 Proudly we hail 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 Wharton. 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 box Peter leader to squadron give me a check one by one each pilot reported in once again the leader press the mic button Shilling deformation we should reach the tank as in the next few minutes it was a critical point in Operation Fox Peter one the whole concept of moving a complete wing of relatively short-range jet fighters across the ocean dependent on the ability to refuel in midair 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 Squadron of KB 29 is almost dead ahead, birdiest 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've 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 approach the big comparatively slow-flying tankers and nuzzled up to them they each stayed with a big plane for a short time and then moved away to be replaced by another jet but if you'd seen that site in the middle of the Pacific you wouldn't have been dreaming you wouldn't have fallen prey for your own imagination you'd be seeing the 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 fight across the Pacific the story of Fox Peter one opens at a strategic air command base somewhere in the United States Colonel Shilling is there a world war two fighter pilot with over 33 German planes to his credit the fire was 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 was 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 rogue 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 put on additional tanks but they don't give the answer plane gets heavier takes more power to get off the ground means longer runways 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 as 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 I'll look Colonel you know I'd break my neck for you in the general 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 will fit the end of a flying boom it'd be nice but with that easy wouldn't 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 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 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 yeah 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 JB 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 a jet yes but we have to keep going at 200 miles an hour or so 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 gonna put on the wing Bill do you know how long it takes to put 10 gallons of gas in your car oh couple of minutes now 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 a thousand 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 said that's what I came along for to see how far along you were now as you can see this is a thunder jets fuel system without the plane but this is just the way it would be set up if the airframe will build 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 rude Goldberg invented to drive a man crazy now 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 now that's the way it goes Colonel we're on our way look to me as though you've got it licked Mac you've got the bases I had 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 B29 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 you mean you have that flying boom extending beyond the plane and the jet supposed to fly right into it you see in a few minutes I hope the jets 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 I oh excuse me here comes a jet I better tell the captain rear compartment a captain jet approaching from the rear on schedule aren't you a little nervous about this man 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 he gets pretty close doesn't he's throttled way back now got his flaps down T18 from 058 ready for contact 058 from T18 Roger move into position from 5 and right about 2 older contact maximum flow established the boom moved down so that it was level with the nearby wing of a 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 tenders panel and a gauge showed pressure and the number of pounds delivered then back in the little thunder jet T18 from 058 ready for contact 058 T18 Roger move into position bring her up 5 and right about 2 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 Pullman cars I just line up and keep steady when I'm in line with the number 3 engine I'm in the right place wonder how long it'll take T18 to 058 4400 pounds of fuel delivered pressure disconnect 058 to T18 Roger disconnect that was smooth 058 to T18 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 2 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 we hail production Fox Peter one will 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 Thunder jet modified for in-flight refueling became the F-84 G 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 week and now we're back at a strategic air command base where we started with Colonel Blake Colonel Schilling and the general we've tested the in-flight refueling of the Thunder jet Lieutenant Hodges stayed aloft for more than 12 hours for one test Captain Wayne and Captain Flynn flew from Virginia to practice bomber target in California returned non-stop to their base in Virginia Captain Moore flew a Thunder jet from Florida to California and back non-stop between breakfast and dinner so there we are well sir what do we do now I think we're about ready for a big test 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 with 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 I don't just tell me what you want to do and I'll get to work in the plans I want you to consider the feasibility of moving Colonel Schilling'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 Japan is nearly that far most of its 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 Schilling 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 thinking about his studies when he heard someone calling him Colonel sir yeah okay tell him I'll be with him in a minute have him hang on a second hello don't know 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 Schilling got back to Turner Air Force Base he had a chance to figure out what the rush was for so he wasn't too surprised to find the base of turmoil of activity when he arrived there were lots of preparations to be made and very little time for it then it came each hour and standing on the runway to watch the Thunder jet wing take off for the general and Colonel Blake saying goodbye to Colonel Schilling 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're usually 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 2400 miles away three RV 36's were diverted from their regular missions and sent flying ahead as weather stations general Curtis LeMay the strategic air commands leader flew in from Omaha to wish the 31st God speed 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 the more used to making speeches than I am they can make them better too I just want to say thanks to all of you of the 31st who 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 they'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 but 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 2400 miles the 58th under 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 Schilling 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 leader to formation I'll have to tap the standby tankers okay one more prepare for descent to refueling altitude Colonel Schilling and the two other thunder jets approach 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 any we talk Guam Iwo Jima and Japan at any we talk they had a peculiar problem as Colonel Schilling said a major worry facing us the dangerously short runway here there was no sweat landing but taking off poses a different problem the answer to the takeoff problem at any we talk 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 jets power for a brief time and then the empty metal containers may be jettisoned let's go along with Colonel Schilling as he takes off from any we talk any we talk isn't very big in the runway is necessarily short but the air is bright and clear the Sun is so bright that it almost hurts I'm sweating it out waiting to lead the takeoffs while the ground crews are connecting and 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 I finally get the all clear signal start down the runway and it really does get shorter in a hurry I wait until the proper moment touch the firing switch in the control panel nothing I remember the 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 runway was getting shorter I couldn't stop now I could drop the two auxiliary tanks and lights in the load enough to take off the plane was beginning to feel lighter I gave it full throttle the end of the runway came closer and then I was airborne a few seconds I was off the ground and beginning to gain out I really sweat it on that one and I circle to watch the others take off the other 57 planes of the wing took off that way safely for Iwajima 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 with 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 on before they took off but I hadn't done it myself and Colonel Dunham my wingman called me box Peter leader we all gained a lot of confidence in you take off without Jato you're worrying a little about the takeoff and we saw you make it safely without using the extra thrust well ain't it all feel short box 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 Iwajima and then our new base at Misawa Japan wasn't to be the weather was too bad and the base at Misawa on Northern Huntshaw 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 were General Otto P. Whalen commanding general of the Far East Air Force and Brigadier General Del Mar T. Spivey commanding general of the Japan Air Defense Force as General Whalen 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 Schilling who was tapped to lead the successful flight had some ideas on what Fox Peter one meant 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 when we got to Japan we were ready our fifty eight thunder jets reported into General Whalen the next day he put us to work I was chosen as the leader and it's an honor always treasure but well I was just a fellow out in front of fifty seven great guys flying the same type of plane the whole job was one of cooperation teamwork cooperation between Boeing and Republic aircraft in the Air Force to start with cooperation by maintenance men meteorologists the planners the refueling squadron by everyone with that kind of support we couldn't fail 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 probably we hail Colonel Dave Schilling in the 31st strategic fighter wing of the strategic air command for Fox Peter one the first mass flight of jet fighters across the Pacific Ocean young man if you've had two years of college are 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 trained 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 or Air Force base today and find out your chances for making the grade this has been another program on proudly we hail present a transcribement cooperation with the 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 Fang heart speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we have