"BATTLE BORN!"

The Nevada Air Guard & the F-86

Thanks to Lt. Col. Cindy Kirkland, Nevada ANG PAO, for her help in preparing this article.

The Air National Guard in the state of Nevada was recognized on 12 April 1948 at Reno AFB, on the California-Nevada border. Equipped with North American P-51D Mustangs, the unit was organized as the 192nd Fighter Squadron, a direct descendant of the 408th Fighter Squadron which had served within the continental US during the war years. During the war in Korea, the 192nd was called to active duty and redesignated the 192nd Fighter Bomber Squadron. Still equipped with F51Ds, the squadron was based at Bergstrom AFB, TX, George AFB, CA, and Keflavik, Iceland, before being returned to state control on I December 1952 and reassigned to Reno.

On 1 June 1955, the squadron was again redesignated, now as the 192nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron with an air defense mission under Air Defense Command. However. the unit was still equipped with F-5 I Ds. Less than a decade after the Nevada Air National Guard's humble beginnings, the unit entered another era - the jet Age. In July 1955, the squadron took delivery of two brand new Lockheed T-33A jet trainers.

The reason for the two-seat jet trainers? The 192nd FlS was going to re-equip with the North American F-86A Sabre, the aircraft that had just recently returned from combat against the Soviet MiG in Korea. Many of the F-86As were combat veterans???? (check serial lists) but still had plenty of flying and fight left in them.

Training in the T-33 'T-Birds' continued throughout the Summer of 1955. Finally, on 1 November 1955, the F-86A entered service with the 192nd FIS at Reno. As a fig hter interceptor squadron, the mission of the 192nd Was coastal air defense. With a patrol radius of 350 miles, the aircraft could intercept inbound targets over the San Francisco area, or deploy south to Nellis to help cover the Los Angeles area. Two aircraft were employed on a constant 24 hour alert status, fully armed with I800 rounds of .50 caliber, and ready to go at a moment's notice.

The day fighter era ended in 1958, when the 192nd transitioned into the all-weather interceptor era in the F-86L. The first of twenty-five F-86Ls arrived in April 1958. Assigned to the 28th Air Division, the 192nd was completely equipped and combat ready in the all-weather F-86L on 1 August 1958. With the F-86L, the alert status was changed from two to five aircraft on 24 hour alert. Group status was achieved on 1 April when the 152nd Fiohter Group (Air Defense) was organized as the parent unit to the 192nd FIS at Reno.

Many of the F-86L aircraft were personalized with the names of towns in Nevada, such as City of Las Vegas, City of Tonapah, City of Elko, etc, all painted upon the state map which adorned the vertical tail The Group Commander flew aircraft #53-0915 "City Of Reno".

Aircraft markings included a varying number of stripes to indicate rank, either in the unit or in the air -four stripes was the Group Commander, three for Squadron CO, two was the Operations Officer, and one stripe was a Flight Commander. The aircraft were all in natural metal except for Day-Glo bands applied in 1959.

In the Spring of 1961 the Sabre era ended. The 192nd was slated to transition into the Martin RB-57B Canberra jet bomber. As such, it Nevada relieved on its air defense mission on 31 December 1960. The last F-86L flight took on 31 March 1961. One F-86L remains and is displayed at Idlewild Park in Reno.


"MACH BUSTER"

by George Marrett

After graduation from Basic Flying School at Webb AFB, TX in April 1959, my wife and I packed up again, our third move in my twelve month Air Force career. My next assignment was a six month Advanced Flying School at Moody AFB, near Valdosta, GA, flying the F86L advanced version of the F-86D Sabre Dog, assigned to the 3553rd Flying Training Squadron.

Our 1958, robin's egg blue MGA roadster made the trip from Texas to Valdosta, GA, which was located about 80 miles east of my Primary Flying School assignment at Bainbridge, where I'd flown the T-34 and T-37 only six months earlier. The Moody flight training area encompassed the Okefenokee Swamp, a huge wildlife refuge that consisted mostly of moonshiners and alligators.

The F-86D/L was a single seat, all-weather interceptor. Over 2500 were produced by North American during the 1950s. With the Hughes E-4 fire-control radar, 12 inch extended wingtips, 24 2.75" rockets, and an afterburner, the F-86L was an interceptor stationed at bases along both coasts and the northern border with Canada. Under control of Air Defense Command, the F-86L mission was to intercept and destroy Russian bombers attempting to penetrate to the heartland of the US. Although unglamiorous compared to its day fighter brothers, the Sabre Dog held several world speed records while defending the Free World during the early stages of the Cold War.

Checkout in the F-86L consisted of a ground school, simulator and flying training. The simulator training focused on aircraft performance, emergency procedures, and airborne intercept tactics. Since there was no dual control F-86 for pilot training, passing the final simulator check was all that stood between me and my first solo. After much study and hours sweating out the multitude of emergency procedures, I finally passed my simulator 'check ride' and was scheduled for my first flight.

Four years earlier, my cousin had married a jet pilot Major Charles 'Chuck' Teater, a veteran of World War Two and Korea. At that time, he was a Dog pilot flying out of Sioux City, ]A. Chuck was the first jet pilot I had ever met, and he invited me to be an usher at his wedding. But in 1959, Chuck was an instructor at Moody, and would chase me on my first flight in the Sabre Dog.

Climbing into the F-86L was easy enough, once my knees stopped shaking from excitement. The view from the cockpit was excellent. You sat much higher above the ramp than in the T-33. Looking back at the wing, I became conscious of the drooping leading edge slats and the odd excitement of a wing sweeping back at 35°. The F-86L had a combined one piece movable stabilizer and elevator. The flight controls were light in both pitch and roll. As I made a full sweep of the cockpit, I was ready to taxi.

When the control tower cleared me onto the runway, I thought I could hear my own heart beating. In takeoff position, I set the brakes, ran the engine up to military power, and checked the flight controls one last time. Releasing the brakes, I lit the afterburner, remembering to make sure the variable nozzle opened. My instructor had warned me that if the nozzle didn't open, the back pressure in the engine would cause the RPMs to slow down. Then the electronic fuel control would sense the low RPMs and add more fuel, which caused even more back pressure, which dropped the RPMs even more and still more fuel would be added to the fire. After 14 seconds of this, the aircraft would explode in a ball of fire.

I finally found the nozzle gauge on the instrument panel - OPEN! But by the time I looked up again, I had exceeded the takeoff speed. Pulling back hard on the control stick, I made one of the fastest rotations and steepest takeoffs ever made at Moody. I retracted the gear as soon as I could find the handle, and started to climb. At about 180 knots, the slats retracted and Chuck joined up with me. We leveled off at 20,000 feet and I got my first chance to maneuver the Sabre as the designers had intended.

Unlike the T-33, with its slow roll rate caused by the weight of two wingtip fuel tanks, the F-86L rolled smartly with just a small amount of aileron movement. Using 250 knots as an aim speed, I slowly rolled into a 3G turn. Both slats started to creep open. Chuck warned me that if only one slat came out, the added lift on one side could cause the bird to roll inverted and possibly fall off into a spin. But it didn't. My Sabre flew like a dream. I felt like I'd been flying the Sabre forever.

Next I got to push the power up to full military, dive at 300 and accelerate to 400 knots. With a smooth application of 4Gs, I looped the Sabre, going over the top at 150 knots.. Next came several Immelmanns and a Cuban Eight. For the first time in my life, I was flying a jet fighter. It was a dream come true. I rolled into a high 'G' descending turn and pretended I was closing on a Russian MiG. "Pow-pow-pow", I spoke to myself in the oxygen mask, making sure I didn't transmit over the radio. Chuck might think I'd lost my sanity.

After feeling the Sabre out at altitude, it was time to enter the traffic pattern. Chuck followed me as I made multiple low approaches, before making the landing. Concentrating on holding the correct pattern speed, I rolled out on final and called Moody Tower for clearance to land. The tower cleared me to land on the one runway, then cleared Chuck to land on the other, parallel runway.

I heard the transmission, but thought the tower had cleared me to land on the parallel runway. I angled over to the other runway. Seeing my mistake, the tower cleared Chuck to land on the runway I had originally been assigned. Again, upon hearing the new radio call, I thought it was intended for me and reversed back to the first runway and landed. Meanwhile, Chuck was doing S-tums behind me planning to land on whichever runway I didn't use! After landing, Chuck remarked that we looked like an aerobatic team.

One entire training flight in the F-86L was devoted to supersonic flight. Using the 'burner, I climbed to 40,000 feet, leveled off, and accelerated to .9 Mach. Still in full power, I rolled the aircraft inverted and pulled the nose straight toward the ground, aiming at an imaginary moonshiner's still in the heart of the swamp. At about 30,000 feet, the L exceeded the speed of sound and created a sonic boom for all the 'gators to bear. For me, their was no physical sensation when I broke the sound barrier. All I could see was a jump in the Mach meter. In seconds it was over. The boom ended, most of the fuel was depleted, and I was back in the Moody landing pattem. For breaking the sound barrier, a pilot received a North American Aviation "Mach Buster" card and tie tack. It was another rung in the ladder to becoming a fighter pilot.

In October 1959, with 77 flight hours in the Sabre Dog and the end of my advanced flying school program fast approaching, I anxiously awaited my first permanent assignment. I had been promoted to 1st Lieutenant by then. The assignments were based entirely on class standing, not on recomendations from instructors. All 39 graduating pilots gathered in the base auditorium. There were 39 assignments listed - from fighters to bombers, with base location and aircraft type chalked on a blackboard. The top ranking pilot bad his choice of any squadron and airplane type listed. After he chose, the squadron that he selected was erased and the next highest ranking pilot would choose.

My position was 9th, plenty high enough to assure that I would get a fighter assignment. But now I had raised my personal expectations - I wanted to fly the Century Series fighter aircraft, and somewhere other than the hot and humid South. The Century Series fighters were the newest aircraft in the Air Force, and all flew faster than the speed of sound in level flight, not in a dive as required by the F-86.

Luck came my way. This time the blue MGA roadster would cross the entire United States, ending in California. My new squadron was to be the 84th FIS at Hamilton AFB, CA. And I was flying the Mach 1.73 McDonnell F-101B Voodoo. I was anxious to leave Georgia for California. But I was very thankful that I had had a chance to fly the Sabre for at least a few hours. And of course, with all my supersonic experience, my assignment in Vietnam was in the low and slow Douglas A-1 Skyraider, nicknamed the "Spad" for obvious reasons


CALL SIGN - SHARKBAIT

The 720th Fighter Bomber Squadron

by Bill Caffery

The 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron was activated at Ladd AFB, Alaska, on 25 December 1953, with the call sign SHARKBAIT. Our first Squadron CO was Lt.Col. Harold Graham. The mission of the 720th was threefold: Maintain air superiority over the Alaskan Territory (It wasn't a state yet.), provide close air support to Army units in that theater, and gather operational/ maintenance cold weather test data. Upon activation, the 720th received twenty-eight brand new F-86Fs twenty new F-30s from North American/Inglewood, and eight Columbus-built F-25s.

Most of the thirty-six squadron pilots were in place by April 1954, with many of them coming in fresh from Class 53F at the Nellis AFB Fighter School. Unit personnel occupied an old WW2 hangar, and personal equipment was very limited. We had to share everything with a TDY SAC unit. Following a short orientation schedule, the 720th began flight operations in February 1954. On 17 May 1954, the squadron moved to Eielson AFB on the Tanana River, about twenty-six miles from Fairbanks. At Eielson, we again shared the base with a TDY SAC outfit. Operations worked out of four portable 'shacks' that were adjacent to a very large hanger. Again, we had to share the hanger with first B-36, then later, B-47 maintenance crews.

We had five flights within the 720th - A, B, C, D, and E. I was in Flight D. Our aircrews rotated alert duty between Ladd, Eielson, Galena AB (about 250 miles west of Fairbanks on the Yukon River), Nome Field (on the Seward Peninsula adjacent to Norton Sound), and Kotzebue Field (just north of Seward Peninsula across the Kotzebue Sound). All the aircrews had to complete the three day Alaska Air Command Arctic Indoctrination School, at Fairbanks.

During 1954 and 1955, the squadron participated in various missions. Air to air gunnery missions were flown west of Eielson, while air to ground missions were flown at the Blair Lake Range, which was about 20 miles west of Eielson. Many close air support practice missions were flown in conjunction with Army units stationed at Fort Richardson. We also flew support missions from King Salmon Field near Bristol Bay with US Navy units.

Weather was a major problem as you can imagine. And the problems lasted for about eight months in any given year. Aircraft had to be moved into the main hanger, or heaters were used on the flightline to keep fingers from freezing when touching the ice cold metal skin. There was also a problem with a lack of field maintenance support, including experienced F-86 mechanics and specialists. An in-house training program was conducted by the two North American Tech Reps assigned to the squadron.

But that was just the beginning. A lack of field maintenance support presented a problem with spares and test equipment. Spare engines, repairable assemblies, and many items of test equipment were not authorized for use in the tactical squadron maintenance operation. For example, there was a lack of tailpipe temperature calibration equipment. This resulted in heat damage in the combustion chamber after about 3-400 hours of operation. A special inspection of all the J47s revealed an extensive problem, and additional engine parts had to be requisitioned. Some time later, the proper calibration equipment arrived, and all tail pipe temperatures were quickly re-calibrated, cockpit guages were replaced, and the consumption of parts returned to normal.

A true cold weather problem was that of ice crystals forming in the JP4 jet fuel. Pilots began reporting rough engine operations and fuel flow fluctuation. But the condition couldn't be duplicated on ground run-ups. One day, one of the Sabres landed, the engine was pulled immediately due to a pilot 'write-up' for the above conditions. When the fuel filter was removed, it was clogged with ice crystals. Fuel additives and water separators alleviated the problem. Most of the problems could be traced to the fuel being delivered in 55 gallon drums, which could develop a moisture problem.

One of the most notable accomplishments of the 720th FBS was its safety record - we NEVER lost an F-86. After the squadron became operational (February 1954), it maintained a high OR rate, logging over 1000 flying hours per month in June, July, and August 1955.

Another source of pride to all former members of the 720th was the aerobatic team. They were known as the Arctic Gladiators (UGH!), with Lt.Col. Graham as Leader; Capt. R.E. Ross on Left Wing, Capt. L.J. Lynch on Right Wing, and Capt. T.B. Stables in the Slot. Strangely, our Supply Officer - Capt. Bill Patillo - wasn't a member of the team, even though he had been with the Skyblazers and Thunderbirds teams. All performances were limited to the bases in Alaska. On 8 August 1955, the 720th FBS designation was changed to the 455th FBS, with Major Bob Bell as Squadron CO. In November 1955, the squadron launched, on schedule, for its next post - Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, where it was assigned to the 323rd Fighter-Bomber Wing, transitioning into the F-100A Super Sabre in late 1956 in preparation for the coming of the new F-100D. The 720th Squadron was reactivated at Foster AFB, but was now designated a Fighter Day Squadron, and was equipped with F-100Cs


HASSLING THE METEOR

by "Tex" Henry

I graduated with 53-B at Foster AFB, TX, and was excited to be on my way to the fighting in Korea. Then the war ended. Our orders (there were five of us) were changed and we headed for Europe. RAF Manston to be exact, by way of the all-weather school at Moody AFB, GA. The diversion to Moody made a lot of sense later after being exposed to the English weather.

The RAF base at Manston had been built during World War Two as a primary recovery station for shot up aircraft returning from missions against Nazi Germany. It was the most eastern base in England, and right on the Channel just north of Dover. Manston had a 750 foot wide runway, plenty wide enough to accomodate a four ship takeoff and landing in the Sabre, which we performed on a fairly regular basis. The main runway had a diagonal grass strip that many of the RAF aircraft, like the Meteor, Vampire, and Venom, used. Their aircraft weren't as sophisticated as ours and could use the grass strip with ease.

When we arrived at Manston, we were assigned to the 406th Fighter Bomber Wing, in one of its three squadrons - the 512th, 513th, and 514th. The 406th was still equipped with Republic F-84E Thunderjets, but were about to receive new F-86F Sabres. I was assigned to the 512th Squadron, checking out in the '84 and flying it for about 25 to 30 hours before transitioning into the Sabre. At the time, I was one of fourteen second lieutenants assigned to the squadron.

Once we got into the Sabre, we spent much of our airborne time hassling with the RAF. Their first line fighter was the Gloster Meteor Mk. IV. They hadn't received any of the Canadair Sabre 4s yet. The Meteor was the jet replacement for the Spitfire, and had about the same turning capability - very tight. The British believed in aircraft that turn. And more than one RAF pilot claimed that the Meteor could be cart-wheeled! Some of that was in bar talk, but some was in ernest. I was told you could roll the thing into a 90° bank, throttle the low side engine back to idle, go full bore on the high side engine, and with full low side rudder - BAM! End over end! However, I never saw one do it.

One day eight of our Sabres had engaged a similar number of Meteors a bit north of London. In the melee that ensued, I ended up behind a Meteor in an excellent bounce position. I pulled in behind him and started taking gun camera film of him when suddenly, his right engine blew up, with turbine wheel and pieces flying off. I followed him down to see if he would make it into an emergency field. But anyone who has ever flown in England knows that you are seldom out of gliding distance of some kind of airstrip.

The Meteor pilot made a safe landing and our flight rejoined to return to Manston. Suddenly, there was another Meteor flying with us. And not just with us, he was flying on my wing. Later on, I found out that he was checking to see if my gun ports were blackened. They thought I was using live ammo and had shot down the Meteor! Upon my return to Manston, I was met by the DO of the 406th. He asked if I had taken pictures of 'the event'. I replied to the affirmative, whereby he took my film to show it to the RAF and prevent a flap with them. I never heard any more about it, so I guess we avoided a second Battle of Britain.

In early 1954, the 513th and 514th Squadrons converted to F-86D all-weather interceptors. We in the 512th kept our '86Fs and in late 1954 moved to Soesterberg AB, Holland (the envy of all the USAFE troops). In September 1955, the 512th Squadron was re-designated the 32nd Fighter Day Squadron and assigned to the 36th Fighter Day Wing at Bitburg, Germany. The Royal Dutch Air Force was equipped with British Meteors, so we continued our 'aerial combat' with them - with an occasional joust with the RCAF guys and their new Sabre Mk. 6s based in France. Now that was a real 'hassle'. I departed Soesterberg in early 1957 and was reassigned to Nellis.