Massachusetts Air National Guard : Paul Paulsen Photograph Scrapbook Collection
Object ID:
2015.6.5
VE Exhibit Label 1:

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1
And THIS was perhaps the last B-25 to leave Logan (East Boston); #814 was one of 2 TB-25Ks that we had on strength until our 101 FITRON became TAC-oriented, thus losing our F-94C all-weather fighters, and these TB-25Ks as well. Old #814 was sitting for the very last night at our Air Guard Base, to be flown away to Ohio next AM!!!! Well, we had one final local, consisting of some ten touch-and-goes at Hanscom AFB!! I put the chocks on myself, this last time, made photo at 8 PM with multiflash.

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2
Andy Marshall taxied this MANG "Jug" at Logan!
ABOVE: One of the last active F-47Ds of our 101 FITRON is seen as it taxis past an Eastern Airlines DC-4 (tail almost shows). Wood Island Park's trees are seen in distance in a March, 1950 Paulsen photo. I shot fine view with Elmer's old pre-Anniversary model of 3-1/4 x 4-1/4" Speed Graphic camera. "Jug" looks fine as B&W slide (by contact)!!! Soon we'd be issued Republic F-84B "Thunderchickens" for a few months.

BELOW: Fine sunset was shot at Logan in DEC., 1953. Wish we'd shot this in color too! By now we had been enjoying our tall-tailed F-51H "Mustangs" for some time, since USAF had taken back our first-generation F-84Bs for service in Korea, we heard. We still feel this design to be the BEST, even outshining the Brits' vaunted "Spitfires"!!!
Yup, 'twas definitely the best fighter of WW2, and this "H" is even better, we all feel.

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3
According to Andy Marshall this "H" model was superior to earlier F-51s (much lighter, hence vry maneuverable upstairs)!
It was MAY, 1954 as the very last example of MASS ANG's F-51H "Mustang" to fly over Commonwealth of MASS flew in close to our C-47 so that I might get a last few precious pictures. "Few" is right: This show was last on my ANSCO COLOR roll of 35mm film! And the big K-20 aerial roll film camera made exactly ONE exposure and literally self-destructed internally, or so it sounded. I could not get another picture of Andy Marshall, as he spent five minutes doing some very "non-standard" maneuvers with old #347. We flew in heavy morning heat haze here, over Lynn and Nahant. I am about over Plum Island, cuz y'kin almost see the ocean below, in thick haze. My old EI 10 film gave fine color slide, but the haze rather made photo lousy. Major Andrew Marshall had "drawn the short straw", so he had the task of delivering the Mustang to Youngstown, OH depot, for disposal (a/c was a high-time airframe). Andy hollered out over intercom, "Getcha pix quick, Paul, I gotta run this "51" out to Ohio NOW!". We hated to see him go, as he made that last beautiful wingover which took the F-51H out of our lives literally, insofar as our military experience would be concerned, FOREVER!!! Sure, we've seen many "civilian" Mustangs at various airshows, but we've yet to chisel a flight in any of them; though we ALMOST rode with a former GM VP, Hess Bomberger in his "VERGELTUNGSWAFFE"! ("ALMOST" ain't good enuf, is it??? Dave and I yakked with Hess at OSHKOSH-1981 and he promised us BOTH rides, but it didn't happen)

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4
Lt. "Spike" Karavedas was driving his F-51H around in murky skies over Reading, PA during our MASS ANG Summer Camp at Spaatz Field, Reading, Pennsylvania (Aug., 1952). We had the T-6G all but full-bored just to try staying with the speedy MUSTANG. This 51H had a target-towing rig underneath the wing, worked well in that service!!!!

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5
ABOVE: Paulsen looked long, finally found a print of the first T-6G I ever had pleasure of flying in. On this date (1953) A. Marshall and P.M. Paulsen are about to fly in old #0312, as "s/n-291" was seen nearby, I'm surprised to see s/n 291 still sporting USAF "TA-291" (for it's USAF Training Command origins), at this late date on fuselage of our T-6G! Note too our C-47A, s/n 223773, which was still "on strength" so very late, CY1953. We loved to fly this example, as we did all of our C-47s.

BELOW: Seen from the T-6G was Boston's Custom House Tower.

ABOVE: Some old 4x5" prints from our ubiquitous 35mm camera negatives are shown here. We're in a lovely T-6G, which was one of those "remanufactured" AT-6Cs (or Ds, probably). Canopies were less of a "greenhouse" on these later T-6Gs, we remember.

BELOW: We saw a Republic RC-3 "SEABEE" flying below us, as we "wring out" T-6G #0312, in a fine 1953 flying exercise.
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1.  B-251. B-25
2.  F-47D   F-51H2. F-47D F-51H
3.. F-51H Mustang3.. F-51H Mustang
4.  F-51H 19524. F-51H 1952
5.  T-6G 19535. T-6G 1953