B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[NImrodA26]

OK you two, enough about "greenies". Here's the latest scoop. JR, looks to me like you fellows are on an exceptional diet!!!!
And, by the way, Special K is looking great! Keep the pictures and updates coming.

We follow this one here in Virginia religiously. (doesn't work, but we follow it!!!!)

Here is an update on all that health stuff we keep hearing about!!!!!!
Q. I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain... Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!
This should certainly clear up your misconceptions about food and diets.

[A26 Special K]

Well, Randy, I think we quelled that small riot by giving just the facts. Thanks very much. I feel much better to know that, indeed, we are providing the best nutrition to our team. We have to keep them healthy and get the airplane flying, right? JR

[A26 Special K]

While the real JR was working on the airplane today, two guests from Panama came by to visit the museum. This reminded me that several of the K models were based at Howard AFB back in the day when they were first delivered to the USAF. They had green and gray or full gray paint jobs and usually sported the glass noses. This suggests that they were used for photo recon missions, and indeed, one of the Navs back then did tell me a few stories about mapping missions all thru Central and S. America. Some armament tests were also conducted out near Puerto Rico and we know that 679 was involved there at one time. As a side note, no K models were sold to other countries except the five left in VN and then blown up when SVN fell. However, Hamilton Aircraft Co. did do some modifications to B-26's that made them look outwardly like K's. They did not do all of the changes though so they are not K's. Brazil retired the last Hamilton mod airplane in Dec 1975 as best that I can ascertain.

[A26 Special K]

Well, the real JR also sent me some pics of the right wheel well today. He removed a mysterious air bottle from the inboard side of the well and found this under. I about had a cow.. and believe me, that is really hard to do! Looks like corrosion, huh?? Another dang problem for our metal benders. The other JR

[A26 Special K]

But then I got this picture... oh, what a relief it is.... It was just crud that had collected under that bottle. JR just scraped it off. No corrosion found. It will just clean up with some elbow work. Whewww. The other JR

[A26 Special K]

This was shot in the right wheel well and depicts the flap drive to the outboard segment behind the front wing spar. The electrically driven flap motor is in the bomb bay so this is the drive rod to that segment. Not often you can see it from this angle. When the extra 100 gal fuel tank was carried in the bomb bay, great care had to be taken that it was not overfilled. Fumes or spillage could be ignited by the actuation of the flap motor mounted on the spar. More than one aircraft was lost after rotation on take off and flap retraction when carrying an overfilled tank. If I recall correctly, it was supposed to only have 90 gallons in the forward BB tank. For long overwater ferry flights, there was another tank in the aft BB that could haul over 600 gallons. The main and aux wing tanks carried 800 gallons together. The tips added 163 each side plus 230 gal drop tanks could be carried on the inboard wing pylons. Lots of gas. Still looking for two drop tanks if anybody has a lead on some. Thanks, JR

[A26 Special K]

The April 27th ground school for the B-25 in Ft Worth has attracted a lot of attention. This class is for pilots and non pilots who want to become crew chiefs. Stay tuned in the next week or so for some special deals via social media. Two more class dates have been added as well. May 11 and June 8 will be available if we get enough interest. Meanwhile, we were sent this link to an amazing video on YouTube that shows a huge model of the Pacific Prowler being flown in Germany. The thing is so big that you could probably sit on top if it and get a ride! They did a remarkable job of detailing the finish and markings. There are a few things missing, but overall, it is a dead ringer for our airplane. I wonder if anyone will build a model like this of the K when we are done. Sure hope so. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZowexXfK_Ao

PS. Contact Dana at our website for more info on the ground school and how to get a discount on the cost. http://www.gga1.org Thanks, JR

[A26 Special K]

If we cut to the chase and keep our eyes on the goal, this is close to what K will look like when her makeover is completed. You can help by donating to the matching challenge engine overhaul fund going on at our sister organization in New Hampshire. The A-26 Legacy Foundation and the TWH Foundation have paired up. TWH will donate one dollar to match any dollar donated. Help us save this national treasure so that the story of AF Special Operations over Laos from 1965 to 1970 can finally be told. Isn't it time we welcome these Vets home? There is a donation button on this website: http://www.a-26legacy.org Or you can send a check to Don Vogler, Chairman, at 88 Fitch Road, Jaffrey, NH 03452. It is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 charity so your donation will be tax deductible. Your $5 becomes $10 for Special Kay's engines. Will you help us get her flying again? Thanks for your support. JR

[A26 Special K]

Aircraft loss in March 1969 at NKP. Who was Major John V. Callanan, USAF? Here is one place to find out: http://airforce.togetherweserved.com/us ... &ID=239186

[rdennard]

I was there when Capt Monette and Maj Callanan went down in A/C 673. By there, I mean RIGHT THERE! I was working de-arm end of runway when the A/C cartwheeled into the de-arm area. A few seconds later... or a few meters one way or the other, and a bunch of us at de-arm would not be here.

[Roger Cain]

Glad to see this A-26K coming along, used the paypal button and made a small donation, good luck, keep chugging away.

[A26 Special K]

I was there when Capt Monette and Maj Callanan went down in A/C 673. By there, I mean RIGHT THERE! I was working de-arm end of runway when the A/C cartwheeled into the de-arm area. A few seconds later... or a few meters one way or the other, and a bunch of us at de-arm would not be here.

If this is the same incident that I heard about, they had a bad gear indication on one side and did a pass by the tower to see if it was down. During the go-around, one engine failed and the airplane rolled over due to the slow speed. The gear was found to be down and locked, but the indicator had a clip that was notorious for breaking and giving false unsafe indications. Does this sound like the same incident as you recall? Where was the arming area relative to the runway in use at the time?

We have changed our clips and overhauled the indicator sensing units. They will be checked frequently in our maintenance inspection program. If we don't get a green light, we will use the emergency checklist, give it our best shot and land anyway. From our tests with the emergency gear extension, once released from the uplock, it will go all the way to lock unless something is really messed up in which case, it won't hold up anyway. Lesson learned. Thanks for your story and glad you are still here to tell it.

How far back is 1969 right now? Has anybody else thought about it? How could that have been 44 years ago? Does anybody else realize we are losing Viet Nam Vets at a higher rate than WWII Vets now? One of my daughters was born in Oct 1968... the same night that Col. Roger Graham flew his last A-26 combat mission from NKP. If you haven't read his book about the Nimrods, you are really missing something. It is time to bring the Special Ops folks from back then out of the dark into the sunshine and give them the honors they deserve. That's what Special K is all about. JR

[A26 Special K]

Glad to see this A-26K coming along, used the paypal button and made a small donation, good luck, keep chugging away.

Thanks very much Roger. Indeed I just got word from the A26 Legacy folks that your Paypal donation came thru. The Legacy folks also received several other checks in the mail today. I think we are somewhere around $3600 raised so far which will be matched by the TWH Foundation. So again, thanks to all who have or will donate to our engine overhaul fund. This $3600 will become $7200. This is a very nice start of our challenge campaign. Special K will soon be out flying and taking care of her last mission of telling the story of the A-26 vets. We couldn't be prouder!! Come see us!! JR PS.. Way to go to Randy!! Thanks!! See you at the Militaria show on May 18 at Meacham.

[rdennard]

I wrote a chapter about the A/C 673 crash in my book so there's no way I can tell about it in the space here, but here's a couple of tid bits:

De-arm "End of runway" was just about like it sounds. There was a pad just off to the side at the end of runway... between the runway and taxiway. Planes would pull in there after landing to be de-armed after their mission. There was a small home-made shack where the A-1 armament guys and crew chiefs would hang out waiting for planes to land. The A-26 just had two "bomb loader" guys out there with a 2 1/2 ton truck. At night there was a lite-all.

When A/C 673 crashed, it cartwheeled through the de-arm area. All of us there had no warning... only the roar of A-26 engines a few seconds before the wing-tip hit the ground. I still don't know how any of us made it out alive.

The cause?... I don't think we'll ever know. When I wrote the book I did some research trying to find out the real reason. At the time of the crash everything was so classified that the real reasons were disguised with a lot of mumbo-jumbo. The truth is buried in the archives at Maxwell AFB in still classified documents. Finding the right document(s) and then requesting that it be declassified is something that is almost impossible. So... here's what we all believed at the time. The A/C had just taken off a little bit earlier. The "word" was that it had received battle damage from ground fire while still in Thailand. It still had a full bomb load. The jettison area was about a bit past the end of runway (maybe a mile or two). It was standard operating procedure to make a pass down the runway and then jettison the bombs before landing. Then... while making the pass... the A/C had a "stutter" of the starboard (right) engine. This torqued the aircraft to the right... toward the flightline where all the A/C were lined up wing-tip to wing-tip.

The pilot corrected for the torque with the flight controls and jammed the throttles to the firewall. The "stuttering" engine came back to life and torqued the A/C back to the left. By this time the A/C had lost most of it's altitude. The Left wing tip caught the ground and cartwheeled into the de-arm area.

As I say, most of this is what I "believe" to have been the case, but can't prove most of it. What I KNOW to be the case because I was there is that when the wing tip hit the ground, the A/C was banked at about a 90 degree angle and both engines were roaring. It was still full of bombs and fuel. As it hit the ground it errupted into a massive fireball.

This is the essence of what I wrote in my book. Ummm... a shameless plug for my book. It's "Memories of Naked Fanny" about my year as a bomb-loader on the Nimrods at NKP. It's available on Amazon.com (and others) as a hard cover book and for Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/Memories-of-Naked ... p_t_2_9MHN (Kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Memories-NAKED-FA ... p_t_2_7XZE (Hard Cover)
(Delete this shameless plug if you need to.)

Bob Dennard
Nimrod '68-'69

[A26 Special K]

Bob, that is an incredible story. Hard to believe it when something like that happens right in front of you. Ya'll were incredibly lucky like you said. I need to read your book for sure. Thanks for your input. The story of the Special Ops folks needs to come out of the shadows and this is a great step in the right direction. Would welcome your stories here anytime. For those who don't know about your NKP website, what is the URL? Thanks much, JR