In Search of Famous Airmen or Aircraft From Ohio and Michigan

General Discussion FSM Ready Room
1

Hi Gents, Anyone know any famous aircraft or aviators with ties to Michigan or Ohio?

So far I have:

Ohio

  • Don Gentile (Ohio)
  • P-47D “Pride of Lodi Ohio”
  • Eddie Rickenbacker WWI Ace
  • John Glenn (Pilot/Astronaut)

Michigan

  • Urban Drew (P-51D Detroit Miss)
  • B-24J named ‘Michigan’ in PTO
  • 457th BG B-17G named ‘Hamtramack Mama’ – Misspelling of city of Hamtramck MI from what I can tell.
2

The Goodyear Blimps.

Bill

3

Orville and Wilbur and the Kitty Hawk

4

I believe Eugene Mandeberg was from Detroit. He was one of the last 4 aviators to die in pacific theater. VF88 off Yorktown. He flew Hellcats. Made famous in the book Dogfight over Tokyo. Mandeberg, William Hobbs, and two others were shot down after Japan had surrendered.

5

A couple spring right to mind for my own birth state of Ohio: Orville and Wilbur, as John mentioned above; and though you’ve got John Glenn, I believe you could add Jim Lovell and a certain Mr. N. Armstrong, a Wapakoneta lad, who was in all the papers for a while. [:D]

As for the Mitten State, I believe Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit. Also the birth state of famed aviatrix Harriet Quimby, first woman in the United States to receive a pilot certificate, issued to her by the Aero Club of America in 1911. She was also the first woman to pilot an aircraft across the English Channel, in 1912…an achievement which was unfortunately pretty much unknown at the time, since headlines about some bloody great boat hitting an iceberg were all the news only the day before, squeezing out all other events.

6

LT Jack Ritticher, USCG was from Ohio. As a USCG pilot, he flew helicopters. He volunteered for a USCG/USAF pilot exchange program and served with the USAF 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in Vietnam. Ritticher and his 3 man USAF crew went to recue a downed USMC pilot. Their HH-3E helicopter was hit by enemy fire, crashed and killed all four crew.

Astronaut Judith Resnick (Challenger disaster) was from Akron.

Aviation pioneer, William Boeing, was born in Detroit.

Aircraft designer Edward Heinemann (A-1 Skyhawk, F4D Skyray) was born in Saginaw.

Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s “Skunkworks”, was born in Ishpeming, MI.

7

How could you guys miss Neil Armstrong? [:D]

Oh, sorry! I see Greg B did mention him in his post.

Naval aviator David Ingalls is another Buckeye, too.

8

F-105D 59-1771 Ohio Express/Foley’s Folley

9

Nice find Stick!

I Believe the Fredrick Bock (B-29 Commander of Bockscar, but who, I believe ended up at the controls of ‘The Great Artiste’ on the Nagasaki mission, is from Michigan.

10

As far as aviators from Ohio are concerned, someone compiled a list (a category) in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Aviators_from_Ohio

11

Thanks Baron, that list turned up P-51 ace in a day Ernest Bankey of Cleveland OH

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/wp-content/groupimages/gallery/364g/5e-b.jpg

12

Found a minor insignifcant aviator from Columbus OH!

His name, Curtis LeMay! [H]

13

[Y]

14

I believe I found a Michigan link to 55th FG P-51D CY-M ‘Miss Marilyn II’.

Flown at one point by Lt Robert E. Welch

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/55th-fighter-group/

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/50463

https://thetimesherald.newspapers.com/clip/61723908/lieut-robert-e-welch-ww2-pilot-of-p51/

15

Col. Donald Blakeslee from Fairport Harbor, Ohio.

Mike

16

How about aircraft of the OH ANG and MI ANG? I’ll bet that they’ve done some duty down range in the sandbox putting ordnance on bad guys over the past 20 years.

17

You mentioned Gentile but what about his P-51Shangri La?

I modeled it last year.