Now with story
Goodyear AG-1 Basilisk
VMFA-232, USMC
Oshima, Japan, February 1946
When the US Navy chose Grumman's F8F Bearcat over Goodyear's F2G Super Corsair, Goodyear was rewarded with a consolation prize. Anticipating the need to invade Japan in 1946 and with Douglas running behind schedule on it's AD-1 Skyraider, Goodyear was contracted to supply 500 attack-configured F2Gs as an interim solution to meeting Navy and Marine Corps attack aviation requirements. Designated AG-1, and bestowed the popular name Basilisk (a basilisk being a type of 18th century naval cannon as well as a mythical deadly serpent), 418 were delivered before VJ Day saw the contract cancelled. Bsilisks remained in USMC and USN service until 1949, when finally replaced by Skyraiders. 50 were sold that year to France for use in IndoChina, which maintained these and a further 20 delivered in 1950 in service until 1954. Another 35 were supplied to the Chinese Nationalsits in 1950.
The AG-1 differed from the F2G in having a beefed up structure for a heavier maximum take-off weight, four 20mm cannon instead of six .50 cal machine guns and additional armour. To solve directional instability problems, the taller fin of the F2G was supplemented by a ventral spine.
One XAG-2 prototype tested contra-rotating props and a more powerful R-4360-20 engine. Several post-war racing Basilisks would later use this configuration, Goodyear having purchased 10 incomplete AG-1 airframes after the contract cancellation for sale to civilians. Lightened and highly polished, these planes preformed well and Basilisks came first in the 1947 Thompson Trophy Race and first in the 1949 Tinnerman Trophy Race.
During WW2, the AG-1 served with several US Navy and US Marine Corps squadrons in combat before and after the Y-Day invasion of Honshu. The USMC's VMFA-232 replaced their TBF Avengers with the AG-1 in late 1945 and resumed combat after going ashore at Oshima on 15 February, 1946. Oshima Island is close to Tokyo Bay and needed to be at least neutralised prior to the the invasion of the Kanto Plains. To achieve this, US Marines went ashore on 26 January, 1946, and in bitter and cold fighting secured a perimeter that included he Island's airfield, the habour facilities at Okata and the golf course at Okubo. US Navy and USMC planes soon began operating from the airfield, preparing the battlefield over the Kanto Plains as a prelude to the invasion.
VMFA-232's Basilisk's served as bomb-trucks, flying missions heavily loaded with 260, 500, 1,000 and 1,600 lb bombs. Following the invasion, napalm was introduced into their armoury, but rocket attacks (other than a handful of missions with Tiny Tims) were left to other types. The load seen here (drop tank, two 1,000lb bombs and four 500lb bombs) is visible on Big Hog in the newsreel
Marines over Tokyo, which followed VMFA-232 and other units based at Oshima on a raid against targets on the Kanto Plains. Big Hog was the personal mount of Captain Laurence Scott, who had previously flown Dauntless dive-bombers with the unit against Rabaul.
Alfa Romeo A.R.102 Series III
White 2, personal mount of Major Nikita Chernov
Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia, 21º Gruppo Autonomo Caccia Terrestre, Regia Aeronautica
Makeyevka airfield, Ukraine
Summer 1942
By 1939, the military arm of the White Russian anti-Bolsheviks was confined to border areas of Finland and Poland. When German invaded the latter in September, the Red Army also crossed into Poland, seizing a broad strip of land “infested with counter-revolutionaries”. Later, the Winter War of 1940-41 between the Socialist Union and Finland was waged when the Red Army crossed into Finnish territory to destroy the White Russian's last active military sanctuaries. Not trusted by Hitler, the White Russians fled to Italy, where they were the honored guests of Mussolini.
Absorbed into the Italian military, the White Russians formed the White Cross Legion with the Regio Esercito and the Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia with the Regia Aeronautica. Both White Russian units joined the Italian expeditionary force sent to combat the Socialist Union in August 1941, their fighter squadron being equipped with the Macchi C.200.
In February 1942, the Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia withdrew to regroup and equip with the Alfa Romeo A.R.102, flying a mix of Series II (armed with 4 x .50 cal Breda machine guns) and Series III aircraft (with 2 x .50 cal Bredas and 2 x MG151/20 20mm cannon). These aircraft were purchased through donations raised by a network of Catholic anti-Communists, including (controversially) American donors. Significantly, the unit now also included non-ethic Russians, with several French and Danish pilots and maintenance personnel joining before their return to the Eastern Front in May, 1942.
The A.R.102 was Alfa Romeo's first indigenous fighter, following a lack-lustre response from the Regia Aeronautica to their earlier efforts, which were both Heinkel designs. The A.R.100 was proposed as a locally-built He 100D but failed to gain Italian orders. Only 80 were purchased of the A.R.101, which was a locally made version of the He 112B. The A.R.102, though, was local design to meet Regia Aeronautica specifications for a fighter powered by the Alfa Romeo RA 1000 RC 41 (a licensed-built DB 601 powerplant), 1,026 of which were delivered in three Series between late 1940 and early 1943. The basic A.R.102 went on to be adapted for the Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (a licensed built DB 605A powerplant) as the A.R.105, of which 341 were made. When Tifone supplies ran out, the A.R.103 was further adapted to accept the Piaggio P.112 radial engine, resulting in the A.R.106, 87 of which were produced.
The White Cross Squadriglia was in constant action, flying escort and fighter sweeps, air defence, armed reconnaissance and close air support missions during the Axis advanced to the Volga River. Although their planes were built as fighter-bombers, neither the Italian-manned nor the White Cross-manned Alfa Romeo A.R.102s in the East ever flew with underwing stores, meaning that their missions were restricted to tactical ranges and ground attack sorties limited to strafing. Although their aerial success rate has been confirmed at 29 victories to 7 losses during this, their second campaign on the Eastern Front, there were no attrition replacements sent and by mid-January 1943, on the defensive and retreating, the White Cross Squadriglia was down to just 5 airworthy planes. Their last mission came on 17 January, when 5 White Cross aircraft joined 20 Regia Aeronautic planes strafing enemy troops in the Millerovo area. The next day, with the Italian and White Cross Legion ground troops routed and suffering horrendous losses, the Italian expeditionary force withdrew from the battlefield.
White 2 was the personal mount of Major Nikita Chernov. Chernov's family had fled Russian during the 2nd Russian Civil War/The War Against Stalinism during the 1920s, his parents being involved with the counter-revolutionary White Russian Army. He joined the White Russian Army in Finland during the 1930s and learnt to fly. He flew as a transport pilot during the 1940-41 Winter War before fleeing to Italy and joining the Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia. He scored 1 aerial victory flying a Macchi C.200 during the 1941-42 deployment to the Eastern Front and another 4 whilst flying the this aircraft during the 1942-43 campaign.
The Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia returned to Italy with just 3 aircraft (including White 2) and went into a period of rest and recruiting before being disbanded by the Regia Aeronautica in May, 1943. By then, the Russian Liberation Army was forming with German backing and Himmler had persuaded Hitler and Goering to establish a Russian-manned fighter unit in the Luftwaffe, largely as a propaganda ploy. This saw former members of the Knights of the White Cross Squadriglia transferred to the Luftwaffe, where they flew Bf 109Gs adorned with Russian markings. They continued in action until Germany's final collapse in May, 1946.
Major Chernov was killed in action on 14 November, 1943 when his Bf 109G-6 was struck by flak and crashed. By then his victory tally was 9.
Saiman 200/I
a/c 5, Spanish Blue Division Flight, Italian Air Force Expeditionary Corps in Russia, Regia Aeronautica
Russia, Socialist Union, January 1943
After their defeat in the Spanish Civil War, Franco's Fascist forces regrouped in Italy, Mussolini inviting them to recreate the Hispanic Legions of the Roman Empire. Several Spanish units were formed for service in Italy?s army, navy and air forces, the most prominent of which was the Blue Division which fought as part of the Italian Army in Russia.
The Italian Air Force Expeditionary Corps in Russia included fighter, bomber, reconnaissance and transport aircraft, the Blue Division bringing having their own semi-independent Flight within its structure. This included a variety aircraft including several Saiman 200 biplanes, used for liaison, battlefield reconnaissance and artillery spotting. Designed as a trainer, the Saiman 200 featured tandem open cockpits, the Blue Division taking 3 of these planes to the Socialist Union in August 1941. Although Franco successfully arranged for the Blue Division to experience the campaign's first winter regrouping along the Amalfi Coast, he figured that he might not be so lucky for the campaign?s second winter. As such, he issued orders to winterise his forces, having them train with the Italian Alpine divisions, prepare winter clothing and such like.
Having experienced the significance of properly coordinated airpower in Spain, Franco made sure that the Blue Division had its own aviation assets. Although part of the Regia Aeronautica, the Spanish Blue Division Flight was assigned permanently to the Blue Division and was mostly made up of Spanish exiles. One of the Flight?s steps to prepare for the northern winter was to adopt a winterised version of the Saiman 200. To create this, they arranged for the delivery of 4 Saiman 200/S instrument trainers, a model which featured a heavily braced rear-sliding cockpit canopy with a retractable curtain for the student pilot. The curtain was removed and heating, underwing flare tubes and additional radios were added to produce the Saiman 200/I (I for inverno = winter).
These planes were in service with the Blue Division when the Red Army launched the Ostrogozhsk?Rossosh Offensive as part of Operation Little Saturn to encircled and push back Axis forces along the River Don north of Volgograd. Serving alongside the Italian 8th Army's Alpini (Mountain) Corps, the Blue Division held their ground against Red Army attacks but was outflanked to the north and the south and forced to break out from the enemy?s enveloping pincer movements. Retreating through contested territory with Germain, Hungarian and Italian troops, the Blue Division was instrumental in defeating a series of Red Army defensive lines established to their rear. A critical asset the Spaniards brought to the withdrawal was the coordination conducted with the Division?s Saiman biplanes, whose pilots scouted for the Axis troops and marked targets for Italian and Hungarian fighters with flares.
One unmodified Saiman 200 and three 200/Iwere available at the start of the battle on 13 January 1943, with just a single 200/I still airworthy when the retreating Spaniards made their way to friendly lines on the 31st. Samain 200/I Red 3 crashed in adverse weather on the 17th, killing the pilot. Samain 200/I Red 4 was shot down by ground fire near Nikolayevka on the 23rd, its pilot surviving an emergency landing and successfully exiting the plane before it burnt out; he later hitched a ride in the open cockpit Saimain 200 Red 2. This plane was itself destroyed on the 27th in a takeoff accident. Only Red 5 survived the campaign and was returned to the Italians at the end of February when they withdrew from the Socialist Union. Having distinguished themselves in the overwise disastrous retreat, the Blue Division transferred to German patronage for the remainder of the war.
This aircraft was painted in a winter camouflage with the standard Regia Aeronautica's wing and flank roundels; the rudder painted with the red-yellow-red bands of the Spanish Nationalist flag and the wheel hubs were painted in the Falangist blue of the Blue Division. Next to the individual aircraft number (in red) was a black saltire, which was a simplified Cross of Burgundy.