Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

[BuckyD]

Our good friend & longtime veteran air race fan- 'Lockheed Bob' Gollwitzer kindly-sent me some of his personal raceplane snapshots taken over the years, including a dozen B&W photos fm the 1949 Cleveland National Air Races.

Bob asked me to post a few for him here on aafo to share with everyone, so I scanned all of his Cleveland pics sent, to post in three installments f/this special thread (-w/a few caption ID notes included for each subject aircraft & please feel welcome to post your comments or additional caption notes).

We'll get things smartly-launched by featuring four North American P-51 Mustang racers. Thanks, Bob!

DBD

Photos (L-R):

1. P-51D #77-"Galloping Ghost" (NX79111 / AAF 44-15651) - Co-owned by Steve Beville & Bruce Raymond, who alternated race pilot duties. GG raced successfully at all four Post-WW2 Cleveland events ('46-'49), never finishing less than 4th-place in the Thompson Trophy events. For the 1949 final running of the CAR classic, it was Beville's turn in the cockpit. Steve qualified #77 seventh-fastest @ 385.749-mph, which made him eligible to compete in both the Sohio Trophy & Thompson Trophy final. GG finished 4th in the 7-lap Sohio @ 376.719-av/mph & placed 4th again in the 15-lap TT @ 381.214-av/mph & won $3000. Detailers note the 'BG Spark Plug' sponsor sticker on the lower cowling. (***DBD Note: Look f/my forthcoming race history on NX79111 here on aafo)

2. P-51D #45 (N13Y / AAF 44-72400) - Owned & raced by Anson L. Johnson. For 1949 -Johnson's racer was modified as one of two 'scoopless'-configured Mustangs for event competition (-the other being Jackie Cochran's #7-"Beguine" / N4845N raced by Bill Odom). Johnson qualified eighth-fastest @ 383.475-mph behind GG & was a DNS in the Tinnerman Trophy & pulled-out on Lap 9 of the Thompson after AJ noted exhaust stacks burning-off his racer. A/C now in the Bradley Air Museum collection-Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

3. A-36A #2 (NX39502 / AAF 42-83665) - Owned by M. W. Fairbrother & raced by James Hannon. Qualified tenth-fastest in 1949 @ 376.852-mph. Hannon was awarded 6th-place in the Tinnerman after pulling-out on the last lap w/a broken fuel line & finished 8th in the Thompson @ 300.396-av/mph. A/C now in the USAF Museum-Dayton, OH. collection.

4. P-51B #90-"Thunderbird" (N5528N / AAF 43-6822) - Owned by DeBona Racing Co. & raced by pilot- Joe DeBona to finish first-place in the 1949 Bendix Trophy 2008.2-mile cross-country race fm Rosamond, CA. to Cleveland, Ohio @ 470.136-av/mph on 9/3/49. Actor Jimmy Stewart was team sponsor & DeBona won the $10K prize money. On 4/9/51-famous aviatrix- Jackie Cochran flew this Mustang to a new 100-km closed-course World Record Speed of 464.38-av/mph.

(Special thx to fellow air racing historians- Don Berliner & Gary Williams for their invaluable ref. publications which provided data f/the above photo caption notes. DBD)

[Desertdawg]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Lockhead Bob and Bucky,

Thanks for putting this together. Great stuff, I'm surprised by the speed they were getting "470.136-av/mph on 9/3/49". Wow for the time thats fast.

Let the history lesson begin gents, looking forward to the next installments.

[steve D]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Looks like the Ghost has a bit of an oil leak from somewhere!

[Big_Jim]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Lockhead Bob and Bucky,

Thanks for putting this together. Great stuff, I'm surprised by the speed they were getting "470.136-av/mph on 9/3/49". Wow for the time thats fast.

Let the history lesson begin gents, looking forward to the next installments.

But remember, that was in the Bendix race from Mojave (Rosamond Dry Lake) to Cleveland, utilizing the jet stream, flying a non-stop, great-circle route at FL 270, with a constant tail-wind between 20-33 mph. They were just really beginning to understand the upper level wind patterns and how to take advantage of them. 4 hours and 16 minutes point to point.

Great account of this in Birch Matthews "Wet Wings & Drop Tanks".

[johnnyrace]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Thanks for those pics, I always like to see "new" pics of the old racers...My shots here are not from 1949 , but from 46... I have a photo album with many racer photos including these shots below...Tex Johnson on his Winning P-39 Cobra II...James De Santos F5-D (P-38) Connie...and Charles Tuckers Mobil P-63C (Man what an exhaust mess on that bird!!)...Figured the P-51s are well represented above and I was always impressed that Johnson won with a P-39.

[stuntflyr]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

It shouldn't be surprising that an Airacobra won the Thompson...
Cobra II was fully race prepared. It not only won, but was top qualifier and record holder in 1946 at 409 mph, third qualifier in '47 and top qualifier and record holder again in '48 at 418 mph.

All of the work was done in the Bell shops with Bell personnel on their own time.

It was equipped in '46 with a 2000+ hp Allison, the obvious wide chord Aeroproducts prop, extra oil cooler, over voltage gear motor and wheel door uplocks, ground adjustable trim tabs, 100% mass balanced metal covered flight controls, 90 gallon ADI water tank in the nose, custom lightweight fuel tanks, overall weight reduction, and door locks for the entry doors to keep them from blowing out at the tops during high speed flight.

For '48 it had a three bladed Aeroprop, and a G-6 Allison with 2500+ hp that lead every lap except the last one when it had an engine failure from vapor lock.

Only then did a Mustang win the Thompson.

On Chuck Tucker's P-63, that airplane was his Bendix racer (the one with P-80 drops attached to the outer wing spars) so that exhaust is from nearly seven hours of high power in high blower at 25.000 feet flying from Van Nuys to Cleveland with one hot pit stop in Garden City, Kansas.

[John Kerr]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Great series of photos, always love to see new photos from the Cleveland Air Races. Thanks guys.

[AiRick]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Airacobra:

[AiRick]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

One more:

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Airacobra:

Correction - King Cobra

[BuckyD]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Okeedokey, race fans- here's the second installment of Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races pics, featuring four Bell P-63 King Cobra shots & thanks to all for your comments & additional Post-WW2 Cleveland-era vintage photos...

DBD

Photos (L-R):

1-3. P-63C #30 "Easter Egg" (NX63231 / AAF 44-4126) - Owned & raced by Charles Tucker. For 1949- Tucker qualified 5th-fastest @ 393.328-mph & placed 3rd in the 7-lap Sohio @ 381.529-av/mph & finished 5th in the 15-lap Thompson Trophy @ 378.340-av/mph to win $2000.00 prize money. Tucker first raced #30 to 7th-place in the '46 Bendix (racing his other P-63 #28 that year in the pylon events) w/an average speed of 367.149 (5:34:46) f/the 2048.5 miles run fm Van Nuys to Cleveland. Tucker returned w/it in '47 to qualify 15th @ 360.986-mph- which got him into the 7-lap Tinnerman Trophy (an all P-63 affair that year) to finish 2nd @ 347.168-av/mph.

4. P-63A #55 "Spirit of Tick" (NX69901 / AAF 42-69063) - Owned by Russell Hosler & raced by Robert Eucker. Present but unable to qualify for the 1949 Cleveland event, this P-63 first raced in '46 when owned & raced by Howard 'Tick' Lilly as #64 to qualify 8th-fastest @ 346.155-mph & Lilly finished the 10-lap TT that year in 9th-place @ 328.154-av/mph. For 1947, Lilly re-numbered the King Cobra as #55-"Double Nickel" & turned-over race pilot duties to William Bour. Bour qualified 11th-fastest @ 366.102-mph, finished 5th in the 7-lap Tinnerman @ 254.913-av/mph & 6th in the 20-lap '47 Thompson showdown @ 327.280-av/mph. Hosler Aircraft purchased #55 just prior to the running of the 1948 Cleveland competition w/Robert Eucker as designated race pilot. The wingtips were clipped & the vert. fin extended, and the racer was painted overall black w/white numbers & lettering. Eucker qualified #55 ninth-fastest in '48 @ 368.485-mph & took 2nd in the 7-lap '48 Tinnerman @ 362.093-av/mph (right behind Bruce Raymond in P-51D Galloping Ghost's 362.245-mph win). Eucker & #55 had to pullout of the 20-lap 1948 Thompson Trophy during Lap 6.

(Thx again to Don Berliner & Gary Williams f/historical ref. in drafting the above captions & of course- Lockheed Bob f/sharing his rare in-person snapshots w/us. -DBD)

[BuckyD]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Here's the third & final installment of Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races pics, this time featuring F2G Corsair racer subjects. Hope you enjoyed seeing them & thx Bob f/sharing these w/us all.

DBD

Photos (L-R):

1. XF2G-1 #18 "Miss Port Columbus" (N91092 / cn-1703 / Buaer#14694)- Owned & raced by Ron Puckett, who first raced this F2G at '47 Cleveland as 7th-fastest @ 371.415-mph & pulled-out of that year's Thompson Trophy w/engine trouble on Lap-19 while running in 4th-place. After a DNS f/the '48 Cleveland event,-Puckett returned to compete at Cleveland 1949. He qualified 11th @ 373.523-mph, and finished second in both the 7-lap Sohio Trophy @ 384.888-av/mph & the 15-lap final-running of the Thompson Trophy race @ 393.527-av/mph to win $8K in prize money. In 1947, Race #18 was painted dark blue w/an orange eng. cowling & was teal blue & pearl grey for '48-'49.

2. F2G-1 #57 (N5588N / Buaer#88458)- Owned & raced by Ben W. McKillen, Jr., the red & white Super Corsair was one of four F2Gs aquired USN-surplus by Cook Cleland f/racing. McKillen qualified 4th-fastest at Cleveland 1949 @ 396.280-mph & won his first race- the 7-lap Tinnerman Trophy @ 386.069-av/mph ($3,150 prize money). Ben led the first two laps of the 15-lap '49 Thompson Trophy before being overtaken by Cleland & Puckett's F2Gs, to finish 3rd-place @ 387.589-av/mph ($4500 prize money). 50-years later, well-known vintage aircraft restorer/pilot-Bob Odegaard returned Race #57 back to her former splendor & won the first Rolls-Royce Heritage Invitational Trophy competition at Reno '99 f/best restoration. Odegaard later delighted air racing fans by returning this Super Corsair to pylon competition racing at Reno.

3-4. XF2G-1 #94 (N5590N / Buaer#14693)- Owned by Cook Cleland, Super Corsair #94 first raced at '47 Cleveland w/Dick Becker as pilot, qualifying 2nd-fastest @ 400.941-mph & 2nd in the 20-lap Thompson Trophy @ 390.133-av/mph, behind Cleland's #74 F2G. Cleland & team mate Becker swapped F2Gs to race at Cleveland 1948. Cook qualified #94 2nd @ 417.824-mph behind Chuck Brown's #11 P-39Q (418.300-mph) & ahead of Becker in F2G #74 (405.882-mph). Cleland & Becker's F2Gs were both DNFs early in the 20-lap '48 Thompson. At Cleveland 1949, Cook Cleland qualified the super-modified/clipped-wing #94 as 2nd-fastest @ 407.211-mph, behind his pal Becker-again flying F2G #74 (414.592-mph) & went -on to win the '49 Thompson Trophy @ 397.071 ($16K prize money). In the photo, the plane is all-white w/black #s as it appeared in 1948. It was red & white in 1947. Note the fan finger graffiti in the exhaust streaks.

5. Last pic is a corporate V-tail Bonanza that appeared at Cleveland 1949 w/McDowell Company painted along the fuselage sides. Not sure the significance of this aircraft w/the Cleveland 1949 Air Races, but maybe our friendly photographer- Lockheed Bob, can fill us in.

[stuntflyr]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

I thought #57 was owned by Cook Cleland and paper work was transfered for the race to Ben so the fact that the airplane was the spare, non-flyable airplane, would be confused.
Chris...

[Ramjets]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

This is really great history stuff. Thanks to Lockheed Bob for sharing and to Bucky for puttin' the thread together.

I got a silly question. I'm confused about something regarding the P-39 Airacorbra and P-63 Kingcorbra. As I understand it, both were powered by an Allison V-1710-85 and Allison V-1710-117, respective, but more to the point, both were V-12 blocks. How come these two planes' have twelve exhaust ports on both sides of the fuselage wherein the Allisons and Merlins on P-51s have 6 ports on both sides?

Cheers . . .

[xmh53wrench]

Re: Lockheed Bob's 1949 Cleveland Air Races Pics

Are not all these engines 4 valves per cylider?...so maybe they had an exhaust tube per valve instead of siamesed.....just a theory from the noob