For all the talk about Meteors shooting down V-1s, I was amused to see that there was no Meteor V-1 "ace". (One pilot did manage to account for four.) Most of the V-1 aces flew Griffon-engined Spitfire XIIs, Spitfire XIVs, and Tempest Vs. The other successful aircraft were Mosquitoes (at night)...

Reading what appears to be a solid history of FDR and espionage. Author makes the flat statement that in 1940 someone in the Norden plant smuggled out the plans, which went to Germany. From these, the Germans "developed their own bombsight," presumably based on the Norden. The author points out the...

This from the Aero-News Propwash email newsletter this morning: *********************************************** USAF Names First Female To Command Combat Squadron And You'll Never Guess... The 354th Fighter Squadron, based at Arizona's Davis-Monthan AFB, has a new commander: Lt. Col. Martha...

Walt, would you check the file at http://www.warbirdforum.com/waltbj.htm and see if there are any changes you'd like to make? I compiled it from what I believe are two different postings, after a lapse of weeks, so I'm not entirely sure I got it sorted out. Thanks! (For anyone interested, this...

If you were going to name a couple of the greatest writers about military aviation, who would they be? I want personal recollections, not history. I'd like names that large numbers of people would recognize. Antoine de St Exupery? (Can't stand him, personally, but he seems beloved) Ernest Gahn?...

What airline was Ernest K Gann flying for when he began to fly for the army in Fate Is the Hunter? Thanks! all the best -- Dan Ford email: (put Cubdriver in subject line) The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com

Pete Stickney wrote in another thread: (The Aliies, after all, succeeded in 1943 in producing what the Germans could not - practical, reliable jet engines that could be flown for more than a day before needing to be overhauled, and which could be worked on by typical mechanics. Before the Me 262...

"What starts as the personal memoir of an F-105 pilot turns out to be a solid work of aerial combat history"--Darrel Whitcomb, in the October 2004 issue of Vietnam magazine. Better late than never! Happily the Smithsonian Institution Press keeps its good sellers around forever. (If it had been...

Writes John Fund in the email Political Diary: ********************************************** CBS isn't saying whether the Kerry campaign or prominent Democrats were the origin of the highly suspicious documents the network used to challenge George W. Bush's Vietnam-era Air National Guard...

An Australian company is building an 80 percent scale Spitfire, with 45 kits sold to date. FMI: http://www.supermarineaircraft.com For the WHOLE story, go to http://www.aero-news.net/news/sport.cfm?ContentBlockID=2ae8d1fa-1449-4efe-9caa-3f8f649a1d1d&Dynamic=1 all the best -- Dan Ford

I've updated the Warbird's Forum for February. * Book of the month: "Brave Men, Gentle Heroes" -- a splendid oral history in which fathers who fought in World War II, and their sons who served in Vietnam, get to tell their stories. www.warbirdforum.com/bravemen.htm * "Airplane heaven" -- a tour...

The following from the Aero-News Propwash this morning: Closing The Circle At Auschwitz IAF Fly-Over By Sons And Grandsons Of Holocaust Victims Closing a symbolic circle, three IAF F-15s, all piloted by sons and grandsons of Holocaust survivors, will stage a fly-by over Auschwitz next...

China's first taikonaut is safely home. He flashed the "V" signal, with the palm out. What would that signify to a Chinese audience? Presumably not V-for-Victory, since Churchill flashed with the knuckles out. "Peace", like in the 1970s (more often called the 1960s)? all the best -- Dan...

There was a post recently extolling the war-fighting ability of the Germany army. Alas, it's gone from my screen. However, I must point out the whatever the German army adopts in the line of technological wonders, it will remain a joke at its present size and budget. No doubt it could overwhelm...

For the rebuilding of Iraq, the United States has pledged $20 billion, Japan has pledged $1.5 billion, and the European Union has pledged $235 million. How can anyone take Europe seriously as a force in the world? Someone please remind me how much the U.S. has spent in the former Yugoslavia. How...

While goggling about in search of information about the new Enola Gay exhibit, I found that NASM has considerable information on the 1995 exhibit on its website: http://www.nasm.si.edu/galleries/GAL103/gal103_former.html Excerpt: The wall text about the mission reads: "Tibbets piloted the...

Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003 Saddam Hussein has been captured, TIME magazine confirmed. "It's true," said a U.S. intelligence official in Baghdad about the arrest of the former dictator. The official wouldn't give any more details except to confirm that the former dictator had been detained the...

I just picked up a copy of Flyboys at BJ's Wholesale Club. Read the first two chapters last night. I was amazed that the author uses the term Flyboys throughout the book, or at least throughout the first chapter. I'd assumed it was just a cute title, but no: "Flyboys were over Chici Jima"...

My account of a tour of NASM's new Udvar-Hazy center, out at Dulles airport, is online at www.warbirdforum.com/udvarhaz.htm all the best -- Dan Ford email: see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

From the New York Times, Feb. 4, 2004: **************************************************** "But the documents offer up flashes of detail about Mr. Bush's life in the six years after he finished college, as well as glowing evaluations of him as an officer and as a pilot that could help the White...