daniel
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Post by daniel on Dec 10, 2012 20:48:05 GMT 9
Hello!
I'm reading the section about F-106 in the book Wings of fame, vol.12 where there are two pictures showing exhaust covers in red with cartons painted on them.
According to the caption it displays a "Swedish farmer" on the first one, and a "Swedish flagpole" on the second one. The farmer is a lazy type with a stick and a hat, and the sheep has a plagpole where the tail on the sheep usually is placed. The flag is blue with a yellow circle, and inside there are three yellow crowns(the marking of the swedish air force).
The planes belongs to Montana ANG, and the occation is William Tell 1978 according to the text.
Does anybody know the swedish connection? Neither the plane type, unit or William Tell is connected to Sweden? Were there perhaps swedish ancestors to the pilots or commanders of the unit?
BR Daniel
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Post by Mark O on Dec 11, 2012 4:00:48 GMT 9
:welcome to the forums Daniel!
Well, I'm sitting here looking at those photos in my copy of WoF 12, and I suppose that's why they call stuff like that an inside joke. If you're not "inside" the group you don't get. Probably not supposed to get it either!
Guess we'll have to hear from someone who was there!
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daniel
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Post by daniel on Dec 11, 2012 4:22:31 GMT 9
Thank you Mark!
Perhaps it's exactly as you say, an inside joke for those involved.
I was just a bit curious when I saw the pictures in the book if someone knew the swedish connection and wanted to share the story.
Thanks for your thoughts
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Dec 11, 2012 5:57:05 GMT 9
Welcome to the Six Flightline and Hanger, Daniel. :  I was never assigned to Malmstrom, or Great Falls ANG Base, across town from each other. But had been TDY to Malmstrom to pull alert, while the F-89s the fighter squadron had at the time were at Yuma or Gulfport for gunnery. I do know that there were lots of Swedes settled in the Great Falls area to grow wheat on those very fertile hills alongside the Missouri River. That is the only Swedish connection I can think of. Now, had they been from North Dakota or Minnesota, it would be obvious. Hope you can find the actual answer. Jim Too :santahat |
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daniel
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Post by daniel on Dec 11, 2012 6:20:02 GMT 9
Thank you Jim for the welcome and for your thoughts in this case.
It seems possible that there perhaps is some ancestor-connection then, with the wheatfarmers of Great Falls that you mention.
//Daniel
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Post by dude on Dec 11, 2012 9:48:55 GMT 9
 Well I was at WT 78 and I remember the Big Sky birds from Montanna were there, but I'm sorry to say I don't remember their covers like that. This is really bending some brain cells, but it seems to me like some of the outfits had tail covers that matched their squadron colors. For Montanna I can envision a blue cover with their frontiersman stenciled on it. Several squadrons that competed came in with something unusual about their planes. In the 48th we had the Dick Stultz nose art. Our crew chief for the commander's airplane also took the control stick (083) down to a local auto paint shop and had them do pearl handles. I remember the F101 guys from Texas coming in and the commander has this huge set of Texas Longhorns strapped over his radar scope. One ANG Six unit had their cockpits carpeted. May have been the Montanna guys. Possibly this was done as photo op or perhaps even some mischief that was known to occur between the ground troops during the competition???
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Post by lindel on Dec 11, 2012 15:18:47 GMT 9
I know the 49th pilots flew down in zoot suits and had violin cases with them. Kind of a play on "Rome", NY and "Little Italy".
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Post by dude on Dec 11, 2012 23:32:27 GMT 9
I know the 49th pilots flew down in zoot suits and had violin cases with them. Kind of a play on "Rome", NY and "Little Italy". Thought that was how they always came to work.  |
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daniel
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Post by daniel on Dec 12, 2012 2:19:10 GMT 9
Thanks to everyone for your memories in this mattter
It's also interesting to hear about the other stories associated to the weapons meet.
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Post by lindel on Dec 14, 2012 2:38:49 GMT 9
I know the 49th pilots flew down in zoot suits and had violin cases with them. Kind of a play on "Rome", NY and "Little Italy". Thought that was how they always came to work. I think that was "hung over"... |
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Post by dude on Dec 14, 2012 3:02:38 GMT 9
Thought that was how they always came to work. I think that was "hung over"... Possibly. Course you could chalk all this up to my sour grapes since the 49th won WT that year. Something unusual about that competition. After the first two days they all of a sudden stopped the competition cold. We then had about 10 days of doing nothing. I remember being told they were rewriting the scenarios, but I don't know that for a fact. They then cleared everyone's scores and restarted the competition...only this time if you had a compelling reason for a failed mission you could file an appeal and get a refly. The bird I crewed was in the hunt for topgun, but on an IR missile run the shot missed because the missile failed to maintain lock after launch when they put the Firebee into a 4g turn. All we had to do was present the WSEM tape for examinination to get a refly, but unfortunately in the act of downloading the tape got exposed. So there was no refly. ;D |
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Post by lindel on Dec 14, 2012 16:24:06 GMT 9
I was still a new troop and didn't get to go to WT that year. Needless to say, I don't remember much about except what I've already mentioned.
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