republicp47

The man photographed here with Oscar Perdomo appears to be Republic Aviation test pilot Joe "Baldy" Parker (aside from the physical resemblance, note the lack of any military insignia or rank on his clothing or cover.) This photo was likely taken on Ie Shima - Perdomo's unit, the 464th Fighter Squadron, was based there - not long prior to Parker perishing in an crash on August 20, 1945. Parker intended to demonstrate the P-47N's take-off performance with a full load of external fuel and bombs. See: home.earthlink.net/~atdouble/~318thFighterGroup.IeShima.html The engine power loss problems had been resolved internally by the 318th and the runways lengthened by this time, but the earlier inquiry to Republic Aviation had brought a response. Republic Aviation's legendary Chief Test Pilot, Joe "Baldy" Parker, had more hours in all the models of P-47s than anyone, and he had come to "show the boys how it's done". He proposed to take off with two 300 gallon external fuel tanks AND a full combat load. Phil Rasmussen protested, "There is no point in you flying this load because we are not going to fly it. We have enough experience to attest that it can't be done routinely and any gimmicks you show us are just going to be marginal stuff that won't guarantee protection for our pilots, so why bother?" It went up to General Thayer Olds, the 301st Wing CO. "This is nuts. It's just a stunt". "Give him what he wants" said the General. Accounts of this incident refer to Parker as patronizing and that probably isn't fair to the man. Test pilots are a very confident bunch in an occupation that tends to kill them fast if they are not. But Parker didn't pay much heed to anyone on Ie Shima either. He had the 300 gallon drop tanks filled with water to add even more weight, and didn't even pause for a pre roll check. He never got the required 165 MPH take off speed. Republic's top test pilot crashed and burned in a 19th Squadron T-Bolt off the end of a runway a few days after Hiroshima, showing the boys how it was done. There is probably a moral in this story somewhere. Here is another photo of Perdomo and (apparently) Parker in the SDASM's Perdomo album: www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/5475241184/ Here are additional photos of Parker in the SDASM's Flickr collection: www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/8870699037/ www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/8870684261/

Republic P-47D at NAS North Island.

Fighter Ace Robert Samuel Johnson (February 21, 1920 – December 27, 1998) - credited with 28 aerial victories over Europe. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Johnson