The A-12 Avenger II Program - The Fat Lady Finally Sang
I'm embarrassed to say that I neglected to cap this story off when she did back on 24 January 2014. The settlement, according to a Reuters article, was:"(T)he Navy will receive three EA-18G electronic...
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One More Time, The Grumman F12F
This is not the Grumman F12F:It is the Grumman G118, proposed to the Navy in December 1955. The Navy rejected it because they didn't want a second development program of a fighter powered by two J79s...
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F-111A vs B - What Drove the Weight?
Another opportunity to set the internet record straight: what drove the F-111's empty weight? Some assume that it was the Navy's carrier-basing requirement. That's not only in question but some of the...
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Kneeled Deck Parking
It seemed like a good idea at the time. The U.S. Navy's first carrier-based jet, the McDonnell F2D-1/F2H-1 Phantom, had conventional folding wings to maximize the number that could be parked on deck or...
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North American FJ-1 Carrier Operations
In the process of doing some research for another author on the North American FJ-1 Fury, I discovered another error in my book, Naval Air Superiority. The known errata, including this one, can be...
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Naval Aviation Centennial Newsletters
While looking for something else, I discovered that the Centennial of Naval Aviation newsletters issued beginning in 2009 to publicize the year-long event in 2011 are still available online:These...
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Strike from the Sea
Specialty Press has formally notified me that they have zero stock and it will not be reprinted. It got pretty good reviews on Amazon. If it's anything like Scooter!, which has been out of stock at...
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United States Marine Corps Aircraft Since 1913
The latest aircraft reference book from E.R. Johnson is United States Marine Corps Aircraft Since 1913, published by McFarland. The breadth and depth of its content will be familiar to you if you have...
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Grumman TS-2A on Fire
Every once in a while, a picture of a Grumman TS-2A (S2F-1T) with the port-engine propeller feathered and the engine nacelle engulfed in flame gets posted with a request for more information, which is...
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Was the Navy's F-111 Really That Bad?
It was with some trepidation that I awaited the subject article by Robert Bernier in the September 2018 issue of Air&Space Smithsonian. I thought it likely that it would be yet another ill-informed...
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F-4 Flying Under the Golden Gate Bridge
This picture of an F4H about to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge appears from time to time, rarely with the explanation. The comments usually include statements that it is a fake, imaginative...
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Birth of a Legend, McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II
I've been perfecting my latest and very likely last monograph/book for almost as long as my first, U.S. Naval Air Superiority. At some point, however, you have to either declare victory or surrender if...
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Well, That Was Colorful
On 4 November 1981, a visiting Marine pilot flying an RF-4B made his first catapult launch in a Phantom, which required a bit of finesse with the stick. At the time, the technique was to use full aft...
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Meet the Author
I will be at the IPMS/USA National Convention (http://www.ipmsnationals.com/) in Chattanooga, TN, in the vendor room, section 37, selling my books (see http://tommythomason.com/) and signing your...
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U.S. Navy F-84 Thunderjet
When I first saw this picture I thought it might have been Photoshopped:The designation, F84-CKX, also looked bogus (the dash number is in the wrong place, this was reportedly an F-84B, and the "X"...
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F8U-3 vs F4H-1 Dogfights at Patuxent River?
Often when the subject of the Vought F8U-3 comes up on the internet, someone posts something like "Crusader 3 test pilots would often jump the Navy pilots flying the F4H out of Pax River and get the...
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Angelo Romano's USN Electronic Agressors Parts 1 and 2
Angelo sent me copies of his latest monographs a couple of months ago. They are so impressive and comprehensive that my words failed me when I sat down to review them. Fortunately, there have been more...
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U.S. Navy 1950s Light-Attack Jet Programs
By January 1952, nuclear weapons light enough to be carried by tactical fighters and bombers had been qualified and were being stockpiled.The Mk 7 was an implosion-type device, which meant it was...
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F8U-3 Monograph - Last Chance
A big part of the McDonnell F4H-1 story is the fly off with Vought's F8U-3, the best airplane that the Navy didn't buy, according to George Spangenberg, the Director of BuAer's Evaluation Division at...
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Carrier Landing: Inflight versus Free-flight Engagements
2 August: Well, this is embarrassing. I inadvertently reversed the designations of Inflight and Free-Flight. Thanks to Oscar Meyer for the correction.If you're unfamiliar with the function of the...
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