Whatever will be will be


where's the shuttle van?

This photo by LT John R. Swadener appeared in the 31 December 1956 issue of TIME Magazine, with the following 2-line caption which was the editorial standard for TIME then:

"DUFEK'S PARTY AT THE POLE
From eleven bottles, a wrench and a stagger.."

This is a paraphrasing of the article's description of the takeoff, "Only by blasting off his eleven remaining JATO bottles did Shinn wrench the plane loose and stagger into the thin air at well below normal takeoff speed." However, the second line of the caption does misstate the number of JATO bottles (the R4D carried 15 and according to RADM Dufek's book Gus fired 4 at a time, then the last 3 before he got off deck... Many journalists wanted to go on the flight, but given the extreme hazards (no one had ever done it before) none were allowed. Some of them accompanied the mission aboard a wheeled USAF C-124 Globemaster which flew overhead but of course did not land. Others flew in on a Navy Skymaster which developed engine trouble over the Plateau and had to turn back. Many of these folks gave their cameras to the Gus Shinn and his crew, hence the following pictures, courtesy of Billy Ace Baker...

where's the head?

A good black-and-white view showing the Globemaster overhead

where's the bar?

Another colorized (?) view used for promotional purposes by McDonnell Douglas, builders of the R4D...

Don't ask why the American Flag is blowing in different directions in these pictures!

(landing photo) | (crew photo)