 195 Club, the Military Aviation Mu-

seum and the Hampton Yacht Club.Billy was a regular warbird pilot for the museum fl ying the Junkers Ju-52, the Stin-son L-5E “Sentinel” and the Fokker D.VII.

Billy will be remembered for his charis-matic attitude, his great smile and willing-ness to help anyone. Although he loved his life and fl ying, his true passion was spending time with his family, especially his children, William, 9 years old and Ra-chel Rose, 7 years old. The children spent many happy times at the Military Aviation Museum. There were themes about Billy from all of the many, many people whose life he touched. One was: “Billy always lit up the room when he walked in” and so many people recounted their story of a diffi cult time in their life, and

said “You know the fi rst one there to offer help and support was Bill.”

Billy is survived by his wife of 10 years, Stacey L. Crooker; son William E. Crook-er, IV; daughter, Rachel Rose Crooker; fa-ther, William E. Crooker, II; mother, Bar-bara G. Linn; sister, Nayda B. Orsini; and many loving aunts, uncles, nieces, neph-ews, cousins, and friends.

The family received friends at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home in Hampton VA. A celebration of William’s life was held on July 13, at St. John the Baptist Church in Massachusetts.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at support.woundedwarriorproject.org.

In Memory of Captain William E. Crooker III

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