From the Desk of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 6
Table of contents for From the Desk of Col Dodenhoff
- From the Desk of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 6
- From the Desk Of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 1
- From the Desk Of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 2
- From the Desk of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 3
- From the Desk of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 4
- From the Desk of Col George Dodenhoff, USMC – Part 5
Col Dodenhoff – Total Flight Hours 1943 Page – 19431226-450w.png
Subtitle: Flying the SNV-1, or “the Vultee Vibrator” (the assigned name “Valiant”)
As noted on the Wikipedia page linked above, the initial designation of this aircraft was the BT-13, and the SNV-1 was a batch of 1350 planes transferred to the US Navy. This airplane was the most produced primary fight trainer of all types in the WWII era.
I missed this new aircraft type in the Col’s logbook, until one of our breakfast crew, who had flow it himself in the early post-war time frame, exclaimed “Oh, he flew the Vibrator!” while looking at the logbooks.
Many years ago, I first was introduced to the Vultee Vibrator when Jim Helinger, Sr, walked up to one at Sun n’ Fun, placed his hand on the fuselage and said “We called this the Vibrator!”
Here is the December 1943 logbook entries noting Col Dode took his first fights in his second aircraft type, which was the normal progression for both Navy/Marine Corps and Army Air Corps trainees.
Click for a larger imageJim, Sr did note this aircraft was the secondary trainer for those cadets marked for the fighter pilot assignments. I don’t recall the airframe that future bomber pilots would be next trained in.
Here’s some historical video, albeit from the Army Air Corps viewpoint, I’m reasonably certain the fight training in this aircarft would have been very similar in all services.
Bonus material: The BT-13 History Site.
Categories: Aviation, Col Dodenhoff, History, Marines, Military, Military History, Navy