The Last Missing WASP

Trailer for a forthcoming documentary by Dan Crowell, a former dive boat skipper turned underwater cinematographer and TV producer. The film will chronicle the search for Gertrude Tompkins Silver, who flew for the all-female World War II unit known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots. On October 26, 1944, Tompkins took off from Los Angeles’ Mines Field in a P-51 Mustang and was never seen again—the only WASP still unaccounted for. The action focuses on an October 2009 diving survey of Southern California’s Santa Monica Bay, organized by the Missing Aircraft Recovery Team (MAST), in conjunction with other search groups. See the article on MAST in our September 2010 issue. Video: Dan Crowell/Deep Explorers (8:44)

Latest Videos

Preview thumbnail for video'The Avenger's Transformer Moves

After initial throat-clearing, the big radial engine on Michael Kopp’s TBM-3E “Ida Red” growls, as the heavy torpedo bomber, one of only about 40 flying today, taxis out for takeoff last year at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Kopp also gives a demo of what the Avenger does when it gets back on the aircraft carrier deck.

The Avenger's Transformer Moves (1:12)

Preview thumbnail for video'Everybody’s Favorite Trainer

Starting in 1934, the same year it was acquired by Boeing, the Stearman Aircraft Company of Wichita began building a sturdy biplane trainer. By the end of the war more than 10,000 of them had been built, and they introduced novice Army and Navy pilots, including a young George Herbert Walker Bush, to the wonder of flight. More than 1,000 still fly today, and no group has more fun with a Stearman than the Flying Circus in Bealeton, Virginia. This Memorial Day show highlights a few of the hijinks the Stearmans perform.

Everybody’s Favorite Trainer (1:44)

Preview thumbnail for video'To Honor the Doolittle Raiders

For the last four years leading to the 2020 end-of-the-war commemorations, warbird restorers and enthusiasts have staged events to mark the 75th anniversaries of momentous World War II battles and actions. The B-25 Mitchell will always be remembered as the aircraft flown by the Doolittle Raiders, and this excerpt shows how the American Airpower Museum paid tribute to that famous group of pilots.

To Honor the Doolittle Raiders (1:55)

Preview thumbnail for video'Mission Accomplished

The Bureau of Motion Pictures at the U.S. Office of War Information produced a 10-minute film about the B-17 Flying Fortress in 1942, with the dramatic narration typical of the department’s products during the war. This excerpt opens with footage that appears to have been shot from the ball turret, and watching the airplane’s vertical stabilizer in the frame is mesmerizing. It’s also interesting to learn, as the 10 airmen board, how the crew is organized.

Mission Accomplished (2:59)

Preview thumbnail for video'P-38 Lightning in Flight

P-38 Lightning in Flight (0:15)

Preview thumbnail for video'Saved in the Nick of Time

“That’s All, Brother” is justifiably famous as the C-47 that led the invasion of Normandy on D-Day 1944. But in this clip we learn what could have happened to that best known of all Skytroopers, and what did. The airplane was restored, makes appearances at airshows, and participated in the re-enactment marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day last year.

Saved in the Nick of Time (1:00)

Preview thumbnail for video'A Fighter Pilot’s Dream

To keep the nation informed of the activities of its air armies, the U.S. Army Air Forces produced short documentaries. This excerpt from The Fight For the Sky: Our fighter pilots versus the Luftwaffe in Western Europe, 1945 focuses on the long-nosed, long-range P-51 Mustang and contains footage that shows off the fighter’s handsome profile.

A Fighter Pilot’s Dream (1:00)

Preview thumbnail for video'An A-26 Invades an Avenger Gathering

The fastest bomber of World War II, the Douglas A-26 Invader had a top speed of 355 mph, almost 100 mph faster than the TBM Avenger torpedo bomber flying in formation with it (and 140 mph faster than the Twin Beech that joins them in the air). The video was shot in 2018 at the TBM Avenger Gathering in Peru, Illinois, which drew 11 restored Avengers as well as 15 other warbirds (including the Invader owned by Tim Savage). Those three would almost certainly not have flown together in World War II, but they make a pretty sight over the 10,000-strong audience in a small town in Illinois. (Running time: 1:03)

An A-26 Invades an Avenger Gathering (1:03)

Preview thumbnail for video'Test Flying the XF-90

Considered one of the most appealing fighters ever built, Lockheeds XF-90 enjoys a first-rate reputation with aviation enthusiasts something of a surprise, given that only two were ever built. While researching and writing Lockheeds Missing Link for our June/July 2008 issue, authors Jorge and Karen Escalona compiled rare footage of the XF-90 at Muroc (now Edwards) Air Force Base in California in 1949. The footage, which has no sound, includes scenes of the first XF-90 prototype being trucked to Muroc, and a brief glimpse of engineers attaching ribbonlike strips to the wing to gauge airflow patterns during preflight tests. Also seen are ground crews affixing Jet-Assisted Takeoff (JATO) canisters to the aircraft (to provide additional thrust) before Tony LeVier, Lockheeds chief test pilot, takes it for a spin. The Escalonas write: The XF-90s dashing good looks earned it movie-star status throughout the 1950sfar beyond its operational lifeattracting readers and advertisers to prominent aviation periodicals and comic books of the time. Video: Courtesy Jorge and Karen Escalona

Test Flying the XF-90 (3:45)

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