Convairiety, Volume 13, Number 25, Wednesday, December 7, 1960 Page: 4 of 8
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Page 4
CONVAIRIETY
Wednesday, December 7, 1960
Together Again
Convair Men Look Back 19 Years
To Bombing in Philippines
Two Convair FW employees
who defended the Philippines af-
ter Pearl Harbor are back “to-
gether” again, building B-58
Hustlers.
They're Jim Elder, engineering
publications editor, and R. W.
Geis, project design engineer.
On Dec. 7, 1941, 1st Lt. Elder
was a B-17 pilot with the 19th
Bombardment Group at Clark
Field in Luzon, Philippines.
Across the runway at Ft. Stot-
senburg, 1st Lt. Geis was com-
mander of Battery A, first bat-
talion, 24th Field Artillery.
Elder was enjoying a meat-
balls-and-spaghetti lunch when a
V formation flew overhead.
“Gosh,” he exclaimed, “the Na-
vy’s flying close formation to-
day.”
In the next instant Jap bombs
and machine-gun fire rained on
the two military installations.
Elder scrambled for his plane
but was felled by shrapnel. Geis
pulled his troops into a nearby
culvert. He “vaguely recalls” one
of his men blasting away with a
Colt .45 at strafing Zeroes.
Elder, along with about 100
other critically wounded, was
herded into a wooden inter-island
steamer — a one-stacker — which
promptly embarked on a circui-
tous, 27-da’y trip to safety at Sid-
ney, Australia.
“We hugged the coast trying
to avoid the enemy,” Elder re-
members. “Once we had to slip
into a Dutch port to get food and
supplies.”
At Sidney, the wounded Ameri-
cans were transferred to the
Queen Elizabeth (before it was
converted to a troop ship), which
returned to the U. S. via Indian
Ocean and South American coas-
tal waters.
Elder arrived in New York
City May 25 to find that the Phil-
ippines had fallen.
Meanwhile, Geis’ outfit had
pulled back into defensive posi-
tions following the “second chap-
ter” of Pearl Harbor at Luzon,
there to begin the heroic battle
of Bataan.
Geis earned a Purple Heart
and was recommended verbally
for a Silver Star and battlefield
promotion during the delaying ac-
tion before Bataan fell March 20.
He was among about 55,000 Al-
lied troops who started the six-
day forced march to O’Donnell
Prison Camp.
Geis became a master of sur-
vival during the next four years
in five different prison camps.
When daily fare got down to soup
and a cup of rice, normally 170-
pound Geis weighed 95 pounds.
Geis used his electrical engi-
neering knowledge to improvise a
water and electrical supply sys-
tem in one camp.
“It helped tremendously,” he
recalls, “since contaminated wa-
ter was one of the major reasons
for fatalities. The death toll
dropped sharply.”
The artillery officer who was
never to receive his Silver Star
or battlefield promotion because
most of his fellow officers—in-
cluding the commanding officer
who issued the order—were killed
in action, was returned stateside
in September, 1945.
He was married in November,
1945—delayed four years by his
captivity.
OLD TIMES—Jim Elder, left, and R. W. Geis were both on
Luzon in Philippines 19 years ago today—when Pearl Harbor was
bombed.
Maryland University Scientist
Will Serve Year at Convair SD
Dr. J. B. Marion, associate
professor of physics at the Uni-
versity of Maryland, recently
joined Convair SD’s physics sec-
tion as visiting senior staff sci-
entist, announced Dr. A. E. S.
Green, chief of SD physics.
Dr. Marion, who is on a year’s
leave of absence from his teach-
ing position, is the first of a
group of distinguished scientists
who will be brought to Convair
San Diego in the near future
from other parts of this country
under a new program instituted
by the SD physics section. They
‘‘Your wife is nice but she isn’t the
kind of collateral I had in mind."
will supplement the Convair SD
physics staff as consulting and
visiting scientists.
A specialist in the field of nu-
clear physics, Dr. Marion will be
concerned with problems in radi-
ations in space during his stay at
Convair.
He has done research at Rice
Institute, California Institute of
Technology, University of Ro-
chester, N.Y., Los Alamos Scien-
tific Laboratory, Oak Ridge Na-
tional Laboratory, in addition to
his work at the University of
Maryland. He is the author of
numerous articles and books cov-
ering the field of low-energy ex-
perimental physics.
As vice chairman of the Sub-
committee on Nuclear Constants
of the National Research Council,
he made arrangements for the
semi-annual meeting held at Con-
vair San Diego Nov. 18. Attend-
ing the conference were 12 sci-
entists from the United States,
Canada, and South America.
He also is a member and con-
sultant of the Nuclear Data
Group, National Academy of
Sciences.
DELTA SWEEP—Dick Johnson, Convair FW manager of flight, is only pilot who has flown all of
Convair’s famous delta-model planes: F-106 in hand, other models, XF-92, F-102 and Mach 2-plus
B-58 Hustler.
FW's New Manager of Flight
Is '100 Pet/ in Delta Aircraft
Dick Johnson took the controls
of a B-58 this month and prompt-
ly became the nation’s most ver-
satile “delta-wing” pilot.
Convair’s personable new man-
ager of flight is the only pilot
around who has flown every
delta-wing plane made in this
country—the XF-92, F-102, F-106,
and B-58 Hustler.
Convair Manager Frank W.
Davis helped design the XF-92,
first experimental jet, and John-
son flew it back in 1949 while
still an Air Force pilot.
“It was strictly a research
plane,” Johnson said. “My top
speed was a subsonic Mach .9.”
Johnson joined Convair SD in
1953, after an action-packed 11-
year stint as an Air Force test
pilot. He resigned as a lieutenant
colonel.
His first big job as a Convair
test pilot was to take the F-102
aloft on its maiden flight. His
ultimate top speed in the nation’s
first production delta fighter was
Mach 1.5.
“I really liked it,” Johnson said
of the 102’s performance. So did
the Air Force, which eventually
ordered over 1,000 of the super-
sonic fighters.
Another “first” for Johnson
came Dec. 26, 1956, when he took
Convair’s F-106 interceptor on its
first flight and envisioned “great
things” for the all-weather
fighter. Last year the Air Force
made his predictions come true,
pushing a 106 up to 1529.9 miles
an hour, a new official world
speed record.
The record 106 sprint gave
Johnson pause. Only a few years
before that—in 1951—he himself
had set the world’s record of 680
miles an hour in an F-86 jet over
Edwards AFB!
“In just eight years,” he re-
flected, “the Air Force more than
doubled the record.”
Johnson’s rounded experience
with delta-model planes doesn’t
necessarily overshadow his over-
all background as a pilot of
fighter planes.
During his career as an Air
Force test pilot, Johnson flew
over 40 British planes, two Cana-
dian, and two Russian—among
others. Most of this “international
flying” was done at Wright Field
and Edwards AFB, some of it in
France and England.
But Johnson didn’t amass all
his flying time in supersonic air-
craft. He logged many an hour
Reps, of AF Attend
Storage Conference
About 40 Air Force representa-
tives from across the nation are
attending a B-58 weapons sys-
tem storage site conference Dec.
6-7 at Convair FW.
R. M. Gallagher, spares man-
ager, said spares policies and
procedures would also be dis-
cussed.
Representatives came from
SAC Headquarters, 2nd Air
Force, 43rd Bomb Wing, Bunker
Hill AFB, and Air Materiel Area
headquarters at San Antonio;
Oklahoma City; Middletown, Pa.;
Warner-Robins, Ga.; Mobile,
Ala.; Ogden, Utah; Rome, New
York; and Sacramento.
back in World War II in P-47
Thunderbolts, flying combat sor-
ties in the Mediterranean the-
ater.
He’s even had a hand in flying
the world’s fastest commercial
transport—Convair’s 880.
Johnson’s penchant for speed
even laps over into his athletic
activities. During his college days
he was a fastball twirler for
Oregon State. He later pitched
for Greensboro — a Boston Red
Sox club — in the Piedmont
League.
In logging over 7,000 hours
flying hours—mostly in fighters
—Johnson has naturally had his
share of “thrills.” But not all of
them have been supersonic.
Back in 1935 he flew a home-
made airplane with a Model-T
engine!
It went nearly 80 miles an
hour.
CONVAIR'S NAISH
ELECTED BY AIA
AS 1961 CHAIRMAN
Convair President J. V. Naish
was elected chairman of the
board of governors of Aerospace
Industries Association for 1961.
Past vice chairman of the as-
sociation, Naish will hold his
present post until Nov., 1961.
Election was held at the recent
annual meeting of members and
fall meeting of the board of gov-
ernors at Phoenix, Ariz.
Membership of the organiza-
tion consists of key personnel
throughout the aircraft and mis-
sile industry. The association in-
vestigates, studies, and deter-
mines the best solution of in-
dustry-wide problems affecting
companies involved in aerospace
activities.
Also elected to the board were
J. E. Rheim of Rohr Aircraft
Corp., and Claude Ryan of Ryan
Aeronautical Co.
Anyone For Bagpipes? It Helps If-
Youve Had No Music Training!
Few, if any, people take a
“middle of the road” stand when
it comes to bagpipes, according
to Convair Pomona’s Don Hall
(Dept. 6).
“In most cases, a person either
PIPER—Convair Pomona’s Don
Hall (Dept. 6), one of few bag-
pipers who lays no claim to
having Scottish blood, is shown
here in full regalia. Hall is cur-
rently organizing bagpipe band
at Convair Pomona, hopes to
gain CRA recognition for group.
loves the pipes, or he hates them.
Very few people are completely
indifferent to them,” Hall said.
Hall definitely falls within the
former category, although he is
one of the few bagpipers around
who claims no Scottish blood. At
present he is organizing a bag-
pipe band at Convair Pomona,
and is helping to organize an-
other in La Habra.
The Convair organization cur-
rently has 24 members, including
three drummers. Practically all
of the pipers are beginners.
“The bagpipe, although it looks
complicated, is really a very sim-
ple instrument, and a beginner
should become reasonably pro-
ficient in about six months,” Hall
said. “There are only nine notes,
and no sharps or flats.”
The bagpipe consists of a bag,
used to retain air; a blowpipe,
to fill the bag; a “chaunter,” or
“chanter,” which is fingered to
produce the melody; and three
“drones” — one bass and two
treble — each of which produces
a single, fixed note. A beginner
usually starts out with a practice
chanter, which costs about $4, to
learn the essentials of fingering
the instrument.
Oddly enough, previous musi-
cal training is of doubtful value
in learning to play the bagpipes,
Hall said.
“Trained musicians usually
have to ‘unlearn’ a lot before
they can successfully play the
pipes,” he explained.
The Convair group is currently
meeting at 4:30 p.m. each Wed-
nesday at the Pomona CRA Club-
house. All Convair employees and
members of their families who
are 12 years or older are eligible,
Hall said.
Cost of a set of bagpipes
ranges from $35 to $375, with
much of the cost of the higher
priced sets going for ornamen-
tation, Hall said. A good, me-
dium-priced set from Scotland
costs in the neighborhood of
$100.
Hall said he has always been
interested in bagpipes, and while
serving in the Army (his division
had a small bagpipe band) he
decided to do something about it.
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General Dynamics Corporation. Convair Division. Convairiety, Volume 13, Number 25, Wednesday, December 7, 1960, periodical, December 7, 1960; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth777500/m1/4/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.