Warplanes of the USA: Ohio, Historic Photos
Ohio Warplanes
(Master Sgt. Rob Wieland, USAF Photo)
General Dynamics F-16C Block 42F/G Fighting Falcons (Serial Nos. 89-2098 and 89-2112), 112th Fighter Squadron "Stingers", 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard during "Exercise Northern Edge '06", over Alaska on 14 June 2006.
(USAF Photo)
North American F-51D-25-NA Mustang (Serial No. 44-73348), 162nd Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, 1947. The 162nd FS flew the Mustang from 1947 to 1955.
(USAF Photo)
North American P-51H-10-NA Mustang (Serial No. 44- 64502), 164th Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, 1949.
(Bill Larkins Photo)
Curtiss C-46 Commando (Serial No. 44-77541), Ohio Air National Guard, ca 1950s.
(RuthAS Photo)
Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker of 160 ARW Ohio Air National Guard in 1974.
(USAF Photo)
Republic F-84E-25-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 51-508) from the 162nd Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard. The 162nd FS flew the Thunderjet from 1955 to 1957.
(USAF Photo)
Republic F-84E-25-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 51-508) from the 162nd Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.
(USAF Photo)
Republic F-84F Thunderstreaks, 164th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.
(USAF Photo)
Republic F-84F-25-RE Thunderstreak (Serial No. 51-1747), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, during Operation "Punchcard IV", ca 1960s. Note the open drag chute door, the chute was lost during flight because it was accidentally deployed.
(USGOV-PD Photo)
North American F-100F-10-NA Super Sabre (Serial No. 56-3859), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, 1974.
(USAF Photo)
LTV A-7D Corsair II (Serial No. 69-6222), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, 1971.
(USAF Photo)
LTV A-7D-5-CV Corsair II (Serial No. 69-6233), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, 1971.
(USAF Photo)
LTV A-7D Corsair II (Serial No. 69-6221), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, 1971.
(USAF Photo)
LTV A-7K Corsair II (Serial No. 80-0293), 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio Air National Guard, 1983.
(USAF Photo)
LTV A-7D Corsair II fighters from the 162d Tactical Fighter Squadron, 178th Tactical Fighter Group in flight Aircraft identified as (Serial Nos. 69-6222, 69-6233, 70-1053, and 71-1298), 1984.
(SSgt Jeffrey Allen, USAF Photo)
General Dynamics F-16C Block 30E Fighting Falcon (Serial No. 86-0364), armed with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, 2003.
(SSgt Jeffrey Allen, USAF Photo)
General Dynamics F-16C Block 30E Fighting Falcon (Serial No. 86-0364) assigned to the 162nd Fighter Squadron, 178th Fighter Wing, Ohio air National Guard,
(MSgt Jeremy Lock, USAF Photo)
General Dynamics F-16C Block 42E Fighting Falcon (89-2051), 12th Fighter Squadron, 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio ANG, Toledo, Ohio, 2012.
(Senior Master Sgt. Rasouliyan, USAF Photo)
Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker (Serial No. 61-0264), 121st Air Refueling Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, 2007.
(Technical Sgt. Lisa Haun, USAF Photo)
Lockheed C-130H Hercules (Serial No. 90-1794) from the 164th Airlift Squadron, 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, 2008.
(MSgt Lisa Haun, USAF Photo)
Alenia C-27J Spartan, 179 Airlift Wing, Ohio National Guard, Mansfield Lahm Airport, Ohio. The C-27J gives U.S. military troops a unique, short takeoff and landing capability, providing access to airstrips otherwise unreachable by fixed-wing aircraft.
(Staff Sgt. Joe Harwood, USAF Photo)
Alenia C-27J Spartan (Serial No. 87012), Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, 2011.
(ASC Historical Office, USAF Photo)
Packard-Le Pere LUSAC-11 biplane flown by Major Rudolph W. Schroeder, in which he set a 30,900 foot two-man altitude record over McCook Field, Ohio, 24 Sep 1919.
On the night of 14/15 August 1945, a Northrop P-61B Black Widow scored the last American kill of a Japanese fighter during the Second World War. The American aircraft was flown by LT Robert Clyde, with LT Bruce Leford as his radio operator (RO), both serving with the 548th Night Fighter Squadron (NFS). Their Black Widow, named “Lady in the Dark” forced a Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar) into the sea near Ie Shima. Although the war had officially ended at 0800 hours on 15 August 1945, the Lady in the Dark achieved a second kill that same night when CAPT (Solie) Soloman and his radio operator LT John Scheerer, forced a Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Tojo) into the Pacific. No shots were fired. Source: Larry Davis and Dave Menard, P-61 Black Widow in Action, Aircraft Number 106, squadron/signal publications, Carrollton, TX, 1990, p.27.
I had read of this account many years ago, and as an aviation enthusiast hoped one day to see a few of the surviving P-61s that can be found in air museums in the USA. The National Museum of the USAF at Dayton, Ohio has a P-61C, along with hundreds of other magnificent warbirds and historic aircraft in their collection. One could spend days just reading the information presented there. There are, however, other military aircraft preserved in Ohio.
The information about aircraft on display in the National Museum of the USAF is very well covered on their website and in their regularly updated museum brochure, but other warbirds that can be found in the state are not as well known or visited. For this reason, this handbook covers those aircraft in a bit more detail. The examples listed include Army, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft as well as the Air Force and several foreign warbirds that are on view in Ohio.
The history of the USAF is very well told and illustrated in the National Museum of the USAF. It begins with the Wright Flyer, which depended on the dihedral of its wings and the ability of the pilot to move his body from side to side, or forward and backward to alter the balance of his aircraft in order to control it. The US Navy is well represented in terms of aircraft elsewhere in the state. The remarkable collection held by Walter Soplata includes an example of the tailless Chance Vought F7U–3 Cutlass jet fighter. In a book written by the aviation author Martin Caiden, he described a flight demonstration in a Cutlass by a pilot named Paul Thayer who was putting on an airshow display over the Patuxtent River. Caiden saw Thayer roar in low over the airfield and then watched him pull up into a vertical climb to the “cheers of thousands.” Near the top of his climb, the entire aft end of the Cutlass burst into flames, followed by Thayer ejecting safely to the field below while the Cutlass crashed into Chesapeake Bay. Caiden noted that, “Thayer was a very smart man because that was his last flight in the Cutlass and he later became president of Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). Source: Martin Strasser Caiden, Test Pilots: Riding the Dragon, Bantam Books, New York, 1992, pp. 306-307.
This is the kind of imagery and story-telling often comes up when one has the opportunity to chat with present and former military pilots, many of whom you will encounter as you explore these museums, collections and walk around the various gate guardians in Ohio. I have also met many while participating in airshows as a skydiver. Airshows are a wonderful place to go “warbird hunting,” because they are often the best place to see the handful of former front-line warbirds which may still be seen aloft. The military aircraft that have been retired to museums, or are now standing as gate guardians outside their former airbases are still impressive. These aircraft are a significant part of our modern history, and they deserve to be remarked upon and remembered. For that reason, I felt there was a need for a handbook that could be used as a guide for aviation enthusiasts to point the way to where you can find those surviving warbirds in the state of Ohio.
While I was compiling this data, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of the pilots and warbird enthusiasts who are still actively flying the handful of original well-restored and airworthy warbirds like those remaining in Ohio. There are many with incredible aviation stories to tell. One man told me about his friend who kept up a continuous hunt for old warbirds until he died of cancer recently. On one expedition this individual had found a Ryan PT-22 Recruit trainer stowed away in near mint condition in an old barn located in a remote part of the state. Perhaps there are more discoveries like that one waiting to happen in Ohio.
This brings me to explain what this book is about. Many examples of aircraft that saw service with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), the United States Army Air Force (USAAF), the United States Navy (USN), The United States Marine Corps (USMC), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) have been or are currently being salvaged and preserved in Ohio, particularly where they are of significant historical interest. The Boeing P-26A “Peashooter” which was the first all-metal monoplane fighter produced for the US Army Air Corps in 1932, has been reproduced as a replica looking like it has just flown from the factory to the National Museum of the USAF. The YF-22 prototype Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) also made its way to the National Museum of the USAF in 1998. The X-classes of air research vehicles are very well represented in Ohio, and many are one-of-a kind. Not all of the most interesting warbirds are in museums, and as listed you will find that a good number are still flying in the hands of private owners.
The purpose of this handbook is to provide an update and a simple checklist of where the surviving military aircraft in Ohio are now, and to provide a photograph of a few of the major types mentioned. (For more detailed information and photographs, I highly recommend the most current edition of the United States Air Force Museum Brochure. A list is attached with an update to the information on Ohio Warplanes current to 2013. The original Ohio Warplane Survivor handbook is also appended with a brief summary of the military aircraft presently on display within the state by location, and a bit of each warbird’s history in US military service. Due to space limitations, a selection of only those Warbirds that can be found in Ohio is provided.
No list can ever be completely up to date, so if you as a reader have additional information to add, please forward an update to me at 176 McGibbon Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B9W9, or e-mail me at hskaarup@rogers.com.
It is my sincere hope that the list of Ohio Warplanes will continue to grow as more of them are recovered and restored. Grant that you find this handbook useful.
Per Ardua Ad Astra,
Ohio Warbird Survivors can be ordered online here:
Order Book: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000018607/Ohio-Warbird-Survivors-2003.aspx
Order book in Canada: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Ohio-Warbird-Survivors-Handbook-Where-Harold-A-A-Skaarup/9780595273041-item.html?ikwid=harold+skaarup&ikwsec=Books
