The Friends Journal

Aviation History from the Air Force Museum Foundation

The Friends Journal is a quarterly publication of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. for Friends of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The Journal is dedicated to preserving USAF heritage through firsthand stories of service and combat, as well as conveying the latest news and photographs from the Museum.

The Friends Journal is a thank you perk for our supporters.  Learn more about becoming a Friend.


 

Current Issue - Summer 2022

 

  • 2022 Summer Friends Journal Sampler
  • 2022 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    In this issue are stories about a canine search-and-rescue team in the A Force for Good exhibit, the two place TF-86F Sabre trainer, testing airmunitions, a parachute and an unsympathetic supply officer, alert duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the classified Vietnam-era Operation Igloo White, flying multiple night missions without sleep, B-17s flying low-level bombing attacks on shipping in the Pacific during World War II, research on the crash of a B-45, and a memorable CAP flight.

    Read Sample

 

Samples of Past Issues

 

  • 2022 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    2022 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    In this issue are stories about an in-flight emergency when the outer wing panels folded up on an F-4 Phantom; the bond between an airman and his sentry dog partner guarding Tuy Hoa Air Base in Vietnam; flying search and rescue to identify MIA/KIAs in the Himalayas after WWII; testing an improperly fitted floatplane; replacing a flat tire on an aircraft on a cold winter’s night in Maine, and a WWI contest to find a nickname for airmen.

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  • 2022 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    2022 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the topics included in this issue are three stories about the Kaman H-43 Huskie, also known as Pedro (depending on the role it played). Other stories cover a deadly Tactical Air Command deployment to Europe during the Cold War; training to fly bombers, one fateful bombing mission, and flying cargo over the Himalayas during WWII; and an encounter with Gen Curtis LeMay on the eve of the Korean War.

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  • 2021 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    2021 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the topics included in this issue are stories about an airman who survived bailing out of a B-36…twice, delivering fuel to outposts in Vietnam, and how paying attention to fuel loading saved the day on one fateful flight. Also, a Vietnam Christmas story, ordering takeout at a missile silo, a trip back to a small air station in Thailand, a fatal training flight during WWII, and two stories about B-24 crewmembers.

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  • 2021 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    2021 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the articles included in this issue are stories about the last ace of WWII, helicopter support for the AF Survival School, two airmen who ended up in the China/Burma/India theatre during WWII, doing research for a flight simulator, flying photomapping missions to document nuclear test craters in the South Pacific, how one pilot finally soloed, how one pilot got a nickname, and helping build the Women in the Air Force exhibit.

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  • 2021 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    2021 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    This issue has a story about a high-speed flight to pick up and deliver rabies vaccine in an F-106 Delta Dart, a pair of stories about B-58 Hustlers at Bunker Hill/Grissom AFB, two stories about flying (and rating those who flew) the B-47 Stratojet, and a look at the Museum’s loan program to other museums.

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  • 2021 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    2021 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    This issue commemorates the 30th anniversary of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to February 1991 with six stories written by participants. In this preview you’ll read about an AF Reserve C-130 Group mobilized for both operations. In addition, this issue contains an article comparing the two USAAF heavy bombers flown over Europe during World War II – the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress.

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  • 2020 Fall Friends Journal

    2020 Fall Friends Journal

    In this issue we mark the 50th anniversary of the Son Tay Raid to rescue American POWs held in North Vietnam. In addition to the article in this preview, there are five more written by participants or those who supported the November 1970 raid. Also in this issue is a story about WAFs at Dover AFB in the 1970s to herald the Museum’s new exhibit about women in the Air Force as it is completed.

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  • 2020 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    2020 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    In this preview of the Friends Journal you’ll read about how model aircraft building influenced AF enlistments. Among the articles not included here are stories about a grandson flying in the same squadron as his WWII-veteran grandfather; two articles about new research into which heavy bomber was the first to 25 missions over Europe in WWII; a memorable rescue mission in Vietnam; serving as an exchange officer in Canada; and an incident on Guam after the end of WWII.

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  • 2020 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    2020 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the articles included in this issue are several stories about flying the C-5 Galaxy and one about buttoning the fleet up after the Operation Baby Lift crash; a daughter’s search for her father’s story using only a photograph of him painting; one about flying C-130s in Panama; a description of crew coordination flying the AC-119G & K in combat; and the conclusion of a three part story about the final deployment of RB-57Ds.

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  • 2020 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    2020 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the articles included in this issue are stories about a pilot who has flown both the U-2 and SR-71; the first operational mission of an AF SR-71; an officer who launched Atlas D ICBMs; the United State’s Cold War use of balloons for reconnaissance over the Soviet Union; an RB-57D pilot who sampled nuclear tests in the Pacific; and part two of a three part story about the final deployment of RB-57Ds.

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  • 2019 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    2019 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the stories included in this issue are reminiscences of a FAC in Vietnam; three stories related to the B-47; the saga of a maintenance officer; the final deployment of RB-57s; a P-51 pilot’s odyssey to heal and return home after being shot down in Yugoslavia during WWII; and tales of humorous interphone use in SAC, an interesting day for a C-17 pilot, an busy ORI in Turkey, and how to deal with snakes on a plane.

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  • 2019 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    2019 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the stories included in this issue are a story about reconnaissance and one about maintenance during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a profile of Jackie Cockran, a tale related to maintaining Delta Darts, the winning essay in the Student Writing Competition, a story of a son visiting the site of his father’s shootdown and capture during WWII, plus updates on damage at the Museum from the spring tornado, and what the Restoration Division is working on.

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  • 2019 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    2019 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the stories included in this issue are the recollections of three men involved in the rescue of a Misty pilot shot down over North Vietnam, a firefighter’s tale of a B-52 crash, a C-47 crew training to rescue downed SAC crews, the fate of the crew of a B-17 shot down over Nazi-occupied France, a D-Day glider pilot’s experiences, the delivery of the XB-70 to the Museum, and a look at the Museum’s replica Eighth AF tower.

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  • 2019 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    2019 Winter Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the stories included in this issue are the crash of a C-133 and the crew who lost their lives; flying a C-141 around the Aleutian islands chain; part two of flying P-47s to the Nationalist Chinese after WWII; an AC-47s encounter with two MiGs over Vietnam; the early years of SAC’s bomber force; and a B-29 pilot’s search for closure regarding the fate of a fellow pilot shot down over Tokyo late in World War II.

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  • 2018 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    2018 Fall Friends Journal Sampler

    Among the stories included in this issue are the two surviving members reuniting to describe the mission that earned their entire B-17 crew the Silver Star; a CAS interpreter, a helicopter gunship pilot, and an air-evac medic relating their experiences in Vietnam; details about a WWI flying school in France; flying P-47s to the Nationalist Chinese after WWII; a T-33’s dangerous encounter with a thunderstorm; and a B-26 pilot among the first to take the fight to the Japanese in WWII.

    Read Sample

  • 2018 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    2018 Summer Friends Journal Sampler

    The Friends Journal is the quarterly publication of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. (AFMF), and is a member benefit. Among the articles included in this issue are two stories about flying the KC-97 Stratofreighter, and stories about POWs requalifying as pilots through Operation Homecoming after Vietnam, an AF helicopter pilot supporting a Navy SLBM launch, a Security-Police-augmentee’s encounter with a panther in Vietnam, a B-17 crewman evading capture after being shot down during WWII, a C-133 pilot’s experiences in Vietnam, and the Student Essay Contest winning article about aerial combat over Europe during WWII. If you are interested in receiving the Journal in its entirety every quarter, consider a membership to the AFMF – visit afmuseum.com/membership or call (937) 258-1225. The AFMF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the expansion and improvement of the NMUSAF and to the preservation of the history of the United States Air Force.

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  • 2018 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    2018 Spring Friends Journal Sampler

    Included in this issue are three stories about the Memphis Belle™, along with stories about a B-26 co-pilot shot down over occupied France during WWII, a junior officer’s attempt to inject realism into a Cold War demonstration for VIPs, a pilot on a weekend of navigation training that turned from joy ride to life-threatening flight, a pilot who has flown on every continent (yes, including Antarctica!), and a B-52 navigator’s close call on a bombing mission over North Vietnam.

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  • Spring 2017 Issue

    Spring 2017 Issue

    In this Friends Journal issue we continue to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force by highlighting USAF teamwork, heritage, and innovation.

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  • Summer 2016 Issue

    Summer 2016 Issue

    Intrepid Spirit of American Aviators

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  • Winter 2015/2016 Issue

    Winter 2015/2016 Issue

    Operation Desert Storm

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  • Summer 2015 Issue

    Summer 2015 Issue

    Global Reach Theme

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  • Spring 2015 Issue

    Spring 2015 Issue

    Presidential Aircraft Theme

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  • Winter 2014/2015 Issue

    Winter 2014/2015 Issue

    Research and Development Theme

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  • Summer 2014 Issue

    Summer 2014 Issue

    World War I Theme

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  • Spring 2014 Issue

    Spring 2014 Issue

    Unmanned Aircraft Theme

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  • Fall 2013 Issue

    Fall 2013 Issue

    Women in Aviation Theme

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  • Summer 2013 Issue

    Summer 2013 Issue

    "When Things Don't Go as Planned" Theme

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  • Spring 2013 Issue

    Spring 2013 Issue

    Korean War Theme

    Read Sample

 

Article Submissions

The Friends Journal relies on article submissions from the public for its content. To submit your story for review and consideration for publication in the Friends Journal, please send your narrative and contact information to:

Alan Armitage
Editor, Friends Journal
1100 Spaatz Street
Dayton, OH 45433-1903
aarmitage@afmuseum.com