anyone at March AFB 1950

Comments: I would like to contact anyone that was at March AFB in 1950

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B-29 4486351

Comments: Would like to contact anyone who flew on 351

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B 29 crew members

Comments: Would like to hear from anyone who was at Kadena in 1950

Keywords: 2nd. Bomb Sqd. 22nd. Bomb Wing, B29 No. 902

Radar Observer on B-29

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Keywords: I joined the 22nd Bomb Wing, 2nd Bomb Squadron in Janurary 1952. Our crew was a reservist crew from Randolph Field, Tx. Lt. Col William Smith was Squadron Commander, Maj. Eugene Marks was Operations officer. I flew with most of the crews in our squdaron. A/C's- Capt. King, Capt. Manning, 1st Lt. Stoneking(my A/C) and others. Bombardiers-Lt Kincade. Lt. Simmons(my bombardier), Lt. Prince---Navigators-Lt Brown, Capt. Daughter, Capt. Wilson 2nd Lt Carson(my navigor)----Radar Observers-myself, Capt O'Riely, Major Purdom. I was there from Jan 1952 to Jan 1953. Claude Maberry 905 E Renfro Burleson,Texas 76028

Blue Tail Fly B-29

Comments: My Father, Ernest Lloyd Thompson was a tail gunner, then top turret gunner/engineer on B-17s in the 419th BS from July 1943 until finishing 50 missions in March 1944. After leaving Italy he went to Pyote, Texas. To skip ahead he got into B-29s at Roswell in May 1947. He left there on 2/9/1950 for March AFB where he joined the 2nd BS of the 22nd Bomb Wing/Group. They departed for Kadena I think from March Field on July 5, 1950. They arrived Kadena on July 9. He flew all 29 of his missions in B-29A-40-BN, 44-61693, between 13 July 1950 and 19 October 1950 (his 27th birthday). My Dad had written about 693 in one place saying, "...B-29 #693 took us there from California, flew 29 missions without serious malfunction. 693 was taken from us and killed the next crew that flew her." Dad passed away on April 13, 2004. I am making a study of his B-29 flying career. 44-61693 was originally called "The Blue Tail Fly". Note this is NOT the Bluetailfly 42-65272 that had different nose art, and is better known. Dad's ship had basically the same fly as the 2nd Bomb Squadron patch (I wish I still had that, a neighbor kid took it when I was 12-years old) making a smoke trail in the shape of a 2 on I believe a lighter blue rounded-corner square. Bill Busacker and Chuck Otte are posed by the nosegear on a photo of it I have. No name was painted at least at the time of the two photos I have of her with this name. Dad says a directive was issued requiring no Squadron or Group numerical identification being depicted in large numerals on the airplane. Therefore the big white smoke-trail 2 had to go. My second photo shows two guys on a scaffold when it was being removed. They then renamed the ship ZE TAINT! I also have two snapshots of the nose in this configuration. You can still see the faint outline of the old square. The "ZE" is in fairly plain skinny block letters fairly small below the rear cockpit window. The "TAINT" is in fancy letters at least four times larger and I'd guess they were black with a thin red (maybe) highlight around each. The script is reminiscent of how the gangs nowadays paint their stuff on railroad cars. Big fat run-together fancy lettering. A very long skinny exclamation mark then follows half-again the length of the TAINT letters at a 65 to 75-degree or so angle. No nose art picture, but then how could you depict that? Dad's photo albums also included MISSION INN (with the bomb, not the insect), ATOMIC TOM, SAD SAC, SHEEZ-A GOER, SAC MATE, FOUR-A-BREAST, The GYPSY, PURPLE SHAFT, Peacemaker, and 44-62060A (left side close-up with some of the DVCEMVS shield emblem visible and Phil Manton applying new Bomb Mission symbols. A note my dad wrote says he was later killed in action.) Dad's name appears on a crew list stenciled down the left nose on another B-29, a -75-BW model, 44-70073A which he flew in a bunch in 1951 back Stateside. 1st Lt. (later Capt.)Daniel H. Quirk was the commander. My dad had soloed in an Stinson L-5 in 1945 and had bought a Waco UPF-7 in 1946 in Arizona after building hours in all sorts of aircraft (Stinsons, Culvers, Fairchilds {including a rare surplus AT-21 twin Ranger V-12}, AT-6, BT-15, Cessna 140, Luscombe, Piper J-2, J-3, etc., even a P-63 Kingcobra.). When flying with Capt. Quirk he was allowed to fly the B-29 whenever possible and Quirk encouraged him to go to pilot training. Dad stayed enlisted retiring as a Senior Master Sergeant in 1963. He did go on to be a professional pilot and ended his flying career in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. With the USAF after 1952 he flew KC-97s and KC-135s as a boom operator. Back to the crew of -70073A there was copilot B.N. Jeffery, navigator W.T. Cook, bombardier N.E. Tuntland, radar B.E. Purdom, FE Clyde D. Adams, Dad was CFC, RO was William F. Busacker, Tail Gunner Harry E. Beatty, left gunner Paul Osborn, and right gunner was Don C. Weber. Their crew chief then was L.L.Campbell. Dad knew Purdom well having flown with him beginning at Roswell and he was later with him at the 93rd Bomb wing at castle AFB where he became a Colonel and Dad thinks maybe later a General. I would like to learn much more about the B-29s of the 22nd Bomb Wing and 2nd BS in particular. I'd like copies of any 2nd BS photos very much! Any ideas where to go to look either in books or on websites? I have a few B-29 books but 2nd BS photos are rare. Dad has many in-flight and flightline photos where tail numbers can be read but not any nose art besides those listed above. Some of these are 44-27292, 44-86351, 44-69661, 44-87690, and I think 44-86401.

Would like to hear from any 2nd BS B-29 people!

Lowell Thompson Kellogg, Idaho

Keywords: 29 missions on B-29A 44-61693 Blue Tail Fly, later ZE TAINT.

CORRECTION

Comments: i have an article at top of page. I made a mistake when I mentione that the wing was from barksdale. The 22nd, I believe was from March Field, Calif. Sorry for the mistake. So far, I haven't heard from anyone. John

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KADINA AIR BASE OKINAWA

Comments: AFTER ARRIVING BACK TO MARCH, I TRANSFERED IN TO AIR BASE RADIO MAINTENCE. MY SUPERVISOR WAS S/SGT SAM KEGG WHO I WAS WITH IN THE 2ND BOMB SQUADRON AND WAS A RADIO OPERATOR. WHEN SAM GOT ORDERS TO GO TO RANDOLPH AFB TO TRAIN B-29 CREWS, HE ARRANGED IT THAT I WOULD TAKE HIS PLACE AS RADIO OPERATOR INSTRUCTOR, RANDOLPH AFB, TEX FROM RANDOLPH, I WAS ASSIGNED TO BASE OPERATIONS AS A RADIO OPERATOR, AT ANDREWS AFB, FLYING VIP TO VARIOUS PLACES IN THE WORLD. NEXT, I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 44TH AIR TRANSPORT SQUADRON, A LINE RADIO OPERATOR, FLYING A SCHEDULE OF TWO TRIPS TO GREENLAND THEN ONE TRIP TO FRANKFURT, GERMANY, NEXT, 58TH AIR RESCUE IN TRIPOLI LIBYA FOR FOUR YEARS. THEN BILOXI AS RADIO OPERATOR INSTRUCTOR. CHANGED CAREER FIELDS TO SMALL ARM TECHNICIAN (FIRING RANGES) RETIRED IN 1965

Keywords: T/SGT PETERSON,RIGHT SCANNER, M/SGT "GOOK" CLARK, S/SGT ENOS COLE, CFC GUNNER,CPL CONATY LEFT SCANNER,LT LATTA BOMBARDIER, LT QUIRK AC,

KADINA AIR BASE OKINAWA

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@nd Bomb Squadron

Comments: I was with the 98th at Yokota, Japan for two years, 1950-52.

I have all 3,965 B-29 serial numbers and am in the process of TRYING to math the S/N with the Name-Nose Art, unit of assignment, final disposition and date. I have "some" information on more than 1,000 of them so far.

Harry Bishop wrote asking for information on "902". But did not leave an Email

As an example here are the possible S/Ns of his aircraft. 42-24902 42-93902 44-61902 44-69902 44-83902

Once I have the FULL S/N, I can find the unit it was assigned to and the final disposition.

Herb Harper, Historian 98th Vets Assoc. WEB: www.pyramidiers.com

Keywords: 98th Bomb Group Pyramidiers

2nd. Bomb Sqd.

Comments: Aircraft # 902 flew 28 missions over Korea and we left Okinawa the day China entered the War. We had to leave good old 902 behind to replace one of the B-29's lost by the 19th. Bomb Wing. Each Sqd. in the 22nd. left 2 B-29,s behind for this reason and when we returned to March AFB we went up to Ogden, Utah and received an overhaled B-29 but I Don,t remember the seril No. of this aircraft. 902 was a great airoplane and I flew almost around the World in her. From March to England, to Germany, to Saudia Ariba, back to March and then to Kadena. I just hope she served the 19th. bomb Grp well.

Keywords: I was an A&E Mechanic assigned to B-29 aircraft # 902 2nd Bomb Sqd. 1st. Lt. Danny Quirk, Aircraft Comander. M/Sgt. George Myers, Crew Chief.

2nd. Bomb Sqd. 22nd. Bomb Wing

Comments: I was an A&E assigned to B-29 at Kadena AFB, Okinawa in 1950 Aircraft 461902

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Anyone remember Don Knight - Navigator

Comments: Was my father a part of this squadron? If so can you tell me a story? I miss my dad! He was always my greatest hero... He passed away back in 1991, but he still watches the flights come and go from March Field. I buried him across from the flightline at the beautiful Veterans Cemetery! Man, I sure would like to throw one back with him! I still remember some of the celestial navigation he taught me as a child pointing to the stars...God Bless you all for making our country great!

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March AFB from March 52 thru March 53 2nd Bomb Sqdn.

Comments: Any one remember Lt. Col. Bill Smith? Or 661.

Keywords: Bogee and Keating are you out there.

would like to find out if my DFC was approved by the 22nd Bomb group the 2nd sq apvd it and it went

Comments: UNKNOWN MEMBER OF 2ND SQ

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2nd, Bomb Sqdn. Member

Comments: The 22nd was actually TDY to Kadena, Okinawa from March, AFB, Riverside, CA. When the crew of aircraft armorers of which I was a part, arrived in early July, 1950, they had cooks and anyone else that would volunteer, loading bombs for the next days mission. The armament crews had been "borrowed" by our CO., Col. James V. Edmundson, from various SAC bases in the ZI. There was almost no place to sleep and they was in the process of building a tent city in a gulley along side of the runway at Kadena.

The people loading bombs when we arrived was very happy to see us and dropped everything and disappeared very quickly from sight. This was about 1pm., and we worked well into the night to finish loading the mission. With no light to find a place to sleep, the mosquitoes nearly ate us alive the first night.

Sanitary conditions proved to be very poor and typhoons contributed to the spread of the age old enemy of troops quartered in primative conditions. We had to strike our tents three times to avoid them being blown away. Followed by proliferation of hoards of the common housefly that bred and spread disease (diahrea) from open pit latrines, situated in to close proximity to mess tent facilities.

I remember many of the names of the TDY crewmen that served with me on the loading crews. They are: John J. Christy, Donald Moore, Robert Eddington, Karl Edlund, Jim Church, Hector Rodriquez, Ted Bevers, Rudolph Drabeck, Charles Bonner: The following are last names only: Staley, Marshal, and Popov. There were many others but their names escapes me after 49 years.

My group that hailed from Castle AFB Merced Calif loaded bombs from practically sunup to sundown and hardly looked up from the time we arrived until we left as suddenly as we had arrived. We had a job to do and did it well with few exceptions. There were instances when we almost blew ourselves up.

One instance that will reside in my memory as long as I live was when a 500 lb bomb fell from the top of the bombay and landed on the concrete just inches from my feet. I still get goose bumps remembering the incident. There was enough explosive near us that had it went off the place would now be known as Lake Kadena.

We had one fellow that I have always wondered how he made out. As we was leaving for home one of the crewmen, who's name I do not remember, fell overboard from the Truck that was transporting us across the island to where MATS was waiting to fly us to Japan on the first lag of our journey home. He was tall and slim and had the redest mop of hair possible. I remember seeing him bouncing across the corral rock ditch bank. At the very least he must have received several broken bones and a concussion. The convoy stopped and the medics loaded him in an ambulance and thats the last we heard of him. If anyone reads this is interested in hashing over old times about the 22nd at Kadena in 1950 I'll be happy to hear and answer.

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