Paul's Blog

The National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, ON, features a nice collection of aircraft, most of which served in the RCAF. A few examples are housed indoors, but most reside outside in the “airpark”.

Greeting visitors from the highway is an F-5 Freedom Fighter (technically the Canadair CF-116 variant) mounted in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn.

CF-116 (F-5) Freedom Fighter, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

CF-116 (F-5) Freedom Fighter, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

On the museum grounds, there is another example of this single seat jet fighter.

CF-116 (F-5) Freedom Fighter, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Canada’s first jet fighter — the Canadian-made Avro CF-100 Canuck. Janusz Żurakowski dove a CF-100 to the speed of sound in 1952, technically making it Canada’s first supersonic fighter.

Avro CF-100 Canuck, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The Canadair CF-114 Tutor is flown by Canada’s aerobatic flight team, the Snowbirds.

Canadair CF-114 Tutor, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The MiG-21 was a Cold War interceptor flown by the USSR and its allies.

MiG-21 “Fishbed”, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

MiG-21 “Fishbed”, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Canada flew a home-grown variant of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter built by Canadair — this model is a two seat training version.

Canadair F-104D Starfighter, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

CF-104D Starfighter Trainer, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The Labrador served in the RCAF from 1965 to 2004. This example was the last to fly in Canada.

Boeing Vertol Labrador CH113, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Still Canada’s front line fighter/bomber aircraft, the CF-18 Hornet built by McDonnell Douglas

McDonnell Douglas CF-18B Hornet, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Another home-build variant of an American classic jet fighter, the Canadair F-86 Sabre.

Canadair F-86 Sabre, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Canadair F-86 Sabre, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The Boeing B720 was used as a passenger aircraft, then engine test vehicle.

Boeing B720, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The C-130 Hercules is still a hard-working transportation aircraft in the RCAF.

C-130E Hercules, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was flown by the RCAF during the Cold War, 1971 to 1984.

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The Canadair Argus was used for maritime patrol.

Canadair Argus, CL-28/CP-107, Mark II, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

This example of the Hawker Hunter jet fighter/bomber flew with the Swiss Air Force aerobatic team.

Hawker Hunter, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Canadair built a version of the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer, the CT-133 Silver Star. Some are still in service with the Bolivian Air Force.

Canadair Silver Star, CT-133, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star Trainer, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

The deHavilland Tracker was a maritime patrol aircraft, flown from shore bases once it was retired from aircraft carrier duty.

de Havilland Tracker CP-121, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

French built SAGEM Sperwer drone was used in Afghanistan for reconnaissance duty between 2003 and 2009.

SAGEM Sperwer, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

A spectacular restoration of a Handley Page Halifax MK VII greets visitors as they enter the museum.

Handley Page Halifax MK VII, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Handley Page Halifax MK VII, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

Close up of the Halifax tail gun station.

Handley Page Halifax MK VII, Tail Turret, Canadian Air Force Museum, Trenton, ON

All in all, a terrific museum and staffed by an incredible team comprised mostly of volunteers. If you have the chance, go visit the Canadian Air Force Museum, just off Highway 401 in Trenton, ON, Canada.

On this date 70 years ago, a B-29 Superfortress piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets ushered in the Atomic Age when the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The B-29, named Enola Gay after Tibbets’ mother, took off from the tiny island of Tinian accompanied by two other B-29’s containing instruments and cameras. The sky over the primary target, Hiroshima, was clear and the bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped at 8:15AM.

The initial blast and subsequent firestorm caused by the sixteen kiloton explosion killed nearly a third of the population of the city, an estimated 70-80,000 people. Others succumbed to radiation poisoning in the months and years ahead.

There is much debate around the use of the atomic bomb to essentially end the war in the Pacific. While scenarios are argued over, there is no doubt that an invasion of the Japanese main islands would have cost many more lives than those taken by the atomic blasts and that the conventional firebombing of Tokyo was far more devastating to human life and property. Considering that 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed and only 216 taken prisoner during the Battle of Iwo Jima, it is self-evident that the casualties to the Japanese people during an invasion would have been monumental. After a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, the Empire of Japan finally surrendered and World War II ended.

Not be be lost in this retrospective is the fact that the scientists working on the Manhattan Project were responsible for an incredible technical achievement in designing and building an air dropped atomic bomb in 3 years. Atomic technology was unknown before the Manhattan Project and then changed the world forever early on the morning of August 6th, 1945.

Pencil on Canson watercolor paper — click on the image for a larger version.

The Enola Gay now resides at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Centre where she has been carefully restored.

Click on the image for a larger version.

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Francis Gary Powers U-2 Incident. In the late 50’s, the United States was desperate for information about the Soviet military capabilities, especially their bomber force and nuclear missile sites. Lockheed submitted a proposal developed by legendary aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson based on his high performance F-104 Starfighter interceptor, but it was rejected by the Air Force. The CIA, however, got wind of this and they contracted Lockheed to develop the high altitude reconnaissance aircraft that could overfly Russia and bring back photographic details of these installations. Johnson and his secret “Skunk Works” lab finished the U-2 prototype after only 8 months. During this period, the CIA even sent personal cheques to Johnson’s home in amounts totalling millions to keep the project funded while they worked through the red tape in Washington. To meet the required altitude requirements, Kelly drove his team to make the aircraft lighter and lighter, resulting in an airframe that met the requirements, but was quite flimsy. On one occasion, a worker dropped a wrench and it tore a hole in the thin metal fuselage.

The CIA commenced overflights of Russia and gained valuable intelligence. The planes were unmarked and flew with civilian pilots, some of whom were not even U.S. citizens. President Dwight Eisenhower personally authorized the flights and in the spring of 1960, he was getting more nervous about having a U-2 shot down over the Soviet Union. Despite his concerns, he authorized a mission to take place in late April that, due to weather considerations, was postponed until May 1st — May Day in the Soviet Union. The pilot for that fateful mission would be Francis Gary Powers, a Captain in the Air Force, but technically retired and operating as a civilian. He would overfly the Baikonur Cosmodrome, plutonium generating facilities, and other important installations after taking off from Peshawar, Pakistan with the intention of landing at Bodø, Norway.

Flying at 70,000ft, the U-2 was virtually immune to Soviet air defenses. The aircraft were tracked on radar even before they entered Soviet airspace, but there was nothing the frustrated Russians could do about it. Their interceptors would flame out long before they could get close to the U-2’s altitude and their surface-to-air missiles were not accurate enough to hit anything flying that high. Unfortunately for the U.S. and Powers, their luck had run out. The new SA-2 anti-aircraft missile was unleashed on Power’s U-2 and exploded near the high-flying plane. The concussion blast blew the wings off the U-2 and basically caused it to split in two. Powers was unable to hit the self-destruct button and barely escaped the plummeting wreckage. He bailed out and landed in a farmer’s field where he was immediately taken into custody.

Naturally, the backlash was enormous and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev played it up for all it was worth, letting Eisenhower dig himself a huge hole with his “off-course NASA plane” cover story. Powers was paraded in front of the cameras, as was the U-2 wreckage. Powers was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, but was returned home in a “spy exchange” in 1962 for Rudolph Abel. Some in the CIA suggested it was like trading “Mickey Mantle for a goddamn bullpen catcher.” This was only the beginning of a cold reception for Powers. Many criticized him for not making sure the U-2 self-destruct was activated and some went so far as to suggest he should have utilized the fatal poison needle device issued to all U-2 pilots to avoid telling the Soviets anything valuable. Eventually, a commission cleared Powers and commended him on his conduct under these difficult circumstances. He went on to work for Lockheed for several years as a test pilot, then flew a traffic helicopter for a Los Angeles news station. He died when his helicopter’s faulty fuel gauge caused him to run out of gas and crash. A hero to the end, the analysis of the crash revealed he potentially could have landed safely, but changed his course to avoid children he saw playing near his landing area.

The U-2 continues to fly today, used for high-altitude experiments as well as its original reconnaissance role. It is one of very few aircraft to be in service for over 50 years.

There are many artifacts relating to the Francis Gary Powers incident at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Below is the U-2C on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. This is not exactly like the plane used in 1960 in that it is actually a modified U-2A upgraded to a U-2C. You can get a good view of the huge glider-like wings that gave the U-2 lift even at 70,000ft.

Here is the camera used in the U-2 to photograph Soviet installations, designed by Edwin Land. These photos showed the CIA that the Soviets did not have nearly as many ICBM’s or strategic bombers as originally thought. This valuable intelligence was key in keeping the Cold War cold. A few years later, a U-2 flight would reveal Soviet missiles in Cuba and set off the Cuban Missile Crisis.

U-2 Pilot survival kit, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC.

U-2 Pilot mannequin demonstrating how the pilot lined up the camera, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC.

Francis Gary Powers artifacts from his imprisonment, including a rug he made and used to hide his diary, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. Click on the image for a larger version.

Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr.’s Footprint on the lunar surface, July 20, 1969

Using computers that were less powerful than a pocket calculator, let alone as sophisticated as a smartphone, NASA and the brilliant engineers who designed and built the Apollo spacecraft saw their efforts come to fruition 45 years ago tonight. Separating from the command module Columbia, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the surface in the lunar module Eagle and touched down in the Sea of Tranquility.

This has to be considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, technological achievements in human history. Navigating to the tolerances required to rendezvous with the moon and being able to successfully pilot a craft to the surface is only surpassed by the fact that all the Apollo lunar missions returned their crews to Earth safely.

Today is a day to reflect on what was accomplished and to ponder the potential of human ingenuity. As a species, history has shown that we can accomplish virtually anything if we put our minds to it.

For more details on the Apollo 11 mission, click here.

Pencil on Strathmore Multimedia board. Click on the drawing for a larger version.

Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins liftoff from Cape Kennedy on the mission that would put a man on the moon 45 years ago today.

Click on the image for a larger version.