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AAHS Journal, Vol 66, No 4, Winter 2021

Hollywood, the Memphis Belle and the "Interpretative" Documentary

I read the article "Hollywood, the Memphis Belle and the ‘Interpretive’ Documentary" with great interest. Unfortunately, the section "The Real First" contains some errors worth addressing. The first is the claim that the B-17F Hell’s Angels was the first heavy bomber to finish 25 combat missions in the ETO (or alternately, over Europe) on "May 13, 1942 (sic)" (I believe the author meant 1943). The first to do so was actually the B-17F Delta Rebel No. 2 on May 1, 1943. This fact is acknowledged on the 303rd BG Association’s webpage, and the combat records that establish Delta Rebel’s 25th credited mission can be freely accessed on the Eighth Air Force Historical Society’s Facebook page (file uploaded on October 7, 2020).

The second error is that the B-24 Hot Stuff "flew about half of its approximately 30 combat missions over Europe." Hot Stuffll actually flew 26 credited missions with only three of these over northern Europe (and two of these three were credited aborts) and six over Italy (three on the mainland and three over Sicily, all of which were in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations). The remaining credited missions comprised ninve Atlantic/Bay of Biscay antisubmarine patrols flown from England and eight bombing missions against North African targets. Hot Stuff’s combat tour, which has been erroneously reported in numerous published materials, is addressed in detail in the recently published article "Expanding American Air Power’s Reach: Hot Stuff’s True Combat Record and Significance" in the Spring 2022 issue of Air and Space Power History magazine.

Lastly, the Memphis Belle did not return to the U.S. on May 19, 1943, this was the date of the aircraft’s 25th credited mission (and which took place after the Belle’s core crew finished their 25th mission on May 17th). The Memphis Belle returned to the U.S. in June 1943.

Best,
Jeff Duford

The Invisible Revolution by Dr. Allen Fuhs

The article by Dr Fuhs was a valiant attempt to explain aircraft technology "from 30,000 feet." It was a little difficult to follow in some areas, especially since he referred to Figure 13, which was omitted from the article, and Figures 25 and 26 were illustrated, but not explained in the text.

But that’s not the main reason for this message. On page 303, Dr Fuhs states, "In 1920, only two years after WWI, a record altitude of 37,000 feet was accomplished at McCook Field (now WPAFB) in Dayton, Ohio. This flight used oxygen in an enclosed cabin." The altitude record, the "genealogy" of McCook Field and the description of the cockpit are all incorrect. To wit: On February 27, 1920, Maj. Rudolph W. "Shorty" Schroeder flew a Packard Lepere L USA C.II biplane to try to set an altitude record. His barometer showed 37,000 feet, but when later recalibrated, his actual maximum barometric altitude was adjusted to 36,020 feet. After further examination, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale recognized the altitude record as being 10,093 meters (33,114 feet). The U.S. National Bureau of Standards, however, credited Schroeder with reaching 33,180 feet.

Although McCook Field was the site of Schroeder’s record, the field never became a part of WPAFB. McCook, which was located on the Miami River just north of downtown Dayton, was too small for test airplane operations, or many other aircraft, for that matter. Consequently, the engineering function (aircraft testing) at McCook was transferred to the new Wright Field (located about five miles northeast of downtown Dayton) in March 1927. Flying operations at McCook officially terminated in June 1927. The infrastructure at McCook was either dismantled and transported to Wright Field or demolished on site. Nothing was left of McCook by 1928.

The Packard Lepere airplane that Schroeder flew did not have an enclosed cabin. It had an open cockpit and Schroder had to wear a heavy flight suit and breathed oxygen through a tube inserted into a protective face mask. Schroeder may have lost consciousness during his flight, because the airplane dove nearly 30,000 feet before he pulled out and landed. Schroeder needed immediate medical attention after landing.

Just setting the record straight.

Michael P. Hoffman

Forum of Flight

Your contributor is quite right in identifying AS 94034 on a McCook Field photograph as a D.VII. Many times, its two seats foul people into thinking it was a C.I type. However, the one and only Air Service C.I was registered AS 68543. It . . .