Eastern Carolina Aviation Heritage Foundation

06/26/2025

Good morning fellow ECAHF’ers. Displaying the technological, design, industrial, and manufacturing might of the USA, even while in the midst of WWII, we were able to conceive, design, build, and fly a revolutionary aircraft.
Yesterday in aviation history, June 25, 1944, 81 years ago and according to the website “Today in Aviation History” downloaded today from: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-aviation-history-first-flight-of-the-ryan-fr-1-fireball/ar-AA1HpXHF?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=bd118fca0e284739a6475f286fc130a7&ei=15, “The Ryan FR-1 Fireball took to the skies for the first time. This distinctive aircraft was the United States Navy's first fighter to feature a hybrid propulsion system, combining a piston engine with a turbojet. Designed during World War II, the Fireball marked a significant step in the transition from piston-powered to jet-powered naval aviation.
“The concept for a mixed-power fighter stemmed from a proposal by Admiral John S. McCain Sr., who recognized the potential of jet propulsion but also understood the limitations of early turbojet engines, particularly their sluggish acceleration-an unacceptable shortcoming for carrier operations. To address this, Ryan Aeronautical was contracted in 1943 to develop a fighter that could harness both piston and jet power. Just 14 months later, the first two XFR-1 prototypes were delivered. On December 2, 1943, the Navy placed an initial order for 100 aircraft, followed by an additional order for 700 more on January 31, 1945. In March 1945, Fighter Squadron VF-66 was established as the first and only unit to operate the FR-1 during the war. Although VF-66 never saw combat before its disbandment in October 1945, its existence helped pave the way for future jet operations within the Navy.

“The FR-1 Fireball was powered by a 1,350-horsepower Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial piston engine in the nose and a General Electric J31-GE-3 turbojet engine in the tail, producing 1,600 pounds of thrust. When both engines were engaged, the aircraft could reach a top speed of 404 mph. Relying solely on the piston engine, it could still achieve 276 mph. With a service ceiling of 43,100 feet, the Fireball was well-suited for high-altitude interception. It was armed with four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns, and could carry up to eight 5-inch rockets or two 1,000-pound bombs under the wings.
“A total of 71 FR-1s were built between 1944 and 1945. Although the aircraft suffered from reliability issues and never fulfilled its full operational potential, it served as a crucial learning platform. The Fireball introduced naval aviators and engineers to the complexities and advantages of jet propulsion, helping set the stage for the Navy's future transition to an all-jet fighter fleet. Today, only one Ryan FR-1 Fireball survives: Bureau Number 39657. Painstakingly restored by the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California, this aircraft now serves as a static display, ensuring that this pioneering design-and the story of the Navy's first step into the jet age-is not forgotten.”
Onward and upward!
Kind regards,
Barry R. Fetzer
ECAHF Historian

06/20/2025

In Battle of the Philippine Sea, U.S. cripples Japanese naval air power on this day in aviation history. HISTORY.com Editors

Good evening fellow ECAHF’ers. According to History.com and downloaded today from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-19/united-states-scores-major-victory-against-japanese-in-battle-of-the-philippine-sea, “On June 19, 1944, the U.S. begins a two-day attack that decimated Japan's aircraft carrier force—and shifted the balance of naval air power in World War II's Pacific theater. The Battle of the Philippine Sea, an epic carrier duel that came to be known as the ‘Marianas Turkey Shoot,’ would incur only a minimum of losses for the Americans.

“The security of the Marianas Islands, in the western Pacific, were vital to Japan, which had air bases on Saipan, Tinian and Guam. U.S. troops were already battling the Japanese on Saipan, having landed there on the 15th. Any further intrusion would leave the Philippine Islands, and Japan itself, vulnerable to U.S. attack. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, commanded by Admiral Raymond Spruance, was on its way west from the Marshall Islands as backup for the invasion of Saipan and the rest of the Marianas.

“But Japanese Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo decided to challenge the American fleet, ordering 430 of his planes, launched from aircraft carriers, to attack. In what became the greatest carrier battle of the war, the United States, having already picked up the Japanese craft on radar, proceeded on June 19 alone to shoot down some 300 aircraft and sink two Japanese aircraft carriers, losing only 29 of their own planes in the process. It was described in the aftermath as a ‘turkey shoot.’

“Admiral Ozawa, believing his missing planes had landed at their Guam air base, maintained his position in the Philippine Sea, allowing for a second attack of U.S. carrier-based fighter planes, this time commanded by Admiral Mitscher, to shoot down an additional 65 Japanese planes and sink another carrier. Over two days, the Japanese lost nearly 600 aircraft (200 land-based, 400 carrier-based), not to mention most of its crews. American domination of the Marianas was now a foregone conclusion.

“Not long after this battle at sea, U.S. Marine divisions penetrated farther into the island of Saipan. Two Japanese commanders on the island, Admiral Nagumo and General Saito, both committed su***de in an attempt to rally the remaining Japanese forces. It succeeded: Those forces also committed a virtual su***de as they attacked the Americans’ lines, losing 26,000 men compared with 3,500 lost by the United States. Within another month, the islands of Tinian and Guam were also captured by the United States.

“The Japanese government of Premier Hideki Tojo resigned in disgrace at this stunning defeat, in what many have described as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.”

Onward and upward!

Small splash in center marks the crash of one of the aircraft. Light carrier at right is either PRINCETON or SAN JACINTO.
Courtesy US Navy History and Heritage Command

06/04/2025

According to History.com and downloaded today from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-3/an-american-walks-in-space, “On June 3, 1965, 120 miles above the Earth, Major Edward H. White II opened the hatch of the Gemini 4 and stepped out of the capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space. Attached to the craft by a 25-foot tether and controlling his movements with a hand-held oxygen jet-propulsion gun, White remained outside the capsule for just over 20 minutes. As a space walker, White had been preceded by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov, who on March 18, 1965, was the first man ever to walk in space.
“Implemented at the height of the space race, NASA’s Gemini program was the least famous of the three U.S.-manned space programs conducted during the 1960s. However, as an extension of Project Mercury, which put the first American in space in 1961, Gemini laid the groundwork for the more dramatic Apollo lunar missions, which began in 1968.
“The Gemini space flights were the first to involve multiple crews, and the extended duration of the missions provided valuable information about the biological effects of longer-term space travel. When the Gemini program ended in 1966, U.S. astronauts had also perfected rendezvous and docking maneuvers with other orbiting vehicles, a skill that would be essential during the three-stage Apollo moon missions.”

Onward and upward!

Kind regards,
Barry R. Fetzer
ECAHF Historian

06/02/2025

Check out this powerful vignette: Alan Shepard's View Showed Him a Fragile Planet 🌌https://ecaviationheritage.com/post-3893/

05/29/2025

Check out our Spring Newsletter

05/16/2025

04/14/2025

Even though overshadowed by Charles Lindbergh’s first flight from the US to Europe, the first flight in the opposite direction (more difficult due to prevailing winds) a year later is worth celebrating by we aviation history aficionados!

According to History.com and downloaded on April 13, 2025 from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-13/first-nonstop-transatlantic-flight-europe-to-north-america, “German pilot Hermann Köhl, Irish aviator James Fitzmaurice and Baron Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, the expedition’s financier, completed the first Europe-to-North-America transatlantic flight, taking off from Ireland and landing safely on a small Canadian island.

“The prevailing winds in the North Atlantic blow from North America towards Europe, hastening Eastbound airplanes on their way but making headwinds a major problem for those flying West. Köhl, who had flown in the German Army Air Service in World War I, and von Hünefeld, who had been turned away from the Air Service due to his health, attempted the crossing in 1927 but turned back due to poor weather. With the addition of Fitzmaurice, who had served in the British Royal Air Force before resigning to join the Irish Air Corps, they staged a second attempt the following April, using one of von Hünefeld’s two Junkers W33 aircraft, the Bremen.

“The trio gathered in Dublin in late March, but foul weather delayed takeoff for 17 days. Finally, on April 12, they took off from Baldonnel Aerodrome, intending to fly to New York. Things went smoothly at first, but a combination of storm clouds and a faulty compass put them roughly 40 degrees off course as they approached Canada. Their problems didn’t end there; the aviators soon realized they had an oil leak, at which point they abandoned the plan to land in New York and looked for the nearest place to set the plane down, which turned out to be Greenly Island.

“Köhl and Fitzmaurice put the Bremen down in a frozen pond, damaging it in the process, but they walked away unharmed and having made the first-ever East-West crossing of the Atlantic.

“When they later arrived in New York (having left the Bremen behind for repairs) the “Three Musketeers of the Air” received a parade and a hero’s welcome. They spent the next several months traveling the United States and Europe, meeting with dignitaries and enjoying similar celebrity status to what Charles Lindbergh (who completed the first solo North America-Europe transatlantic flight) had experienced the previous year. Though today their accomplishment is overshadowed by his in the popular imagination, their semi-planned landing in Canada on April 13, 1928 represents an equally important moment in aviation history, the first successful nonstop flight from Europe to North America.”

Read the original article by the Associated Press in April 28, 1928 I have attached to this column to get the details of the trials and tribulations these early aviators went through to get from Europe non-stop to North America. I donated an original copy of the attached Associated Press article but not before I photographed it, hence the attached photograph.

And here, you can watch a YouTube film of this historic flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnojekesgK8

Onward and upward!

Kind regards,
Barry

Dating from 1928, this silent newsreel shows the flight of the Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 aircraft that made the first successful transatlantic airplane f...

04/08/2025

The last day to apply for the 2025 Eastern Carolina Elementary School Summer Engineering Camp is Thursday, April 10th! 🛠️📐

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity for hands-on STEM fun and learning.

The Eastern Carolina Aviation Heritage Foundation (ECAHF) Awarded Grant By NC Space Grant Mini-Grant Program CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE WITH SUPPORT FROM The City of Havelock Fleet Readiness Center East NASA Space Grant Application will open February 3, 2025 Link to Application Download Printable Appl...

03/14/2025

Plan to attend this free fun event.

03/10/2025

We had an unforgettable time at our recent Gala, and we’re excited to share some of the best moments with you! From inspiring speeches to a well earned award, the night was filled with laughter, celebration, and memories that will last a lifetime. 🎉

See the video and relive the magic with us! 🌟

2025 TITLE SPONSORS A Big Thanks To Our Sponsors! Title Sponsors CarolinaEast Health System WCTI-12 Tom & Susan Braaten Gold Sponsors City of Havelock Inner Banks Media Naval Systems, Inc (NSI) The Flame Silver Sponsors Chevrolet of New Bern Duke Energy Edward Jones of Havelock – Mike Sprague The ...

03/03/2025

🎉 Huge congratulations to Maj General Tom Braaten! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that Maj General Tom Braaten has been awarded the Champion of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Award by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center! 🏆👏

This prestigious recognition honors General Braaten's incredible dedication to fostering innovation and inspiring the next generation of leaders in STEM fields. His commitment to education, mentorship, and creating opportunities for students is truly outstanding.

Thank you for all you do, General Braaten, and for making such a lasting impact on the future of STEM! 🌟

03/03/2025

https://ecaviationheritage.com/out-of-an-abundance-of-caution/

How many times have you heard (so-called) leaders use this excuse for being risk averse? What did an abundance of caution ever get us other than lost opportunities? Of course, this is just my opinion (for what that’s worth…not much…) but leaders who are skewed toward using an abundance of caut...