Eldon Walter Brown , Jr. Birth: 25 DEC 1927 in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas Death: 14 AUG 2008 in Oakton, Fairfax County, Virginia Note: See the book "An Oral History of Fighter Pilots" by Robert F. Dorr
---there is a picture on page 108 (which is not shown on Google books) with caption: Eldon W. Brown Jr., seen here as a new naval aviator in 1948, was credited with shooting down a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter near Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 3, 1950. (image contributed by Margie Brown) -- Ensign Eldown W. Brown Jr., F9F-3 Panther pilot, squadron VF-51, USS Valley Forge (CV 45)
The Panther was the primary Navy jet fighter of the 1950-53 Korean War. It was practical and sturdy, prompting sailors to dub its Bethpage, Long Island manufacturer the "Grumman Iron Works." In air-to-ground action, the Panther excelled.
On July 3, 1950, Panthers claimed the first-ever aerial victories by Navy jets, when Lt. (j.g.) Leonard Plog and Ensign Eldon W. Brown Jr., each were credited with shooting down a North Korean Yak-8 prop-driven fighter. -- Eldon Brown: "It all happened very quickly. We were only over Pyongyan for a short time. After it was over, a lot of attention was focused on the fact that we were credited with shooting down two Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters. But our main purpose was to enable Valley Forge's strike group of F4U-4 Corsairs and AD-4 Skyraiders to strike at the rear of a North Korean offensive that was succeeding inn the south. Valley Forge was the first U. S. carrier to fight in Korea, and out straight-wing, under-powered F9F Panthers were the first Navy jets to fight. The enemy Yaks, as well as our own Corsairs and Skyraiders, were all propeller-driven aircraft, which were still the mainstay of military aviation.
"Before most of us had every heard of Pyongyang, we were on a routine, peacetime cruise on the Valley Forge, which was nicknamed the 'Happy Valley.' We paused in Hong Kong to give radar operators there a chance to work with jet aircraft for the first time. We expected to be heading for home soon Everybody was singing the song "Won't you Come Home, Bill Bailey?" It was a happy cruise aboard Happy Valley. Buyt then we learned something was happening in Korea.
"What was happening, of course, was war. We scrambled aboard ship and steamed north, with no idea of what would happen next.
"As we steamed toward the war zone, there were moments of relaxation. If we didn't have other duties, we would go to a gun tub on the bow of the Valley Forge - where a 40-mm Bofors cannon had been removed earlier in the ship's history, and we would sunbathe. We could see huge schools of jellyfish, some four or five feet in diameter. When we got closer to Korea, we occasionally saw a body floating at sea.
"I remember a twin-engined Soviet aircraft flying over the fleet. F4U-4B Corsairs of squadron VF-53 intercepted the aircraft and shot it down. This encounter is not covered in any of the histories of the era.
"When we drew within range of targets in North Korea, we began preparing for action. A lot of our preparations were unremarkable, even on the morning of July 3. In those early morning hours before Valley Forge's first combat mission, we received sparse briefings on weather, intelligence, and procedures. One pilot said he had never before heard of Pyongyang. My fellow Panther pilots and I were subdued and businesslike as we climbed into our aircraft. Valley Forge turned into the wind in the Yellow Sea about two hundred miles southwest of the North Korean capital. The weather was clear and bright.
Preparing to Launch
The intelligence officer based our intelligence briefing on an article about North Korea in National Geographic magazine, because that was about all we had to go on. So, as you can imagine, we were not really...
Remember, this was a transitional time for aviation and for warfare. Propeller-driven aircraft were mature and were still the backbone of the flying Navy. Jet-propelled warplanes were new, cantankerous, and shamefully underpowered and had yet to demonstrate that they could take over major military missions.
Our F9F-3 was powered by the 4,600-lb thrust Allison J33. A-8 turbojet, essentially the same power plant as the Air Force's standard fighter in the Far East at the time, the Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star (which by July 3 had already shot down several Il-10s and at least one Yak-9). The choice of engine in the dash-three Panther was a last-minute compromise. We considered the F9F-3 both underpowered and unreliable. Later, we would celebrate where F9F-3s were re-engined with their intended power plant, the 5,750-lb thrust Pratt & Whitney J42, which was also used on the more numerous Navy's F9F-2 model.
The F9f-3 was armed with four 20-mm cannons but, at this juncture in the war, was not yet fitted with underwing pylons to carry bombs and rocket projectiles. (A widely distributed painting that shows Plog and me taking off carrying two 1,000-lb bombs and six 5-inch high velocity aircraft rockets is inaccurate.)
The Navy's transition from props to jets was proceeding slowly. At this late date -- while the United States was preparing the F-86 Sabres for action in Korea and the Soviet Union was readying the MiG-15 -- the Navy did not yet have a combat aircraft with swept wings. It lacked a lead-computing gunsight. Routine flight at supersonic speed was still years away. Despite all this, our untested Panther was a giant leap forward. It also offered advantages over the Air Force F-80C: I found that the cockpit was roomier and the canopy had operated hydraulically, while the F-80C (which we Navy pilots flew as the TO-1) used a manual crank. The F-80C was skinny and sleek, while our F9F was kind of a barrel-shaped aircraft with a round fuselage.
As we headed toward Pyongyang, I don't think we had any special thoughts. After all, we were all experienced. I guess I was typical of those who hadn't gotten combat experience in World War II, which ended five years earlier, but who were pretty experienced, nevertheless. I can tall you that we all wanted to fly, and if necessary to fight, and when the time came, we were ready to go.
Aviator Upbringing
It says "Eldon W. Brown Jr." on my logbook, but a lot of people call me Brownie. Briefly, in the squadron, I was called Littlehead, because no one else could fit in my helmet. I was born in 1927 in Little Rock Arkansas, and grew up there.
I always wanted to fly. At age fifteen, I saved up my money and took flying lessons from Central Flying Service in Little Rock, with and instructor named John Ogden.
Right after World War II ended, I joined the Navy in the aviation cadet V-5 program. They required two years of college, so they sent me to Tulane in New Orleans. After that, I had preflight training in Ottumwa, Iowa, and went to Grand Prairie, Texas, near Dallas, for initial flight training.
After that, I had further training in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the (Boing) N2S Stearman, a fabric-covered, open-cockpit biplane. That was quite a plane. Someone had to be on the ground to crank the starter.
In 1947, I went to Pensacola, Florida, and flew the SNJ Texan. They also provided twenty-five hours of multi-engine training in the PBY Catalina and SNB Expeditor. Flying big planes was different for me, and today I often talk about it with my older daughter, who is a flight attendant on twin-engined transports for Sky West Airlines.
I went to Jacksonville, Florida, for advanced training in the F4U-4 Corsair. I got my wings in May 1948, and then went back to Pensacola to complete carrier qualification in the Corsiar. Then, I went to San Isidro, California, to instruct in SNB Expeditor trainers. I later spent some time in ferry squadron VR-W flying various airplanes.
Around Christmas 1948, I went to Seattle to join squadron VF-211, flying F6F Hellcats. There, I met Commander Lanham, who later became our carrier group commander in Korea. I was flying F6Fs in Seattle when Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson cancelled our air group for funding reasons.
When they abolished our air group, I delivered an F6F to El Toro, California, and picked up orders for VF-51. I joined the squadron in San Diego in 1949, in time to see the squadron's last FJ-1 Fury fighters, but not to fly them. My first jet flight was in a TO-1 Shooting Star. It had an Air Force instrument panel, which measured air speed in miles per hour. We used knots in the Navy, so we would look at thant panel, see the numbers, and think we were flying really, really fast.
As for the VF-51, the squadron had formerly been known as VF-5A and had been the first Navy jet squadron on the west coast. The squadron reequipped with the F9F-3, which I discussed above. Some things didn't change. In those early days in jets, you always landed on the carrier with your canopy open.
The Navy's air war in Korea: September-October 1950 Article from: Naval Aviation News, September 1, 2000; by Mark L Evans --- Ensign Eldon W. Brown, Jr., of Fighter Squadron (VF) 53 had a feeling that this run was going to be the toughest of the lot. Diving through North Korean flak to strafe a row of wooden crates, his guns suddenly set off a tremendous explosion. Barely keeping his plane in the air through the resulting shock wave, Brown climbed quickly, but still could not outrun the ensuing cloud which passed him at 4,000 feet. Miles away in Inchon harbor, the transport Mount McKinley (AGC 7) rocked at her moorings and the crew radioed strike leader Commander Joseph M. Murphy, "What the hell happened?" Murphy casually responded, "We just exploded some ammunition." The Battle of Inchon had begun.
TILLMAN PATTERSON BETTIS GENEALOGY
Contributed by Margie G. Brown (Mrs. Eldon W. Jr), 3005 Phyllmar Place, Oakton, VA 22124 Mrs. Brown reports that in 1953, when she was a new bride, her husband's father died. When the household was being broken up, she rescued from the trash bin two family histories. This booklet was compiled between 1929 and 1931 by an unknown author who was a member of the "Old Folks Society" of Memphis, TN. Through her research Mrs. Brown has made a few corrections and added information on the family of Sallie CARR, wife of Tillman P. BETTIS. Mr. Brown's line of descent is through Salena Bettis and Albert G. BLAKEMORE. Their daughter Lucy married John Harrod OWEN, son of Henry and Frances V. (ANDERSON) Owen of Paris, TN. Lucy and John's daughter, Clara Owen, married Marion Walter BROWN and became the grandmother of Eldon W. Brown, Jr.
Social Security Record:
Eldon W. Brown, SSN: 432-30-6967 issued in Arkansas b. 25 Dec 1927 d. 14 Aug 2008 Last Residence: 22124 Oakton, Fairfax County, Virginia
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