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The Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Foundation and Travis Air Museum have an extremely interesting and wide variety of collections. Our weapons, engines, aircraft nose art, models, original photographs, aviation sculptures, military coins and uniforms are a delight to any craftsmen’s or artisans’ eye. The following represents an example of our holdings: Doolittle Tokyo Raider Exhibit: Artifacts and Memorabilia ---------------------------------------- Doolittle Tokyo Raider Exhibit Thanks to the Doolittle Raiders the Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Foundation has acquired an incredible collection of artifacts and memorabilia from that raid. Most of the items have been donated by a Raider himself, or his family.
The etched leather bound photo album pictured here is currently available to see in the Travis Air Museum exhibit building. In fact, in addition to a large, very complete Jimmy Doolittle Life and Times exhibit, there is an equally satisfying Doolittle Tokyo Raider exhibit with a number of original artifacts brought back with the survivors of that historic day. For example, the pictured album, donated by a nephew of J.R. Stork, a member of crew #10, contains a photographic history of his time in the Army Air Corp. Starting with his basic training in Texas, the photos take us through his flight training and onto the training for the raid over Tokyo. There are pictures of B-25s that didn’t make it off the runway while training for the un-heard-of short take-off requirements from a carrier; a photo of Jimmy Doolittle working with the crews, a shot from another ship of the carrier Hornet underway, and another of the actual take-off from the Hornet for the bombing raid. Among the hundreds of items Roy Stork brought back from his adventure is his rip cord parachute handle. There is an original letter to Robert C. Bougeois on White House stationery with congratulations from President Harry Truman. Only three cameras survived the raid on the Yokosuka Naval Base, and we have the photos on display taken from a window of a B-25 during the raid on the base as they flew over and bombed it. This is only a small example of what we have. ---------------------------------------- Armament: AGM-28 Hound Dog Missile
AGM-28 Hound Dog The North American AGM-28 Hound Dog was the first air-launched nuclear stand-off missile deployed by the United States. Development The development of the nuclear stand-off missile was initiated by the USAF in 1956. Initially known as Weapon System 131B, it was intended to give Strategic Air Command heavy bombers the ability to attack Soviet targets from outside enemy airspace. The first powered flight of the prototype missile, designated XGAM-77, was made in April 1959. The missile's engine, airframe, and warhead were straightforward adaptations of existing technology, so the weapon's development period was quite short, and the production GAM-77 entered operational service in December 1959. It received the popular name Hound Dog, apparently inspired by the contemporary hit song by Elvis Presley. Hound Dog was essentially an unpiloted jet airplane with small delta wings and forward canards. It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney J-52-P-3 turbojet in a ventral pod beneath the rear fuselage, with 7,500 lbf (33 kN) thrust. It used inertial navigation for guidance, with heading updates provided by astro-trackers mounted in the launch pylon. The W28 warhead (the same as the B28 nuclear bomb) had an explosive yield of 1.1 megatons. The missile's maximum range was about 700 miles (1,100 km). The Hound Dog was carried by B-52 Stratofortress bombers; the B-52D, B-52G and B-52H were fitted with provision for the large under-wing pylons to launch the weapons, each bomber normally carrying one under each wing. The Hound Dog's fuel tanks, interestingly, could be topped up from the B-52's own fuel supply, and before launch its engines could be used as auxiliary booster engines for the bomber. The missile's inertial navigation system (INS) could be used as a backup system for determining the aircraft's position after the initial calibration and "leveling" which took a minimum of 90 minutes. The GAM-77 was subsequently upgraded to GAM-77A standard, with improved astro-trackers now mounted in the missile, rather than the pylon, a radar altimeter, and larger fuel capacity. The upgrade made possible several different altitude profiles, such as high altitude launch/high altitude cruise (high/high) or high altitude launch/high altitude cruise followed by a descent to terrain following cruise (high/high/low). Other options were high/low, low/high, low/low and low/high/low. In June 1963 the GAM-77 and GAM-77A were redesignated AGM-28A and AGM-28B, respectively. An updated AGM-28C, with improved guidance, was proposed in the early 1970s, but never built. A total of about 700 Hound Dogs were produced. They were intended to be replaced by the AGM-48 Skybolt, which did not enter service. The last Hound Dogs were retired in 1976. Specifications
Hound Dog Restoration Crew The Travis Museum Hound Dog restoration team members pictured in the photo carried out the initial inspection and assessment of the dog. They are, left to right, Lloyd Brunsen, Dave Stone, Mike Frankhouser, Neil Wood, and Gene Hollingsworth. ---------------------------------------- Armament: PB4Y-2 Bow Turret (Model Number 250SH-3)
PB4Y-2 Bow Turret Restoration Crew:
By Mat Voight This turret was originally designed by Boeing Aircraft corporation in 1940 for use on the Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger. It was built by the ERCO Company of Riverdale, MD and holds the distinction of being the first powered turret carrying twin .50-caliber guns to be specified for an American Naval plane. In the XPBB-1, it was carried in three positions (nose, upper fuselage, and tail), but due to the changing strategic situation in the Pacific during WW II the contract for full-scale production of the XPBB-1 in Renton, Washington was cancelled in favor of the B-29 Superfortress. However, the design of the 250SH turret proved satisfactory to the U. S. Navy and was soon adopted as a modification to the nose section of some PB4Y-1 Liberators. These Liberators were essentially B-24D in every respect, but the addition of the new bow turret carrying 600 rounds of ammunition was credited with diminishing combat losses of the PB4Y-1’s. Beginning in early 1944, the U. S. Navy accepted a highly modified and improved version of the Liberator known as the PB4Y-2 Privateer. This particular turret, a model 250SH-3, was built for the Privateer nose section. It carried a total of 1300 hundred rounds of ammunition in three cases. A total of 3000 ERCO 250SH turrets were manufactured. Indications from particular equipment installed in this specific example show that it is in the serial number range of 982 to 1351. A specific serial number cannot be determined as all data plates were removed after its service, probably while in the possession of the Aberdeen Proving Grounds where it may have been stripped of much of its equipment and modified with a makeshift sight. The turret is a self-contained unit capable of operating independent of aircraft power if necessary. Arc of fire was from 70 degrees below horizontal to 85 degrees above and 80 degrees to either side. Empty weight is 561 pounds and fully loaded weight is 1131 pounds. The turret diameter is 54 inches and is hydraulically driven on an internally mounted 1000 p.s.i. system. As the rounds were fired, spent shell casings dropped into the chute below the guns and collected in the front of the turret where they could be removed after flight through the access panel on the front. Belt clips were ejected sideways though chutes to leather bags that were also emptied after flight. Armor plating included (two) 1/4 inch foot plates, a 1/2 inch plate covering the entire forward ammo box and a 1-1/2 inch armored glass gun sight. It should be noted that, despite the appearance of cramped conditions, more equipment was installed in this turret than what is presently displayed. That equipment included a MK-9 gunsight, a turret control panel, belt collection bags, a hydraulic pump/motor under the seat, all hydraulic lines, arm rests installed on the side ammo boxes, a gun camera, the Plexiglas cover and of course, the gunner with his oxygen and communication gear. Restoration was carried out by U. S. Navy personnel from VQ-3 Detachment Travis and entailed over 250 man-hours. This turret is historically significant because it was installed on the PB4Y-2; the only 4-engine heavy bomber designed specifically for the U. S. Navy. VQ-3 now flies the E-6 Mercury, the only 4-engine heavy jet aircraft designed specifically for the U. S. Navy. A total of 736 PB4Y-2 Privateers were produced with 61 being lost to all causes during WW II. A Privateer crew is also credited with being the first casualty of the Cold War having been shot down on a reconnaissance mission over Russia in 1948. ----------------------------------------
Travis Air Museum Engine Room: R-2600-13 B-25 engine on the right. (Excerpted from North American Aviation Field Service Manual for B-25C and D): The Wright Cyclone, Model C14B, carries the Army Air Forces designation R-2600-13. The "R" stands for radial type of engine, "2600" stands for the number of cubic inches piston displacement, and the "13" is the model number. The engines are air-cooled, static, staggered, twin-row radial type having two speed superchargers. Owing to the high compression ratio of 6.9:1, the engine operates on 100-Octane fuel. No other fuel may be used except in the event of an emergency, when a fuel of the next highest Octane rating may be used. Under normal operating conditions, the engines develop a maximum of 1700 BHP (brake horsepower) for take-off at 44.3" Hg. (manifold pressure - in inches of mercury - of the fuel-air mixture in the engine intake pipes after passing through the supercharger) and 2600 RPM (revolutions per minute of the crankshaft, not the propeller). The cylinders are numbered in a clockwise direction when looking from the rear, or anti-propeller end, forward to the propeller end. Number 1 cylinder is the top cylinder of the rear row. Number two is to its right in the front row. Thus, all odd numbered cylinders are in the rear row and all even numbered cylinders in the front row. Specifications:
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Travis Air Museum has a large display of nose art By SSgt Bob Bond Aircraft nose art is a special and unique form of folk art. It has provided a way for aircrews and support personnel to personalize their "babies," to make them different from the multitude of other aircraft. Its origin can be traced back to World War 1, when squadrons placed artwork consisting mainly of their insignias or emblems on their aircraft. Without question, World War II was the heyday for this kind of art and its unique expression of military life. During that war, thousands of B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, B-26s, B-29s, P-40s, P-38s, P47s and P-51s rolled from the aircraft assembly lines. Mass-produced, each model could only be differentiated by tail number, but tail numbers were for the "bean counters" or "ribbon clerks." The real difference was in the talent and imagination of the men who flew and maintained them. Few crew members or support personnel would talk about 124583 or 457652, but they surely knew and talked about "Sack Time," or "Final Objective," or "Dream Girl." The inspiration for nose art, during World War II and later during the Korean Conflict, came from almost all areas of popular culture; girl friends, cartoons, comic strips, movies, matchbooks, calendars, you name it. However, the majority of nose art was inspired by the calendars and magazines of the time. The most widely copied artist was Alberto Vargas. Arguably the premier pin-up artist of our time, Vargas was the principle artist for Esquire Magazine and produced most of the art work for that magazine's pin-up page and calendars. World War II, in particular, was a time when almost anything was allowed to be painted on aircraft. Allowing this kind of expression was seen as a way to boost morale and unit efficiency. But, in time, there were some excesses. This was particularly true in the case of pin-up girl nose art, so that by the end of the war, Army Air Corps censorship became evident in some of this art work. Nose art all but disappeared following the Korean Conflict. It reappeared for a brief time during the Vietnam War, but disappeared once more at the end of that conflict because new command directives forbade nose art. During the 1980s the United States Air Force began to reexamine its heritage, and despite complaints from the National Organization for Women -- because beautiful women were favorite subjects -- the Commander in Chief of the Strategic Air Command endorsed nose art on aircraft to reinstill tradition and pride. Nevertheless, peacetime does not provide the ideal climate for this genre of art. It seems to take a war for nose art to survive and flourish. During the Gulf War, it did just that. By the time the conflict with Iraq ended in early 1991, almost everything within the theater that could fly had been decorated - some cute, some not so cute and some raunchy. When the aircraft returned home, most of the nose art seemed to disappear over night. ---------------------------------------- Models: Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ B-25s and the USS Hornet The Travis Air Museum has hundreds of meticulously created and professionally presented model aircraft of every shape and size. One of the best displays is a recreation of the 16 Doolittle Tokyo Raider’s B-25s on the deck of the USS Hornet.
Joe Tattersall also did a superb job of building a fiberglass hull Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and USS Hornet Exhibit The Silicon Valley Scale Modelers, Scorpio Innovations, and Obscureco Aircraft donated a 1/72nd scale model of USS Hornet's (CV-8) flight deck and island and 16 1/72nd scale model of the B-25s used on the Doolittle raid. This exhibit also includes 16 1/1200th scale models of all the ships that participated in Task Force 16, which escorted the Hornet.
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Created by Colleen Britton, the Travis Heritage Collection consists of six color photographs designed to celebrate the dedication, self-sacrifice, and service given over the years in our behalf by the men and women of Travis Air Force Base. Modeled from the book, A History of Travis Air Force Base 1943-1996, by Dr. Gary Leiser, the history of the base was divided into six chapters. Military uniforms, artifacts, memorabilia, and historic photographs carefully arranged tell the story of each period of base history. A short written narrative accompanies each photograph to identify the objects and their significance. The six photographs in the Travis Heritage Collection offer a glimpse into the past, and rekindle memories and pride in a job well done. They invite and encourage viewers to discover more about the people, times, and events which shaped our history and continue to shape our future. Travis Heritage Collection
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“Ed’s Final Flight” by Ray Carrinton In the spring of 1999, Mr. Ray Carrington, one of the most well-know metal sculptors on the West Coast, approached Curator Gary Leiser with the idea of donating several of his works of art to the Travis Air Museum. As president of the non-profit Carrington Foundation for Public Art, he was especially interested in providing art for public places. In addition, he had a strong interest in aviation, because he had served as an intelligence officer in the Air Force at Travis - so he wanted to do something at the base. After several discussions, he generously offered to donate two large metal sculptures designed for display out of doors. The smaller of the two, entitled “Ed’s Final Flight,” is a generic “aerospace vehicle” symbolic of the spirit of flight and the exploration of the heavens (Ed, by the way, was the name of the actual welder). Painted bright orange on a black pedestal, it stands about six feet high and weighs several hundred pounds. The larger, called “One Kid in a Hundred,” is a giant paper airplane. It is about twelve feet high and weighs more than half a ton. “Ed’s Flight” is on exhibit inside the museum. “One Kid in a Hundred” is in the back storage area. Both pieces should one day grace an outdoor sculpture garden. Mr. Carrington was born in Dunsmuir, California in 1930. He graduated from UC Berkeley in forestry. After serving in the Air Force and working throughout the lumber industry, he earned his teaching credentials at UC Davis and subsequently taught advanced mathematics for 35 years at Vacaville High School. He is currently a resident of Fairfield. In his art, he works with materials varying from thin wire to heavy beams. Abstract, representational, inventive, often whimsical, and original, his work has been shown in galleries across the US for 32 years. The Travis Air Museum is delighted to have two examples of his work. ---------------------------------------- Military Coins: 600 coin collection
General Charles T. “Tony” Robertson Jr. General Charles T. “Tony” Robertson Jr. donated his 600-piece coin collection to the Travis Air Museum where it is handsomely exhibited near the Gift Shop. Tony Robertson was commander in chief, U.S. Transportation Command, and commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. He retired effective Dec. 1, 2001. Military Challenge Coins Military Challenge Coins are an unofficial element of military culture. The true origins of these coins are shrouded in legend... During World War I, an American fighter pilot was shot down over “no-mans land.” He used a coin with the insignia of his squadron to identify himself to French soldiers intent on shooting him as a suspected saboteur. Thereafter members of his squadron carried their coins at all times. Soon a ritual challenge began. If anyone struck their coin on a hard surface, such as a bar, all others in attendance had to respond in kind. Anyone not having their coin had to buy a round of drinks. If everyone had their coin, the challenger bought the round. Variations developed in WW II. In the Philippine Islands, a force composed of Philippine, American, British, Australian, and others used the classic guerrilla tactic of striking hard and disappearing in the jungle before Japanese forces could react. In order to make contact between unknown guerrilla bands, they adopted the expedient method of filing a large one-peso coin flat on one side and stamping it with their unit emblem. This allowed them to carry a means of identification that would be overlooked if they were searched. In Vietnam the challenge tradition took a dangerous turn. Members of elite army units always carried one round of ammunition with them just in case. As sometimes happens with traditions this one got a little out of hand. Instead of carrying a rifle or pistol cartridge in their pocket when they visited a hootch (bar) some wise guy carried a larger .50 caliber machine gun round. It wasn't long before 20 mm, 40 mm, and even 105 mm cannon shells were carried to these gatherings. Common sense prevailed and challenge coins replaced live ordinance. Today, challenge coins are a symbol of pride that military members carry, not for personal identification, but to identify themselves as part of a team. Soldiers and airmen from numerous countries have taken up the challenge. One of the ways to make new friends when deployed to distant lands is to trade coins. People strive for the most unusual coins and carrying the coins of another unit or nation is acceptable as long as they can show their connection with that organization. ---------------------------------------- Uniforms: Military Uniform Collection
Travis Air Museum Military Uniform Exhibit The Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Foundation and the Travis Air Museum are exceptionally proud of its extensive military uniform exhibits. Authentic uniforms from WWI to the space exploration; from pilots to medics to WASPs are displayed.
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Travis AFB Visitors Center (707) 424-1462 Travis AFB Information (707) 424-1110
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 "Travis Air Museum Engine Room: R-2600-13 B-25 engine on the right")
