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Hot Rod Prop Summer - The F-51H Days of the Oregon ANG

Northwest fighter pilots at academics--a briefing room filled with the pilots of the Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing is seen here on the first training day of the wing’s two-week summer training at Gowen Field, Idaho on Monday, June 15, 1953. Oregon pilots are seen in their dark jackets, some with the Redhawk emblem of the 123rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron visible. From left to right are Capt. Richard J. Schmidt, 123rd commander (with jacket open), Merle M. Jarboe with the infectious grin, Wallace L. Parks looking right at the camera and two other Redhawk pilots, unidentified, one of whom may be Philip Dean Janney. (The Idaho Daily Statesman)
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Hot Rod Prop Summer - The F-51H Days of the Oregon ANG

A North American F-51H-5-NA Mustang, serial number 44-64255, of the California ANG’s 194th Fighter Squadron plies the skies over the Golden State. This aircraft also served with California’s 195th Fighter-Bomber Squadron during its ANG service. It’s possible it was one of the six 195th FBS F-51Hs that the 123rd FIS “borrowed” for its summer training at Gowen Field, Idaho in June, 1953. (Wikipedia)
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Hot Rod Prop Summer - The F-51H Days of the Oregon ANG

“Ladd Field, Alaska – P-51 aircraft “Ah’m Available”, 62nd Fighter Squadron, in flight over the Crazy Mountains, Alaska” (USAF photo, via Fold3). This is a P-51H-10-NA, serial number 44-64461 pictured in 1947, named by Capt. James N. Jones, Jr., a WWII veteran of the same fighter squadron in the 56th Fighter Group who flew a P-47 Thunderbolt by the same name during the war. Note the straight leading edge of the wing, unique to the H-model Mustang and its experimental predecessors. Also, note the retractable tail wheel is in the down position while the aircraft is in flight. This was a measure some units took in response to tail wheel “down lock” failures sometimes experienced on landings when using the retracting feature. The down lock issue was never resolved in the P-51H’s service life.
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Warrenton Airmen Return from Deployment as Squadron Converts to Cyberwarfare

Lt. Col. Nicholas Rhodes (center) stands in front of a formation of Airmen from the 116th Air Control Squadron (ACS) during a demobilization ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon on 8 June, 2025. 34 Members of the 116th ACS deployed in the fall of 2024 in support of United States Central Command. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Eduardo Varela)
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Warrenton Airmen Return from Deployment as Squadron Converts to Cyberwarfare

Lt. Col. Nicholas Rhodes (center) stands in front of a formation of Airmen from the 116th Air Control Squadron (ACS) during a demobilization ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon on 8 June, 2025. 34 Members of the 116th ACS deployed in the fall of 2024 in support of United States Central Command. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Eduardo Varela)
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Warrenton Airmen Return from Deployment as Squadron Converts to Cyberwarfare

Lt. Col. Nicholas Rhodes returns the Oregon State Flag to Adjutant General Alan Gronewold during a demobilization ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon on 8 June, 2025. The flag was brought with members of the 116th Air Control Squadron when they deployed in the fall of 2024 in support of United States Central Command. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Eduardo Varela)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Capt. Alex Currie after his aerial combat of January 22, 1951 near Pyongyang, North Korea, holds on to one of the 39th FIS “standardized” helmets, his good luck charm painted in Air Force blue with a large, white four-leaf clover. This helmet project was largely accomplished by the end of February, 1951. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Capt. Ernie Biggs tucks it in tight as he leads Capt. Alex Currie in the background in F-51D Mustangs of the 39th FIS over some rugged countryside in East Asia, perhaps on the return to base from a combat mission in Korea, as Currie’s aircraft is seen in flight without any external ordnance. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

One of the 41st FIS F-80C Shooting Star jet fighters, serial number 49-755, undergoes maintenance at a forward airfield during the Korean War. Note the squadron emblem, the Flying Buzz Saw in the Clouds, on the tail, as well as the pierced steel planks the aircraft rests on and the sandbag walls of aircraft revetments beyond. The aircraft was later assigned to the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and was lost in a takeoff accident in Korea during May, 1952. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Capt. Currie stands by a 41st FIS F-80C Shooting Star he flew, serial number 49-711, squadron number 32, named “Lil Audrey. ” The aircraft was later transferred to the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and was reportedly lost in action near Suwon, South Korea in July of 1950. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Capt. Alexander D. “Lucky” Currie started his service in the Korean War assigned to the 41st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron based at Yokota Air Base in Japan. He is seen here in the cockpit of an F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Lt. Dick Penrose named a P-51D Mustang he flew in the 504th Fighter Squadron during World War II, serial number 44-14372, squadron code 5Q+E, “Beaver Chant,” after his Oregon State University alma mater. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

Capt. Richard C. “Dick Penrose stands next to his Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter. A World War II veteran, he was assigned to the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan when the Korean War began and he again flew combat. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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Oregon Airmen in Air Combat Early in the Korean War

A World War II veteran, then 1st Lt Richard C. Penrose flew the P-51 Mustang in the 504th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in the European Theater of Operations. He is seen here in the cockpit during that war, presumably with his crew chief on the wing, and achieved one aerial victory over a German Me-109 on August 16, 1944. Lt. Penrose knocked down a number of enemy barrage balloons too, though these were uncredited. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Jack Cook)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

The nine pilots of the 123rd Fighter Squadron who served with USAF fighter squadrons in Korea claimed one enemy aircraft destroyed and two more damaged, as documented in Report of Active Duty Accomplishments from 9 Feb 1953. (142nd Wing History Archive)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

These are the officially credited 59.5 aerial victories to pilots in the three fighter squadrons of the 371st Fighter Group, the 404th, 405th and 406th fighter squadrons, from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) Listing of Aerial Victory Credits for World War II. (AFHRA)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

These are the officially credited 5.5 aerial victories for HQ 371st Fighter Group staff from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) Listing of Aerial Victory Credits for World War II. The 371st Fighter Squadron listed here is an error, as Maj. Rockford V. Gray was assigned to 371st Fighter Group headquarters on 5 Jun 1944 and days later achieved three aerial victories on 8 Jun 1944. The 371st Fighter Squadron was a P-38 Lightning operational training unit, 1943-1944 based in California. (AFHRA)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

This is a typical 371st Fighter Group “Encounter Report” which the group’s pilots accomplished after an aerial engagement with enemy aircraft. This example submitted by 2Lt. William M. Daughton after a 3 Oct 1944 encounter included a claim for two Me-109 fighters. The claim was confirmed and credited to him by higher headquarters. (371st Fighter Group official history, operations documents)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

Maj. Edwin D. “Jessie” Taylor commanded the 406th Fighter Squadron, 1943-1944. He flew in Royal Air Force No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron before the US entry into World War II. The American Air Museum in Britain caption for this photo indicates Taylor achieved three aerial victories in his RAF service. He filed additional claims for 2.5 enemy aircraft in his 371st Fighter Group service in a 28 July 1944 dogfight, but these were apparently not credited to him. (American Air Museum in Britain)
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From D+2 Onward - The Aerial Victories of the 142nd Wing

Maj. Rockford V. “Rocky” Gray, 371st Fighter Group staff, was assigned to two other P-47 groups, the 359th and 365th, before he came to the 371st the day before D-Day. Gray achieved ace status in the 371st Fighter Group before he was killed in action on 4 Sep 1944 with 6.5 aerial victory credits, per the American Fighter Aces Association. Of note, the caption for the American Air Museum in Britain website’s picture of Maj. Gray shown here credits him with 11 aerial victories though that number is perhaps how many he claimed. (American Air Museum in Britain)
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