Lyndon Johnson's 1942 footage of the Swoose on YouTube

[Chris Brame]

Found this while looking for something else. From LBJ's Australia trip in '42: The quality is poor but the inside and outside views of the Swoose are priceless! I hope the inside details can be of some help for the restoration; note the "Flying Fortress" badge on the instrument panel in one shot, and also how rough the OD paint job really was. Also note the P-40s (squadron ID, anyone?) and a B-18 missing a prop in one shot. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-GXcqGqsLE

[tom d. friedman]

then congressman johnson was commissioned a lt. commander in the navy on a fact finding tour of the pacific. the b- 26 marauder he was passenger on was shot up by japanese ace saburo sakai. johnson put himself in for a high honor medal for the encounter....... what a crock of b.s.!! if sakai would have aimed for lbj's ear lobes history would have been changed forever!! lbj....... more like "el bj" if you get my drift.

[Steve Nelson]

Great stuff, especially the interior shots of The Swoose. There's a quick view of the waist section at 3:46..It looks like she may have had some extra fuel bladders installed on the left side.

I wonder if this means The Swoose will go on display in the NMUSAF Presidential Gallery when she's done....

SN

[gemmer]

Found this while looking for something else. From LBJ's Australia trip in '42: The quality is poor but the inside and outside views of the Swoose are priceless! I hope the inside details can be of some help for the restoration; note the "Flying Fortress" badge on the instrument panel in one shot, and also how rough the OD paint job really was. Also note the P-40s (squadron ID, anyone?) and a B-18 missing a prop in one shot. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-GXcqGqsLE

Note the two tone paint job. The P-40s were from one of the squadrons of the 49th fighter group. 7th, 8th, or 9th.

Duane

[Hemiman]

Per my mate Gordo Birkett:

"Hi Lads

My input on the aircraft

Firstly, P-40E #12 is “Minnesota Gopher” ala 41-5449

being the "The Swoose" ala 40-3097 taking off past a 21st TCS B-18 (one of two extant at that time SWPAC)

#18 P-40E is mention in Lt Hanson’s Diary, but i have failed to come up with a serial
#30 P-40E may be 41-5621 depending on the date of this. If pre 5/42, then its that serial

Straus Field , Carisbrooke Station, and Darwin Civil (QANTAS Hanger may be the give away)"

Cheers

Gordy

[gary1954]

Per my mate Gordo Birkett:

"Hi Lads

My input on the aircraft

Firstly, P-40E #12 is “Minnesota Gopher” ala 41-5449

being the "The Swoose" ala 40-3097 taking off past a 21st TCS B-18 (one of two extant at that time SWPAC)

#18 P-40E is mention in Lt Hanson’s Diary, but i have failed to come up with a serial
#30 P-40E may be 41-5621 depending on the date of this. If pre 5/42, then its that serial

Straus Field , Carisbrooke Station, and Darwin Civil (QANTAS Hanger may be the give away)"

Cheers

Gordy

Go Gordy!!

[Dan K]

Interesting stuff from Baugher:


41-5449 (CW-469, c/n 16441) crashed 4 mi from Daly Waters, NT. Australia Jun 13, 1942.

41-5621 (49th PG, 8th PS) SUMAC/LEFT 7/8thPS/49thPG #30 on 49th FG Books 26/02/42
Project"X" Dec 22, 1941 "X" Feb 26, 1942 ,.... a/c #30 flown by Lt Dale 7thFS/49thFG that caused the T/O collision of #32 (serial unkown) piloted by 2Lt Tyler,with C40#519(serial ukn) on Apr 29, 1942 at Batchelor Field NT Australia, Brig General George and 2Lt Jasper killed ) latter with the 8thFS, had structural failure in engine over Brock's Creek NT Lt Donald Dittler bailed out Jun 11, 1942

[Clifford Bossie]

then congressman johnson was commissioned a lt. commander in the navy on a fact finding tour of the pacific. the b- 26 marauder he was passenger on was shot up by japanese ace saburo sakai. johnson put himself in for a high honor medal for the encounter....... what a crock of b.s.!! if sakai would have aimed for lbj's ear lobes history would have been changed forever!! lbj....... more like "el bj" if you get my drift.

Actually the B-26 LBJ was on aborted due to a generator malfunction and never completed the mission. Due to that fact it is doubtful that LBJ saw any combat on that mission. We were raised on harrowing tales of his coolness under fire, Martin Caidin even co-authored a book titled The Mission recounting an heroic event. The evidence reeks of fabrication though. To quote a line from the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: "You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?" "No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

I would suggest anyone interested to research LBJ's claim. I find it very unsettling.

[SaxMan]

Actually the B-26 LBJ was on aborted due to a generator malfunction and never completed the mission. Due to that fact it is doubtful that LBJ saw any combat on that mission. We were raised on harrowing tales of his coolness under fire, Martin Caidin even co-authored a book titled The Mission recounting an heroic event. The evidence reeks of fabrication though...

Are you suggesting that Martin Caidin embellished his stories? Perish the thought!

[SaxMan]

One of the scenes in the footage appears to be the incident where the Swoose's compass malfunctioned and the crew became lost. They set the Swoose down at a cattle ranch (IIRC). It looks like the crew is reading a map being supplied by an Australian on how to get to their destination. It doesn't exactly look like an airstrip either!

The footage is sobering in reminding us just how crude the facilities were in the SWPA, particularly in '42, when the men fighting the Japanese were short on everything except courage. It was their "holding the line" in 1942 that made the successes of '43 - '45 even possible.

[Rick65]

As a segue to Obama’s visit the Weekend Australian newspaper of Nov 12 and 13 had a 3/4 page article titled "Boy's Own adventures nearly killed LBJ" (Inquirer pg19) featuring photos of Johnson, the Swoose and even, tenuously linked by Johnson wearing his Silver Star the day that JFK was assassinated, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Unfortunately the Australian has recently introduced payment for some on line content, including this article so I can't give a link.

The author Cameron Stewart describes the mission to New Guinea as an “aborted combat mission” and LBJ’s Silver Star as “controversial” and has penned a very readable article.

Apparently look out for the February edition of a British magazine called “After the Battle” if you have interest in the incident as a military historian called David Mitchelhill – Green has witten a new account of Johnson’s visit.

If you haven't been there, the interior of Australia is big and lots of it seems inhospitable, featureless and merciless, that is why most of us live near the coast.

[udondave]

Hi,

Just to let you know that the ATB article will now most likely appear in May.

Hope you find it interesting,

Cheers, David

[cooper9411]

WOW, looking at that at four in the morning.

[CoastieJohn]

I never knew about that Silver Star controversy with LBJ. I checked Wiki and it was sourced to a CNN story. I couldn't find the CNN source story stating the awarding of the Silver Star to LBJ was a fraud. Wiki said McArthur awarded it to him. I did find this other CNN story about it. The B-26's Navigator came forward and stated they never came under attack. He was told to clam up. Good read.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/07/09/l ... index.html