 From New York City, where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station for your Army and your Air Force to bring you this story. As proudly we hail, Colonel Dave C. Shilling and the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force. Our story is entitled, Fox Peter One. It's a story of the continued pioneering of our United States Air Force. The story of the flight of a group of jet fighter planes across the Pacific Ocean. The first mass jet flight across the Pacific. Our first act curtain will rise in just a moment. But first, young man, can you qualify to wear the silver wings of a pilot in the United States Air Force and fly the speedy jets? If you've had two or more years of college training and are between the ages of 19 and 26 and a half and are otherwise qualified, a visit to your nearest United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station will start you on your way to your future in flight. And now your Army and your Air Force present the proudly we hail production, Fox Peter One. It's July 1952. On a hot summer day, if you happen to be on a boat out in the wide Pacific Ocean, somewhere west of California and east of Hawaii, you might have heard a squadron of F-84s, Thunder jet fighter bombers flying west at four or five hundred miles an hour. So far from the nearest land, so far from their nearest base, you should have been surprised to see them, because jet fighters don't normally have the range to fly this far out in the ocean. As a matter of fact, these were the first jet fighters ever to have been over this point in the Pacific. If you thought about it, you'd worry about their fuel supply. And if you were in the lead plane with Colonel Dave Shilling, you'd be worrying about it with him as he presses the mic button and starts talking. Fox Peter, leader to squadron, give me a check. One by one, each pilot reported in. Once again, the leader pressed the mic button. Shilling to formation, we should reach the tankers in the next few minutes. It was a critical point in Operation Fox Peter 1. The whole concept of moving a complete wing of relatively short-range jet fighters across the ocean depended on the ability to refuel in mid-air, which meant, among other things, that the huge air tankers be at the right place at the right time. The Pacific is a mighty big ocean, and a jet fighter sinks in about five seconds. It was an anxious time. And then? Keeps. Squadron of KB-29 is almost dead ahead, dirtiest sight I ever saw. Right. Loaded with fuel and just waiting for us. Leader to squadron. He'll often assigned order to refuel. And then, if you'd been that man on the boat in the middle of the ocean, you would have seen another amazing sight. You would have rubbed your eyes and looked again to make sure you weren't seeing things. Because one by one, these speedy little Republic Thunder jets approached the big comparatively slow-flying tankers and nuzzled up to them. They each stayed with the big plane for a short time and then moved away to be replaced by another jet. But if you'd seen that sight in the middle of the Pacific, you wouldn't have been dreaming. You wouldn't have fallen prey to your own imagination. You'd be seeing a culmination of years of work, of planning. This is the story of Fox Peter One. That was the name of this flight. On the old phonetic alphabet, Fox stood for F for fighter. Peter was for P, the Pacific. One, well, that was the number. The first fighter-fighter crossed the Pacific. The story of Fox Peter One opens at a strategic air command base somewhere in the United States. Colonel Schilling is there, a World War II fighter pilot with over 33 German planes to his credit. The fighter has had more experience with the practical problems of mid-air refueling of jet fighters than anyone else in the Air Force. There's another officer there, Colonel Blake, a research man connected with the Air Materiel Command. And there's a strategic air command general. The general is talking. The problem is this. We want to get more range in our jet fighters so that we can take advantage of their speed without being too dependent on a number of airfields. So the little fighters have the range to go along with the bombers to protect them on long missions. Mid-air refueling seems to be one answer. Colonel Schilling here has been taking jet fighters and long trips using the probe and drogue method of the in-flight refueling. I'm not sure that's the best method we can get. How about you, Dave? You've been using it. That's the best we've got so far. Frankly, gentlemen, we don't think it's the answer. So let's go on from there. Well, longer range means either the ability to carry more fuel or some way of getting additional fuel. We've put on additional tanks, but they don't give the answer. The plane gets heavier, takes more power to get off the ground, means longer runways. We're going in a vicious cycle. As we improve the engines for more speed, they're using more fuel. Improving the efficiency of the engines isn't the answer either. We're not going to make enough of an improvement to add to the range tremendously, not in a hurry, that is. So we get back to flight refueling. Now, the method we've used is an aerial tanker dangling a flexible hose with a large funnel at the end of it. Refueling is accomplished by flying a projection of the jet into the funnel, sort of like threading a needle. Boeing aircraft has developed a method. They call it the flying boom. Yes, a rigid telescoping pipe extending from the tail of a tanker. They've used it for bombers. I don't know whether it could be worked out for fighter planes. The question is, if it could be used, would it work? It's a very complicated problem. A system like that is easier to work out for bombers. They're slower, and besides, on a bomber, there's room to work out the necessary changes, but space is so tight in a fighter. I didn't say it was simple. It's a problem. I'm putting you two men on it. So, that's the way it is, Mac. The old man told Dave Schilling and me to get to work on it. Boeing's been extremely cooperative. How far along are you on it here? Colonel, you know I'd break my nose. But have you any idea of the scope of the problem you've handed me? Sure, sure I have. Just work out a way to modify your thunder jet so it can be refueled in midair by the Boeing flying boom. That's all. Just as simple as that. All I've got to do is place a fuel receptacle somewhere on the F-84 that'll fit the end of a flying boom. It'd be nice, but with that easy, wouldn't it? If it was that easy, you wouldn't bring it to me. You never give me the easy ones. Just to make your problem a little tougher, Mac. It has to be something that doesn't change your manufacturing process too radically. Because, you see, Mac, we don't want you to lose any production. We need jet fighters too badly. I'd beat you to that one, Colonel. Would you like to see a little mock-up of where we begin? Bill, bring that model over here, will you? Yeah, Mac. I'll see. We put this refueling receptacle on the leading edge of the wing. It's got to offer no more resistance to the air than the wing without it. And it has to be able to accept the end of the flying boom. I, uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but I built this model. Do you think you could explain this in a way that I could understand? Well, sure, Bill. It is simple. Look, you see, the other end of this flying boom is attached to a tanker, a KB-29 or a KC-97. They don't fly very fast, not compared to authentic jets. But aren't there flaps and things that can slow down? Yes, but we have to keep going at 200 miles an hour or so, or the craft isn't maneuverable. It gets mushy, as the pilots say. Now, we've got to fill five tanks with fuel via that little pipe and this little gadget we're going to put on the wing. Bill, do you know how long it takes to put 10 gallons of gas in your car? Oh, uh, a couple of minutes? No, not that long. It just seems that way to you when you're impatient. But in a couple of minutes, we've got to put maybe 10 gallons of gas in your car. We've got to put maybe 1,000 gallons of fuel into a main tank and four auxiliary tanks. It's got to get in there under high pressure, several hundred gallons a minute. And at the same time, it can't interfere with the fuel being pumped from the tanks into the jet engine. I'm running some tests right now, ground runs, you might say. Would you like to see? I certainly would. That's what I came along for, to see how far along you were. Now, as you can see, this is a ThunderJet's fuel system without the plane. But this is just the way it would be set up if the airframe were built around it. Now, each tank has a gauge we can see from here. And there are gauges on the leads to the various tanks to show us the rate of flow. Looks like something Rube Goldberg invented to drive a man crazy. No, it's just something Colonel Blake here thought up to drive me crazy. Actually, it's not as complicated as it looks in parts. Now, I'll show you. Okay, Bob, let her go. There's one filled up, and another. Well, that's the way it goes, Colonel. We're on our way. Well, it looks to me as though you've got it licked, Mac. You've got the bases. Now you have to take out the plugs. And so the flying-boom system of refueling jet fighters in midair goes from the gleam in the eye stage to the blueprint stage. And one day, a four-engine B-29 transformed into a tanker takes off from a long runway and lumbers into the air with its load of jet fuel and a strange appendage attached to its tail section. I still don't see how this can work. Do you mean you have that flying-boom extending beyond the plane and the jet supposed to fly right into it? Well, you'll see in a few minutes, I hope. The jet's supposed to come up behind us a little below. Sort of hover there at about the same speed we're going. I fly the boom right into the jet. Oh, excuse me, here comes the jet. I better tell the captain. The rear compartment of captain jet approaching from the rear on schedule. Aren't you a little nervous about this, Mac? Not very. Now look, the weather's perfect. We're bowling along here like a baby carriage. A jet? Well, Dave Shilling's flying here, and Colonel Shilling's about as good a pilot as there is in the Air Force. Here he comes. Say, he gets pretty close, doesn't he? He's throttled way back now, got his flaps down. T-18 from O-58, ready for contact. O-58 from T-18, Roger, move into position. Up five and right about two. Holder. Contact. Maximum floor established. The boom moved down so that it was level with the nearby wing of the thunder jet, extending the pipe farther and farther back until it touched the receptacle on the plane's wing and then entered it. A light glowed on the boom tender's panel, and a gauge showed pressure and the number of pounds delivered. Then back in the little thunder jet. T-18 from O-58, ready for contact. O-58, T-18, Roger, move into position. Up five and right about two. Well, there we go. Smooth as silk and fast, fast as a jet. No more of a jaw when we connected than when a good engineer couples a pair of Coleman cars. I just line up and keep steady. When I'm in line with the number three engine, I'm in the right place. I wonder how long it'll take. O-58, 4,400 pounds of fuel delivered. Pressure disconnect. O-58, T-18, Roger, disconnect. That was smooth. T-18 to O-58, Roger, nice. O-58 to T-18. I'll be back if I get thirsty. Lieutenant Curtis should be along to fill his aircraft shortly. That was one of the first in-flight refuelings of a jet plane by the flying boom method. Later it was to become automatic. It was to be repeated over and over again until it was routine. First single aircraft, then by two. By squadrons until the bugs were ironed out. Until all that was left was the big test. The flight across the Pacific. Fox Peter One. You are listening to the proudly-behaved production, Fox Peter One. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. But first, if you're a single young man interested in aviation, there's no better way to learn while you earn than as an aviation cadet. Win your wings as a crew member of an Air Force plane. You'll graduate from your aviation cadet training as a commissioned officer. You'll be rated a pilot or an aircraft observer. If you become an aircraft observer, you'll be a specialist in a specific job, bombardier, navigator, electronics officer, or aircraft performance engineer. Enlist today as an aviation cadet at your nearest United States Army and United States Air Force Recruiting Station. You are listening to Proudly We Hail, and now we present the second act of Fox Peter One. A lot of work had gone into proving the practicability of refueling jets in midair. And then there was more work getting the planes into production. The F-84 Thunderjet, modified for in-flight refueling, became the F-84G. They came off the assembly lines, the new G models, until they had replaced many of the older models. First a flight, then a squadron, then a wing. And now we're back at a strategic air command base where we started with Colonel Blake, Colonel Shilling, and the General. We've tested the in-flight refueling of the Thunderjet. Lieutenant Hodges stayed aloft for more than 12 hours for one test. Captain Wayne and Captain Flynn flew from Virginia to practice bomb a target in California, and returned non-stop to their base in Virginia. Captain Moore flew a Thunderjet from Florida to California and back, non-stop between breakfast and dinner. So there we are. Well, sir, what'll we do now? I think we're about ready for a big test. Now, it's my belief that with advanced planning, we can fly these little jets just about anywhere in the world. We have to do it without that kind of advanced planning. The kind of rush we'd have if we found we suddenly needed a number of jet fighters at a place where we have none. Well, just tell me what you want to do, and I'll get to work on the plans. I want you to consider the feasibility of moving Colonel Shilling's strategic fighter wing from its present base to Japan. Japan? Well, that's 10,000 miles away. Yes. The Earth is about 25,000 miles around. It is the widest point. No point on Earth can be more than 12,500 miles from any other. That's about as far as a plane should ever have to be sent. Well, Japan is nearly that far. Most of it's over water. That's right. Most of the surface of the globe is covered with water. I don't see why it shouldn't be possible. We'll get to work on it right away, General. Time went by after that discussion, but wheels were turning. Colonel Shilling went back to the 31st strategic fighter wing at Turner Air Force Base near Albany, Georgia. And then to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama for classroom work. One day, he was taking a shower and thinking about his studies when he heard someone calling him. Colonel, sir. Yeah? Turner Air Force Base is calling. Colonel Dunham, it's urgent. Okay. Tell him I'll be with him in a minute. Have him hang on a second. Hello, Dunham. What's up? What, now? Right now, Prado. Where are we going? All right. I gotta go. I gotta go. But if this is one of your crazy jokes, you'll sweat for it. By the time Colonel Shilling got back to Turner Air Force Base, he'd had a chance to figure out what the rush was for. So he wasn't too surprised to find the base at turmoil of activity when he arrived. There were lots of preparations to be made and very little time for it. Then it came, eight-hour, and standing on the runway to watch the Thunder Jet Wing take off were the General and Colonel Blake saying goodbye to Colonel Shilling. It's your show now, Dave. This is gonna be quite a flight. Yes, I think it is, too. You've got the planes to do it, and the system has worked out as well as we'll ever get it. Just do the job you usually do, Dave. I'll give her a go. Good luck. And happy landings. We'll be sweating it out until you get there. Happy landings. Thank you. The trip across from Georgia to California was the first leg of the flight and was regarded as a practice hop, and lessons were learned from it. Due to a combination of circumstances, three of the jets didn't get enough fuel in their refueling to enable them to make it to California without cutting their fuel reserve margin down below the level of safety. Wisely, they decided to set down at a base in Arizona to refuel. At Travis Air Force Base, some 60 miles north of San Francisco, the 31st fighter escort wing made ready for the next jump, the long overwater hop to Hawaii, some 2,400 miles away. Three RB-36s were diverted from their regular missions and sent flying ahead as weather stations. General Curtis LeMay, the Strategic Air Command's leader, flew in from Omaha to wish the 31st Godspeed and happy landings. General Carmichael's weather planes gave the go-ahead signal and the thunder jets were ready to take off. Colonel Schilling called his group together and gave them a little talk. There are a lot of people more used to making speeches than I am, and they can make them better, too. I just want to say thanks to all of you of the 31st who have performed above and beyond the call of duty. We had problems on our first leg from Turner to Travis, but we have the answers now. We're going to take off in a couple of minutes for Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu territory of Hawaii. At the appointed spot, we'll come across a fleet of KB-29 tankers waiting for us, waiting to refuel us as we fly. And farther on, and closer to Hawaii, there'll be more KB-29 standing by at selected points in case any of us start to run dry. We're going where no jets have ever flown before. First stop, Hawaii. Let's go. The trip from Travis Air Force Base in California to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii was the longest overwater jump yet attempted by jets, some 2,400 miles. The 5,800 jets of the 31st cruise along at a leisurely 400 miles an hour plus, taking time out to slow down and refuel at the appointed place before their tanks ran dry. Colonel Shilling developed a little trouble with his plane. Either because of a high-altitude boil-off or because in the refueling, he had not received as much fuel as he needed. He saw that he wasn't going to have enough fuel to make it to Hawaii. He checked with the others in his flight and found two more planes that could use more fuel. He pressed his mic button and told the rest of the squadron, Box Peter lead at the formation. I'll have to tap the standby tankers. Wingman, the leader. Okay, Chief. I can use a few pounds myself. Let's go. Leader to formation. Anyone else? Okay, one more. Prepare for descent to refueling altitude. Colonel Shilling and the two other Thunder jets approached the standby tankers in what was now a familiar maneuver. The speedy little jets were refueled and on their way. The 31st Strategic Fighter Wing went on on its unprecedented flight. First, it was Turner in Georgia to Travis in California to Hickam in Hawaii. The rest of the way was island hopping. Islands that are names that ring in our memories. Midway, Wake, Aniwetok, Guam, Iwo Jima and Japan. At Aniwetok, they had a peculiar problem, as Colonel Shilling said, Major worry facing us is a dangerously short runway here. There was no sweat landing, but taking off poses a different problem. The answer to the takeoff problem was Aniwetok was Jato. Jet assisted takeoff units, a pressurized rocket-like propellant in steel bottles, slung in pairs under the fuselage of the Thunder jets. They can give an extra 2,000 pounds of thrust. That's an additional 36% of the Thunder jet's power for a brief time. And then the empty metal containers may be jettisoned. Let's go along with Colonel Shilling as he takes off from Aniwetok. Aniwetok isn't very big and the runway is necessarily short. But the air is bright and clear and the sun is so bright that it almost hurts. I'm sweating it out waiting to leave the takeoffs while the ground crews are connecting and arming the Jato units. The longer I look at that runway, the shorter it gets. It doesn't seem to stretch much farther than a long hallway. But finally I get the all clear signal and start down the runway and it really does get shorter in a hurry. I wait until the proper moment and touch the firing switch in the control panel. Nothing. I remember a warning that if it didn't start once to keep pushing the button to be sure to make contact so I push it, I wiggle it, still nothing. The runway was getting shorter. I couldn't stop now. I could drop the two auxiliary tanks and lighten the load enough to take off. But the plane was beginning to feel lighter. I gave a full throttle and the end of the runway came closer and then I was airborne. In a few seconds I was off the ground and beginning to gain altitude and I really sweated on that one. Then I circled to watch the others take off. The other 57 planes of the wing took off that way safely. For Iwo Jima, a tiny island. I was swearing to myself, cussing out the man who hadn't armed the Jato unit properly in my plane and I reached down for the lever that would drop my two useless and unused Jato bottles and then I had no one to cuss out but myself. Reaching for the release unit, I found the ready switch. It was still in an off position. I'd warned the other 57 pilots to be sure to turn it to armed before they took off but I hadn't done it myself. And Colonel Dunham, my wingman, called me. Fox Peter Leader, we all gained a lot of confidence in you take off without Jato. We were worrying a little about the take off and when we saw you make it safely without using the extra thrust, made us all feel short. Fox Peter Leader to wingman, thanks for the posies but they're not for me. If you think I took off that way on purpose you're crazy. I hadn't turned on the ready switch. And now Iwo Jima, and then our new base at Misawa, Japan. It wasn't to be. The weather was too bad and the base at Misawa on Northern Huntshoe Island was sucked in. The flight was told to put in at Yokota, not too far from Tokyo. On hand to greet the 31st wing commanding general of the Far East Air Force and Brigadier General Del Martis Vivi commanding general of the Japan Air Defense Force. As General Wayland said, the flight of the 31st wing across the Pacific, 10,670 miles in less than 29 hours flying time, showed that small, fast aircraft can be moved to any part of the world at the drop of a hat. Colonel Shilling, who was tapped to leave a successful flight, had some ideas on what Fox Peter One meant. The reporters asked me why we chose this way of moving. They thought it would have been simpler to move the planes by aircraft carrier. But the way things are in the world today, there's no substitute for speed of movement, especially when we're guarding a perimeter that encompasses the entire world. And as important as the speed, our aircraft arrived at the destination in combat condition. There was no delay for pickling the aircraft. No salt in the hydraulics, no moisture in the electrical system. After Japan, we were ready. Our 5,800 jets reported into General Wayland. The next day, he put us to work. I was chosen as the leader, and it's an honor, always treasured. But, well, I was just a fellow out in front of 57 great guys flying the same type of plane. The whole job was one of cooperation and teamwork. Cooperation between Boeing and Republic aircraft and the Air Force to start with. And by maintenance men, meteorologists, the planners, the refueling squadron, by everyone. With that kind of support, we couldn't fail. With that kind of spirit, the United States will go a long, long way in the aerial pioneering business. And believe me, the United States Air Force has that kind of spirit. Proudly we hail Colonel Dave Schilling and the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing of the Strategic Air Command for Fox Peter I, jet fighters across the Pacific Ocean. Young man, if you've had two years of college, or single and otherwise qualified, there's a future for you as an aviation cadet pilot in the United States Air Force. You'll receive 18 months of the world's finest flight training, fly the latest jets easily and safely, train for leadership, and graduate as an Air Force Lieutenant with earnings of more than $5,000 a year. Jets are easy to fly when you learn the aviation cadet way. Visit your nearest recruiting station at the Air Force Base today and find out your chances for making the grade. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribe in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army and United States Air Force Recruiting Service. This is Kenneth Fanghart speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.