In order to gain insight on the Senior Engineering Program from a student’s perspective, we recently had the opportunity to chat with Kevyn Kelso, who spent a semester working on the Norden Bombsight Simulator. Kevyn initially followed the path of engineering after his interest was sparked by a robotics program which he was involved in during 6^th grade. We discussed his work on the project, what he learned from his experience, his plans for the future, and something you may be curious about – how donations can help the program. 

This year, Kevyn, a computer engineering major, was enrolled in a class called Senior Design Project. He chose to work at the Museum for his final project and was assigned to the Norden Bombsight Simulator Project. Along with his fellow teammates, Dakota Daniger, Julian Smith, Jason Hunter, and Justin Miller, the group was tasked with developing an image of a B-17 dropping bombs on a target using real physics for the bomb trajectory based on inputs from the replica Norden Bombsight. This required developing a good understanding of the physics of the bomb trajectory, the Norden Bombsight, and the use of a new software package. Kevyn describes his experience with the Museum as very independent work – as a team, his group made the decisions about the project, and it was up to them to problem-solve.

“The project was a simulation of using the Norden Bombsight, an analog computer used in World War II that was supposed to help bombardiers accurately land bombs. A group before us built a 3D printed model of the bombsight, and our job was to write all the software for a simulation that could run on a computer at the museum. We had to model everything the Norden Bombsight did as an analog computer, as well have the bomb follow realistic physics from dropping out of a plane,” Kevyn commented.

Overall, the project turned out better than Kevyn and his team ever expected. They’re looking forward to when Museum visitors can experience the interactive exhibit, which features a monitor inside the 3D printed bombsight that visitors can use, as well as external monitors so other spectators can watch.

Looking back over the semester, Kevyn acknowledges how this experience provided him more than technical skills - he discovered that everything he learned is applicable to the future.

“There are not many opportunities for teamwork in my major, but in the real world, that’s what it’s all about. Being able to organize effectively with other people, assigning tasks, and communicating about how the pieces fit together are really big things I took away from this program,” Kevyn said.

As far as the fundraiser goes, Kevyn mentioned that making an investment in college students’ education is a worthwhile cause. “This program gives students the ability to gain valuable skills they’ll use in the future to improve the world we live in.” While Kevyn currently has a job lined up after graduation, he will also be attending grad school at UCCS to study electrical engineering. Eventually, he’d like to go into computer hardware design.

If you are curious how your donation would impact the future of the Museum, consider the Senior Engineering Program’s influence on college students’ education. A program such as this provides real-life problem-solving skills for the students. The interactive displays that the students build have the potential to spark an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among even the youngest elementary school students who attend the museum’s K-12 programs.

After talking with Kevyn, it’s clear how the Senior Engineering Program gives students the opportunity to gain technical experience, as well as the chance to dive into creative problem solving and teamwork. Even more, one of the Museum’s greatest concerns is how the story of World War II is fading away these days. Kevyn found that while the primary goal of the program wasn’t to learn about WWII, he picked up a great deal of knowledge about it along the way. The program provides students the chance to gain an appreciation of what our veterans and civilian population went through during the war to reach success.

Please consider donating to the Museum to support our education efforts, keep our doors open and our aircraft flying! You can make your tax-deductible gift through this link Donate Now - National Museum of World War II Aviation or by mailing a check to the National Museum of World War II Aviation at 775 Aviation Way, Colorado Springs, CO 80916. 

Do you know how many artifacts the Museum has in its collection?

How about how many people have visited the museum since we opened?

Or how many students have completed our K-12 STEM Program?

Read on to find out the answers to these questions, and more!

Argentine Freighter Rio Tercero

“…On 22 June the whole squadron was grounded by bad weather at Mitchel and over the Atlantic. I was the duty crew on standby for emergencies. At 0700 we got word of the sinking of the Argentine freighter. Twig [Capt. Irving L. “Twig” Branch, the squadron commander] said the weather was too bad, flight would be too dangerous, and little likelihood we could find the site in the weather, but he would leave the decision up to me. I told him I had been studying the weather and thought we'd break out of the worst of it before reaching the site.

              "Within 12 minutes of getting the message we were airborne and on instruments in solid weather. (Incidentally that 12 minutes is something of a record.) Sure enough, by the time we reached the vicinity of the reported sinking, the weather started breaking up a little, and we were able to get under most of the clouds at 300 or 400 feet.

              "We started a square search pattern and on the second leg, as we came through some low-hanging clouds, there in front of us was the whole scene -- a pattern of debris still almost in the shape of the sunken ship, lifeboats full of crew members, and standing on the surface the German submarine, comfortably certain that they were safe from any air attack in the weather.

              "I dropped down to 50 feet and screamed across him, dropping a stick of depth charges, then peeled up on a wing tip expecting to see him blown out of the water, when lo and behold, I saw the pop-pop of two 100-pound practice bombs going off on his deck. The bombardier, in his excitement, had failed to change the selector switches to depth charges.

              "We peeled around and laid down a stick of depth charges as he frantically crash-dived. Actually made a good attack, and certainly damaged him if we didn't sink him, but the error in the first attack made sure we got no credit for a sinking, which required that you bring back the Captain's drawers to get a kill, anyway.

              "I thought the [Rio Tercero] crewmen on the lifeboats were going to capsize from their jumping around and waving at us. We of course reported by radio and got a navy ship on the way to rescue them. Stayed as long as we had fuel, though there was no danger the sub would ever reappear.

              "Then we wrote a note telling them we had help on the way and had to leave because of fuel, tucked it in the folds of a Mae West inflated life jacket and dropped it to them. We stayed to see them recover the vest and the note, read it and wave acknowledgment.

"We later learned that after the ship was torpedoed and sunk, the submarine surfaced, put a boat over the side and picked up the Captain from a lifeboat, took him aboard and questioned him and demanded his papers, etc. .... Argentina was supposed to be neutral and they apparently didn't want it known that they had sunk an Argentine ship, so they put the Captain back on the boat, returned him to the lifeboat, broke out machine guns which they set up on tripods on deck, and were just about to open up on the survivors to destroy any evidence when, in their minds, we miraculously appeared."

“The Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, has received a most complimentary letter from the Argentine Government Merchant Marine expressing the gratitude of the officers and crew of the RIO TERCERO for prompt and effective assistance resulting in their rescue when the vessel was torpedoed recently. It is gratifying to received such reports.

“The bomber dispatched from Mitchel Field was of material assistance in locating the lifeboats of the RIO TERCERO. The Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, commends the officers and men of the combat crew of that bomber for encouragement and assistance rendered to the survivors and the rescue vessels.”

Gen. Larson forwarded Adm. Andrews’ message that same day to the Commanding Officer of the 13^th Bombardment Group at Westover Field, Mass., saying:

“…It gives me great pleasure to forward this communication…and wish to add my commendation to Second Lieutenant Hugh D. Maxwell, and his crew for their outstanding performance of duty in connection with the rescue of the survivors of the Rio Tercero….

“At 0700 Wednesday, June 22, 1942, the Duty Officer of the 393^rd Bombardment Squadron, Mitchel Field, New York, received word from the [Controller] at Bomber command Headquarters that the Rio Tercero…had been torpedoed at 0642, at a position 3915 N – 7232 W, which is about 100 miles offshore. Despite the bad weather, Lieutenant Maxwell and his crew, consisting of 2^nd Lieutenant J.F. Voght, co-pilot, Private R.W. Harrington, Bombardier, and Private D. McGuire, Radio Operator, took off at 0712, and were at the scene of the sinking at 0805. Prompt take-off and excellent navigation were responsible for saving the lives of thirty-six (36) men. Louis Pedro Scalese, Captain of the vessel, stated that he believed that he and his men were about to be machine gunned by the submarine when the plane arrived on the scene and caused the submarine to crash dive.”

After not having piloted a B-25 since World War II, Colonel Hugh Maxwell got the chance to sit behind the yoke and take to the air again at the Valiant Air Command Museum in Florida in 2015; click on the photo to the left to watch him fly that day! (Video courtesy Valiant Air Command Museum)

Story Credit: Rich Tuttle

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first jet fighter. Even though design work started in 1939, problems with engines, metallurgy and high-level political meddling kept the aircraft from operational status until mid-1944. The 262 was about 100 miles per hour faster than a P-51 Mustang but was subject to high rates of mechanical failure. The P-51 was more maneuverable. The jet was produced in both fighter and fighter-bomber versions.

In early 1945, Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 7 (JG 7) was formed as a pure jet fighter unit but was slow becoming operational.

On March 2, 1945, a few Me 262s rose to challenge 8th Air Force bombers attacking the rail marshalling yards at Dresden. Crews were not surprised to see Me 262s in the German defensive attacks, as they had been briefed to expect a few of them. While the 262’s cannons only had an effective range of about 600 yards, their speed through the bomber force was so quick it was difficult for them to make effective firing passes.

On March 3rd, the 8th Air Force bombers encountered more of the jets and their tactics were more aggressive.

Then on March 18th, after two weeks of mostly standing down due to adverse weather, the 8th dispatched 1,329 bombers escorted by 733 P-51 Mustang fighters to hit Berlin. It was the largest Army Air Forces mission to Berlin of the war.

The result was an air battle like no other the 8th had yet fought. It pitted piston-power fighters and bombers against jet fighters and air-to-air missiles. The Me 262s were equipped with up to 24 unguided folding-fin R4M rockets, 12 outboard of each engine. The Germans approached from the side of the bomber formation, where the bomber silhouettes were largest.

While still out of range of the bomber's machine guns, the 262s fired a salvo of rockets. Just one or two of these rockets could down a B-17 Flying Fortress. The attackers formed up in groups and fired simultaneously in lanes of destruction. According to historian Donald Miller, more than 30 jets blew through the escorts and shot down 13 bombers and six P-51s for the loss of three 262s. While significant, it was only 1% of the attacking force.

Within days the 8th Air Force responded. Its bombers pulverized German jet bases and the P-51s prowled over them catching any 262s while slow, taking off or landing.

The Me-262, while impressive, was too little, too late. At that point it could not change the overall dynamic of the air war.

Photo Credit: www.warbirdphotographs.com

Three women who flight tested planes for Grumman Aircraft Engineering during World War II seem in particular to represent the spirit of The Ninety-Nines. Established in 1929 by 99 women pilots, members of The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, promote advancement of aviation. And, says the organization, quoting Amelia Earhart, flying "for the fun of it!"

The three women -- Cecil “Teddy” Kenyon, Barbara Kibbee Jayne, and Elizabeth Hooker -- were civilian production test pilots during the war for Grumman at Bethpage, Long Island, New York.

Their job was to flight test new aircraft as they came off the production line, with an eye to ensuring that they met all standards before being delivered to a customer. Grumman's major customer at the time was the U.S. Navy, for which it produced thousands of planes, including F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat fighters, and TBF torpedo bombers.

Kenyon, Jayne and Hooker -- the first women to flight test naval aircraft in the U.S. -- were hired by Brewster Allison ("Bud") Gillies, vice president of flight operations for Grumman.

Gillies' wife, Betty Huyler Gillies, whom he had married in 1930, became a utility pilot for Grumman, a development that helped pave the way for Kenyon, Jayne and Hooker.

Betty Gillies joined The Ninety-Nines shortly after it was formed in 1929, and was president from 1939 to 1941, while flying a Widgeon amphibian (like the one in the museum’s collection) on routine hops for Grumman.

During World War II, the Ninety-Nines “was one of the aviation organizations working to create new flying possibilities and to remove flying restrictions on women pilots,” according to a 1990 study by the Smithsonian Institution. “It had become a strong network by 1940 with more than 400 women pilots whose purpose was to provide ‘good fellowship, jobs, and a central office and files on women in aviation,’” the study says.

Today, the Ninety-Nines has about 6,100 members. Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the organization provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots.

In September 1942, having logged some 1,400 hours, Betty Gillies became one of the original 25 members of the Women's Auxiliary Flying Service (WAFS), formed to deliver planes from factories to military bases. The separately formed Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), organized in November 1942, was charged with carrying whatever flight duties the Army required within the United States.

The WAFS and the WFTD were absorbed into the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) organization in August 1943. Members tested and ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots.

But women other than those in WASP also tested and ferried planes in World War II; Kenyon, Jayne and Hooker at Grumman were among them. Like Gillies, they had been utility pilots for the company.

Bud and Betty Gillies were members of the posh Long Island Aviation Country Club in Hicksville – about four miles from Bethpage -- as was Leroy Grumman, among other luminaries.

Jayne, who had joined the Ninety-Nines in 1938, was a flight instructor at the club. She was coaxed into that job by Bud Giles.

Cecil “Teddy” Kenyon had been a pilot for more than a dozen years when she began flying for the Civil Air Patrol in the early 1940s. In 1933 she won the National Sportsman Flying Championship at Roosevelt Field in New York, beating 28 men and 11 women.

Although the women were experienced, Gillies had to be careful in advancing the idea of females as production test pilots (experimental test pilots had riskier jobs). He stressed to executives and male pilots that all three were active professional pilots before the war, and that they had shown their competence since late 1942 as general pilots for the company, according to the Smithsonian study.

Gillies won the company’s support, and the women began a trial period as test pilots on Hellcat fighters. Each ultimately flew a number of different aircraft several times each day until the end of the war.

But while the three were doing well, there was tension over the arrangement. For one thing, the Smithsonian study says, they weren't permitted to fly "sticky ships," those suspected of having serious issues that had to be checked out in the air. This annoyed the women, and the men still weren't sure about women flying in the first place.

And such prominent women aviators as Jacqueline Cochran, director of the WASP, saw production flight testing as a kind of "aerial dishwashing." But, said a journalist in a 1944 article, "It isn't real dishwashing and [that is] one reason for the attraction."

The Ninety-Nines says it may be paradoxical, but “some of the brightest pages in the history of women in aviation were written” during the darkest hours of the war.

Even as Kenyon, Jayne and Hooker were testing Grumman planes, many other members of the Ninety-Nines “taught Army and Navy cadets in Civilian Pilot Training and War Training Service programs through primary, advanced, instrument and…cross-country courses, building a great reserve of pilots,” according to The Ninety-Nines.

“They dispelled forever the misconception that great physical strength is mandatory in a pilot,” the organization said. “In the first year of activity the women set a new safety record in military aviation, flying the equivalent of 3,000,000 miles for each fatal accident. Their rate was .02 less than that of the overall fatality rate”, according to the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Story Credit: Rich Tuttle

The National Museum of World War II Aviation opened its doors in 2012. Since that time over 300,000 people have attended the Museum and learned about the role that military aviation played in the emergence of our nation as a world power. The museum tells the story of the tremendous technological advancements in aviation during the War and the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who won the air war.

The mission of the Museum is to provide unique educational experiences that promote a deeper understanding of the historical importance of American aviation in World War II and its role in shaping the world we live in today. It does this to preserve and strengthen the best traditions of the American aviation past and inspire new generations of leaders and innovators in the future.

The National Museum of World War II Aviation is a non-profit organization that relies on the generous support of friends like you. Our museum receives no federal funding or any other form of tax-payer support.

As you recognize this Memorial Day with your friends and families, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Museum. There is no better way to honor the heroes who served than by making a gift in their memory.

Your donation will support the general operations of the museum by keeping the doors open for all to experience and learn the lessons from World War II. Donations also fund our mission of education at the Museum, as well as through our newsletter that so many of our friends like you enjoy receiving monthly. We currently have 28 fully restored flying aircraft, as you can imagine, keeping these aircraft operational is no small feat and donations do just that!

Please help us pay tribute to the heroes of World War II by making a donation to the Museum of World War II Aviation! You can donate online at www.worldwariiaviation.org/support/givenow or by mailing a check to the museum at 775 Aviation Way, Colorado Springs, CO 80916. For more information, email us at [email protected], or visit our website at Donate Now - National Museum of World War II Aviation.

Mark your calendars and reserve your tickets now at Tickets - National Museum of World War II Aviation!

June 25 - "The Normandy Invasion - Air Power Leads the Way", featuring a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt demonstration flight!

July 30 - "Kamikazes & The Air Battle at Okinawa", featuring a Brewster F3A Corsair demonstration flight!

Sep 24 & 25 - 2022 Pikes Peak Regional Airshow - The airshow is back and you won't want to miss it! Weve got a tremendous lineup of performers, static displays, vendors, you name it! Check out the website and get your tickets today at Pikes Peak Airshow - Pikes Peak Regional Air Show (pprairshow.org)!

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We'd love to hear your what you have to say about the newsletter; let us know by dropping the editor a message at [email protected] !

Gene Pfeffer

Historian & Curator

Rich Tuttle

Docent, Newsletter Writer, Social Media Writer, Photographer

George White

Newsletter Editor, Social Media Writer, Photographer