The next Pikes Peak Regional Air Show (PPRAS), at Colorado Springs Airport, is on for September 24^th and 25th said Museum President and CEO Bill Klaers!

Klaers also announced that, when the big engines crackle to life and the propellers roar, the PPRAS will take to the sky under a new partnership! The museum has teamed with Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, known as The Sports Corp, which will be "working with us" in a joint venture and which "will take this air show to a new level."

Brewster F3A Corsair (the only flying example in the world!)

B-25J Mitchell "In the Mood"

Republic P-47D-40-RA Thunderbolt

Grumman F7F-N Tigercat (x2!)

Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless

Grumman TBM Avenger (x2!)

Other aircraft currently scheduled to fly include:

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress “Texas Raiders”

North American P-51 Mustang

Grumman FM-2 Wildcat

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Lockheed F-35A Lightning II

Cessna L-19 Bird Dog

Howard DGA-15

Other aircraft scheduled for static display currently include:

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

C-21 Learjet

Helicopters from Ft Carson (models to be announced at a later date)

Scheduled, but not confirmed as the Navy Legacy Flight schedule is only publicized through June, is a Navy/Boeing F/A-18 Hornet. It is planned to fly with either the museum’s Brewster F3A Corsair or one of the museum’s two Grumman F7F Tigercats, Klaers said. There is also the possibility of a USAF Heritage Flight consisting of the museum's Lockheed P-38 Lightning "White 33" and the USAF Demonstration team Lockheed F-35A Lightning II, but that is not yet confirmed and will depend on pilot's schedules.

If you’d like to read Helen Wyatt Snapp’s full interview, it is available at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.78970/transcript?ID=mv0001

Story Credit: Rich Tuttle

The U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier raids on Japanese Pacific installations in February and March of 1942 aren't generally well known because they have been eclipsed by bigger battles later that year. But the raids honed the skills that allowed the U.S. Navy to fight the Imperial Japanese Navy to a standstill at Coral Sea in May of 1942, and to a decisive defeat at Midway in June, docent John Lynch said during a presentation at the museum.

Lynch, speaking March 19th to an enthusiastic audience of about 350 in the WestPac hangar on the museum campus at the Colorado Springs Airport, described the turbulent period following Japan's December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and how it led to the raids.

Japan was on a roll in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor. By the end of January 1942, Guam had surrendered; the British battleships Repulse and Prince of Wales had been sunk; Wake Island had fallen, and Hong Kong had surrendered. The next month, Singapore surrendered; Darwin, Australia, was attacked, and Allied forces were defeated in the Battle of the Java Sea.

The pressure from the American public and press to do something was intense. In the midst of the hubbub, from December 22, 1941, to January 14, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and their respective military leaders met in Washington for the Arcadia Conference. They settled on a "Germany First" approach, meaning that the Pacific would be secondary in terms of the allocation of resources, people and attention, said Lynch, a former Navy officer.

In that light, but also sensitive to growing American frustration, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King, who had been at the conference, ordered his Pacific Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, to do four things, Lynch said: defend such assets as Pearl Harbor, the U.S. West Coast and the Panama Canal; halt advances by the Japanese navy; secure the lines of communication with Australia, and take limited offensive actions.

King didn't tell Nimitz exactly what he meant by "offensive actions," but this turned out to be the carrier raids. The idea was to be aggressive, but not to the point of losing carriers because only four were available, Lynch said. He said the limited raids would also comply with the Roosevelt-Churchill agreement to focus most resources on Germany. "It was a real tightrope walk."

Thus, planning for the raids began. Battleships were not in the picture as they been either sunk or severely damaged at Pearl Harbor. Cruisers and destroyers would shell Japanese positions, and planes from carriers would attack from over the horizon.

There would be four raids -- the Marshall and Gilbert Islands on February 1st; Rabaul on the island of New Britain on February 20th; Marcus and Wake Islands on February 24th and March 4th; and Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea on March 10th.

The first actions at the Marshalls and Gilberts raid involved task forces of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) under Rear Admiral William F. Halsey, and the USS Yorktown (CV-5) under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, Lynch said. Results included the sinking of some Japanese cargo ships, others damaged, and some damage to Japanese facilities. For the U.S., 15 Navy planes were lost. Nimitz put out press releases saying something was being done, but he also understood what must be improved, Lynch said.

The plan for the Rabaul raid, to be executed by the USS Lexington (CV-2) under Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, was abandoned when a Japanese plane discovered the Lexington and its accompanying ships. The Lexington was attacked by Japanese land-based Betty bombers and could have been lost if it hadn't been for one pilot, Lieutenant Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare, who shot down five of the enemy planes and severely damaged a sixth before they reached their bomb-release points. For his actions O'Hare was awarded the Medal of Honor, becoming the U.S. Navy’s first aviator recipient. The award was, in part, to tell the American press and elected officials that something was being done, Lynch said.

The Wake and Marcus raids were conducted by the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and its task force under Halsey. The action began with an attack on Wake Island, where there was some minor damage and an aerial battle. But as the raid was underway, Lynch said, Halsey got a message saying that the Imperial Japanese Navy was building a significant presence on Marcus Island. He proceeded there and inflicted some minor damage. But Marcus is relatively close to Japan, about 1,000 miles away, and the raid prompted Japanese commanders to pay particularly close attention, Lynch said. To the American public, it showed once more that momentum against Japan was gathering.

The Lae and Salamaua raids, by the task force under Brown aboard Lexington, were intended to disrupt Japanese plans to take Port Moresby, also in New Guinea. Brown had been turned away from the Rabaul raid, which would have been launched from near the Solomon Islands. The Lae and Salamaua raids were instead conducted from the other side of New Guinea. The plan was for Brown's aircraft to strike their two targets from the rear; it worked. The Japanese defenders were completely surprised and some serious damage was inflicted, Lynch said.

But getting to the targets meant flying over the Owen Stanley Range of mountains, which forms the spine of New Guinea and tops out at about 13,000 feet. Such an altitude was "a serious challenge for the planes and the pilots of the task force," Lynch said. The fighters and dive-bombers (like the museum's Douglas SBD Dauntless) "got over pretty well. The torpedo bombers struggled pretty seriously."

One lesson from Lae-Salamaua was that planes must be equipped with non-fogging windscreens and gun/bomb sights. As the SBDs, for instance, dropped steeply from the cold air of high altitude to the warm air of sea level, their view of targets was partially obscured due to glass fogging. Pilots needed heated elements to solve the problem, Lynch said.

Another lesson was the need for Identification-Friend-or-Foe (IFF) equipment. Butch O'Hare was not amused when he was fired upon by his own carrier as he returned from his tangle with the Betty bombers, Lynch said.

The raids also showed the need for self-sealing fuel tanks, armored pilot seats, more fighters and fighter pilots, drop-tanks for fighters, and incendiary bullets, Lynch said. Also brought to the forefront was the need for a fix for the Mk. 13 torpedo, which failed in many instances. It took years to fix the Mk. 13 problem and is "one of the saddest stories of World War II and a real blot on the reputation of elements of the Navy," Lynch said.

Overall, he said, the raids improved the morale of both the American public and the U.S. Navy; prompted Japanese navy leaders to consider repositioning some of their forces; changed their attitude about offensive-versus-defensive activities; helped the U.S. Navy to understand more about fighter-support for a task force, and stressed the need to practice, practice, practice. Many valuable lessons were learned that would serve the Navy well in the great carrier battles to come.

Nimitz's orders from King were generally met, Lynch said. Pearl Harbor, the West Coast and the Panama Canal were protected; Japanese advances were affected; lines of communication to Australia were kept open, and some offensive action was taken.

And, Lynch said, many of those who honed their skills in the raids were heroes of the battles of the Coral Sea in May and Midway a month after that.

The raids were "a pretty significant portion of the early part of the war," Lynch said. "It's not one that is understood terribly well," and after Coral Sea and Midway, "they kind of fade into the background and we no longer understand them very much."

But, Lynch said, Halsey remembered them when Japan surrendered three years later. Standing on the deck of his flagship, the USS Missouri, off the coast of Japan, he spoke movingly to the men of his crew and his fleet.

Lynch quoted Halsey as saying that "With nothing but indomitable courage and hope to support us, we left our mark on a cruel and treacherous enemy. We paved the way -- we blazed the trail -- to the overwhelming victories that have followed."

Halsey told his men, "You shall always occupy a special and honored space in my mind and heart. We've been through this trying time together. We have shared the good, we have shared the bad. We are brothers, bloodied by our active participation in combat operations in an unprecedented naval war."

Story Credit: Rich Tuttle. Museum Curator Gene Pfeffer also contributed to this article.

Built in 1942, this P-47D “Razorback” Thunderbolt, Serial #42-8089, flew with the 348^th Fighter Group in New Guinea starting in 1943.

Following an accident, she was stripped for parts and buried in a pit with other aircraft, only to be recovered some 60 years later, eventually making her way to the museum!

The many holes in the fuselage make for a unique opportunity to peer inside (careful, don’t touch!) and see some of her internal construction, including the turbocharger; she even still has her original insignia painted on the side!

It’s hard to imagine, but 42-8089 is slated for a full restoration to flying condition. See 42-8089, and the rest of our amazing collection, during your visit to the museum!

Story and Photo Credit: George White

700 rounds of .50 Cal ammunition were carried, while 7750 rounds of .30 Cal were available.  Ammunition was stored in compartments located behind the drivers. In the photos you can also see where an individual ammo can would be hung from the left side of the .50 Cal to provide its feed. With a full 360 degrees of movement on each weapon, the M2A1 could be a very dangerous and effective platform.

The M2A1 was used for armored reconnaissance, movement of infantry (she could carry up to 13 personnel), and as both tow-vehicle for the 105mm howitzer and transport of its ammunition.

With available weaponry and armoring, they were also used for Air Base Defense and were effective in both anti-personnel and anti-aircraft roles. “Some of the early airfields in Normandy were less than a mile from the FEBA. (Forward Edge of the Battlefield)", stated Gene Pfeffer, museum Curator and Historian. The M2A1 was widely used by the US Army in the Philippines, North Africa, and Europe, as well as by US Marines in the Pacific.

The solid triangular pieces on the rear bumper, shown directly above the top right of the track in the above photo, indicate that she was built by the Autocar Company; if the triangles were open, it would mean she was made by the White Motor Company.

See our M2A1, and the rest of our amazing collection (including other vehicles) when you visit the museum!

Story and Photo Credit: George White

One thing we really love about the National Museum of World War II Aviation is the smell!

The event is planned to include our P-38 Lightning "White 33", shown here, conducting an engine run and taxi. P-38s like ours executed the extraordinary mission to get the Japanese Navy's most important leader. There will also be a special P-38 cockpit photo opportunity that you won't want to miss!

Do you really love an article? Did a photograph really wow you? Have a question about a story? Want to see more of a certain topic? Did something spark a memory that you'd like to share with us?

We'd love to hear your what you have to say about the newsletter; let us know by dropping the editor a message at george.h.white1@gmail.com !

Gene Pfeffer

Historian & Curator

Rich Tuttle

Docent, Newsletter Writer, Social Media Writer, Photographer

George White

Newsletter Editor, Social Media Writer, Photographer