Pima Air and Space Museum - day 1

When we were in Tucson back in January, we knew that there were several things we wanted to do in the "south end" of town, so we decided to stay in that area this time. One of the things we wanted to do was to visit the Titan Missile Museum, the Pima Air and Space Museum, and the "boneyard". Way back on February 14, I purchased a dual membership at the Pima Air and Space Museum so we could get a discount on the "Top to Bottom" tour at the Titan site. I have the emails that I did it, but no membership card yet (they indicated they would email when they mailed it, and I haven't gotten that yet either). I have called a couple of times, and when I talked with them last week, they said to show up with my email and they would honor it... so that's what we did yesterday.

We decided to go Sunday after church to visit the museum and see exhibits. We knew we wanted to go on the "boneyard" tour, and that it only goes on weekdays (non-holidays). Instead of trying to do both it and the museum visit on the same day, we decided to split them up.

Yesterday, we got to the museum just in time to join a docent tour of the main building. I stayed with the docent for a continuing tour into the WWII hangars, while Dwayne decided to go on exploring at his own pace. He joined back up with the docent tour just as it was ending. I found a nice place to sit and read my book (Kindle on my phone) while he was able to visit all the exhibits he wanted to visit.

SR71 Blackbird - This plan is made of titanium because the speed it attains is so fast that the skin heats up more than could be stood by other metals

The "Warthog" - so called by its pilots and ground crews - A-10 is not the prettiest aircraft but is extremely good at its job of killing tanks.

This is the type of plane that Harrison Ford was recently flying and crashed in.

Our docent in front of a plane that was acquired from the India air force. "Rosie the Riveter" was very busy on this craft!

The aircraft in the museum may come in from various sources. In their process of restoring them, they will re-create outside markings to commemorate something that was appropriate with that type of aircraft (not necessarily of the specific airplane.

For example - the airplane below was painted to commemorate  Lt Louis Curdes.

Note that the markings indicates that the pilot shot down 7 German planes (7 swastikas), 1 Italian (the second one on the second row), 1 Japanese, and ??? 1 American ???

>>> copied from the information printed at the plane >>>
 Louis Curdes was born November 2, 1919 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He joined the Army in March, 1942 and graduated from pilot training at Luke Field, Arizona on December 3rd, 1942. Curdes was assigned to the 82nd Fighter Group, 95th Fighter Squadron, flying P-38 Lightnings over the Mediterranean and southern Europe. He arrived at the unit on April 17, 1943 and shot down three Messerschmitt Bf109 fighters on April 29th. He destroyed two more Bf109s on May 19th to become an ace in only a little over a month of combat. Over the next three months he shot down an Italian Mc202 fighter and two more Messerschmitts before he was himself shot down by a German fighter on August 27, 1943 over Salerno, Italy.

Curdes was captured and interned in a POW camp near Rome. Only a few days later, Italy surrendered and he and several other American pilots escaped from the camp before the Germans could take over. He made his way out of German occupied Italy, arriving back in Allied controlled territory on May 27, 1944. After a brief leave Curdes volunteered for another combat tour. He was assigned to the 3rd Air Commando Group, 4th Fighter Squadron in the Philippines, flying the P-51 Mustang. Curdes arrived in the Pacific Theatre on November 19, 1944. On February 7, 1945, he shot down a Mitsubishi "Dinah" reconnaissance plane near Formosa, making him one of only three Americans to have kills against Germany, Italy, and Japan.

While attaching the Japanese held island of Batan, between the Philippines and Formosa, one of Curdes' wingmen was shot down. Curdes stayed in the area to guide a rescue plane and protect the downed pilot. While they were circling, Curdes noticed an aircraft approaching to land at the Japanese base. Upon investigating, he saw that it was a Douglas C-47 and that it carried American markings. After several attempts to direct the Dakota away from the island airfield, Curdes decided that he had no choice but to take drastic measures. Carefully lining up behind the transport, he shot out first one and then the other engine. The C-47 ditched in the ocean only about 50 yards from the pilot Curdes had been protecting. As darkness descended, Curdes and his wingman were forced to return to base. The next morning, he returned and flew over while a PBY picked up the downed Mustang pilot and the twelve passengers and crew from the wayward C-47, including two female nurses.

For his actions, Curdes was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross, making him, perhaps, the only pilot to receive a medal for shooting down a friendly aircraft.
<<< end of copied information <<<

The docent additionally told us that one of the nurses was a woman that Curdes had dated (he didn't know that at the time he shot down the American plane) and that he subsequently married her. The docent also said that the pilot of the American plane was nearly out of fuel and desperate to land, and did not know that the airfield he was heading toward was Japanese. It was thought that the crew would have received very bad treatment if they had ended up landing at the Japanese airfield, so their lives were probably saved by Curdes shooting them down.