MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
From the 31 Oct 1949 issue of Aviation Week.
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I recall my Uncle Bill (Captain William Johnson, USN) talking about the Banshee and the Panther being his favorites when I was a kid. Sadly, he was lost in Vietnam (MIA) in '69, so I was never able to learn more about them from his perspective.In the "Banshees in the News" section . . . all these events were flown by VF-171. "R S Laird" mentioned should be D S Laird, Dean S "Diz" Laird, the only USN ace with credits against both the Germans and the Japanese.
During the period described VF-171 was commanded by my father, then, Commander William N Leonard, CO from July 1948 to October 1950. VF-171 was the first USN jet squadron to fully carrier qualify.
The F2H while certainly not the fastest was one of the highest flying fighters of ours. I'm not sure how routinely it could hit 52,000 feet but that might have beaten the F-86 and was getting close to the MiG-15.I recall my Uncle Bill (Captain William Johnson, USN) talking about the Banshee and the Panther being his favorites when I was a kid.
Sorry about thatSadly, he was lost in Vietnam (MIA) in '69
Details are a little thin, because it was supposed to be an "eyes on" flight in an area where we (and Vietnamese) weren't supposed to be, but I understand it was an A-4 "Skyhawk".GrauGeist,
What was he flying in Vietnam?
Okay, coolDetails are a little thin, because it was supposed to be an "eyes on" flight in an area where we (and Vietnamese) weren't supposed to be, but I understand it was an A-4 "Skyhawk".