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More exciting news from Wichita, Kansas today, as on May 11th, 2016 the B-29 Superfortress known as ‘Doc’ taxied using her own engines for the first time since 1956. The restoration team needed to check the performance of the B-29′s brakes and her turning ability, so what better way to demonstrate this than to maneuver the old bomber around on the ramp. Using just her outer engines to propel her, the crew slowly steered the aircraft on the ground, describing figure eights on the tarmac and traveling more than half a mile in the process.

via www.warbirdsnews.com

With just the tiniest bit of luck, Doc will soon be the second airworthy B-29, joining FiFi in thrilling warbird enthusiasts nationwide.

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) filed an amendment on Wednesday to cut the size of the National Security Council, following controversial comments made by senior NSC staffer Ben Rhodes. 

"The current NSC has grown so large that the White House cannot even give us a clear estimate of how many people actually work for it. Now we hear reports of NSC staffers running misinformation campaigns targeted at Congress and the press," Thornberry said in a statement. 

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The New York Times Magazine recently published an interview with Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, in which he talked about the tactics he used to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the Washington press corps. 

via thehill.com

Adding the Senate confirmation option for a larger NSC is a nice touch.

Chippy Ho!

VFA-195 is nicknamed The Dambusters because that’s just what they did. During the Korean War, then VA-195 attacked a dam in Korea with Mk13 aerial torpedoes to destroy the spillways, so the North Koreans couldn’t use selective flooding as a barrier to United Nations attacks.

Renate Senter clearly remembers the first care package she received, in 1946. She, her mother and her sister had fled Poland. In the aftermath of World War II, they'd ended up in a small town, in the British-controlled section of West Germany. "It was my first day of school and all the children got one," she says. "And I remember it was a small package — burgundy. And in white letters, it said 'CARE' on it."

Inside, there were a candy bar, a tube of Colgate and a little doll. "But I tell you, the first thing that hit me: Included in this box was a tremendous amount of white — really white — paper," she says. And there were pencils! "I don't even remember the candy bar, I was so excited about the paper. You know, because at that time we didn't have paper for our school assignments," she recalls.

via www.npr.org

American churches and private groups came together in the immediate aftermath of World War II to deliver desperately needed relief supplies to displaced persons around the world.

It's amazing how generous the American people are.

And that we didn't need a government program to deliver the goods.

Over the last few months, Richard Overton has had to give up a few things. First, he gave up driving the Ford pickup he had owned for years. Then, after a bad bout with pneumonia in November, he eased up on drinking his beloved whiskey — which, along with cigars, he calls his secret to long life.

But when you’re the oldest World War II veteran in the country and you’re turning 110, very few things can bring your mood down. On Wednesday, Overton celebrated his birthday surrounded by family, friends and admirers on the front lawn of his home in East Austin

via www.statesman.com

Sounds like a quiet life lived well.
Best wishes on your birthday, Mr. Overton.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

Mostly posting as an excuse to share a pretty decent video.

Kamman helicopters is a fairly small company, compared to Sikorsky, or Bell. But they’ve always managed to design niche helicopters to fulfill niche needs. About 20 years ago, they came up with the design of a small helicopter that would be used for carrying moderate external loads, with no internal carrying capacity. That meant the helicopter could be smaller and lighter for a given power/rotor system, and that more of the lift capacity could go to the load, instead of the airframe itself. The helicopter, the K-MAX, sold fairly modest numbers, but is generally well liked by its users.

A few years ago, Kamman, looking at UAV trends and the US mission in Afghanistan, came to the conclusion that they could modify the K-MAX to operate autonomously, and be used to deliver supplies to remote outposts. And so, they convinced the Marines to give it a shot. I was rather skeptical at first, but it turns out, it did a pretty good job. And every supply mission flown by the unmanned K-MAX meant that either a ground convoy didn’t have to be dispatched (with the ensuing risks of ambush or IEDs) or a manned helicopter mission (which could place aircrew at risk of anti-aircraft fire).

So, now comes the news that the two Marine K-MAX helicopters are at MCAS Yuma, where they will be integrated in testing and training at various ranges in the US Southwest.

The Kaman K-MAX Helicopter is very unique in many ways, such as its purpose and design. It is a helicopter with interlinking rotors whose primary mission is to provide cargo load operations with a maximum payload of 6,000 pounds.
“The most unique thing is this aircraft can fly itself,” said Jerry McCawley, a Chief Pilot and Flight Safety Engineer with Lockheed Martin. “These two particular aircraft were over in Afghanistan for almost three years flying unhanded, and moving almost five million pounds of cargo, keeping numerous convoys off the road, preventing any roadside attacks.”

It should be noted that when they are operated outside of Military Operating Areas, they are not flown autonomously, but rather with a pilot on board. That’s more a matter of FAA regulations that a technical matter, but still, given the density of US air traffic, probably not a bad idea.

Via Jack Badelaire (he’s a friend of a friend), comes this compelling story of battle on the Eastern Front.

URR is our in-house expert on all things related to the epic Nazi-Communist death match. I can’t wait for his review of this vignette.

11 years ago today, a cultural meme was born.

CALFEX is Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise. In this case, Joint Terminal Attack Controllers assigned or attached to the 173rd Abn. BCT were training in Slovenia. The tanks are Slovenian M84s (a variation of the Russian T-72), the prop planes are Slovenian PC-9s firing the FN M3 .50cal machine gun from pods, and the jets are L-139s, firing either a 23mm gun pod, or rockets. I have no idea who is providing the artillery support. 

The FN M3 .50cal is very similar to the familiar Browning M2 .50cal, but as you’ll notice, it’s designed to fire at a much higher rate than the M2.