The Damcasters - The Aviation History Podcast

The Convair B-58 Hustler is regarded as one of the USAF's missteps in strategic bomber design from the 1950s and 60s. The claims that it was expensive and dangerous to fly led to its removal from service in the 1970s in favour of the Boeing B-52. But is that really the case? Former B-58 Navigator/Bombardier Col. Geroge Holt Jr. Rtd. joins us to reflect on his time on the Hustler and do some well-needed myth-busting.★You can buy George's book, The B-58 Blunder: How the U.S. Abandoned its Best Strategic Bomber, at Amazon.★US Link: https://www.amazon.com/B-58-Blunder-Abandoned-Strategic-Bomber/dp/B0BSJJPKXF/ ★UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/B-58-Blunder-Abandoned-Strategic-Bomber/dp/0692478817 ★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcastersPlease check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Paul Crickmore has been chronicling the story of the Lockheed Blackbird family of aircraft, the A-12, YF-12 and SR71, for over 35 years. Paul has had incredible access to the designers, maintainers and pilots of the Blackbird over the years. Paul joins us today to tell us some of the stories he has captured in his final book, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Mission - The Missing Chapters, which is out in the UK on the 23rd November and the 5th December in the US and Canada.★You can buy Paul's book, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Mission - The Missing Chapters, in the UK at The Damcasters Bookshop. 10% of every purchase goes to supporting the pod, here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9781472851383 ★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcastersPlease check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Mélanie Astles is a remarkable aerobatics pilot, is also the only woman to have won a Red Bull Air Race event at Indianapolis in 2017 and has just placed 5th at the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships in Las Vegas for Team GB. A passionate advocate for aviation and an ambassador for the Pima Air and Space Museum, it worked out that when Mel popped into the Museum last week, she found the time to chat with me about her life in aviation and just what goes into making her aircraft defy the laws of physics.★Check out Mélanie's website at: https://www.melanieastles.com/★Follow Mélanie on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/melanieastles/★Follow Mélanie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m%C3%A9lanie-astles/★Follow Mélanie on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/melanieastlespageAll footage and images: © Ted Szymczak/Mélanie Astles★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcastersPlease check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Following their eventful dropping of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions on D-Day, the IX Troop Carrier Command's C-47s were not ideal. Historian Adam Berry joins us to discuss the resupply operations in Normandy, the incredible medical evacuation flights, Operation Dragoon and the resupply of the 101st in Bastogne as we look at what the IX TCC did next.★You can follow Adam on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Agrbez ★You can follow Adam on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/agrbez.bsky.social★Check out Adam's Website here: https://www.agrberry.co.uk/ ★Buy A Breathtaking Spectacle Vol. 1 and And Then They Were Gone at Overlord Publishing here: https://www.overlord-publishing.com/ ★Listen to History Hack's Hedge Hopping The Troop Carrier Command and the Reality of D-Day with Adam Berry and Flt Lt Seb Davey here: https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-a4dru-fd73c7 ★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcastersPlease check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Friend of the show, historian James Jefferies joins us to discuss the much maligned Bristol Blenheim. When the aircraft was developed, the Blenheim was faster than the RAF's latest fighters. But, come the outbreak of war, fighter design and the environment the Blenheim would be operating in would be very different. So, was the Blenheim really that bad? James tries to convince us otherwise..★You can follow James on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jamesjhistory★You can follow James on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jamesjhistory.bsky.social★You can follow James on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jamesjhistory/★You can find James' LinkTree here: https://linktr.ee/jamesjhistory .Please check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/.The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Amelia Earhart looms large in aviation history, but she was one of a cohort of incredible female flyers in 1920s America who fought hard to break the mould and show that they could out-fly and out-race the men at their own game and, in Louise Thaden, would claim their highest prize. In Fly Girls, New York Times bestselling author Keith O'Brien looks at this remarkable group of women who took to the skies and opened the throttle like no woman had before.-★In the UK, you can buy Fly Girls at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fly-Girls-Daring-Aviation-History/dp/1328876640/ ★In the US, head to Keith's website to order signed copies of his book and pre-order Charlie Hustle, which is out in March 2024 here: https://keithob.com/ ★Follow Keith on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/KeithOB★Follow Keith on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/keithob.bsky.social★Follow Keith on Instagram here: http://instagram.com/obrienstory★Follow Keith on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKeithOBrien/-★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcasters-Please check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/-The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

The R101 was the great hope for Imperial Air Travel in late 1920s Britain. The brainchild of Christopher Birdwood Thomson and the Imperial Airship Scheme, R101 was the government-backed of the two grand airships, the other being the Barnes Wallis-designed R100, that were to whisk the great and good between England and India. S.C. Gwynne joins us to tell the tale of the doomed airship, the man who staked everything upon her and the princess his heart was set on.★Buy S.C. Gwynne's His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine at The Damcasters bookshop! 10% of every purchase goes to supporting the podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9780861547081★Check out S.C. Gwynne's website at: https://scgwynne.com/★Follow S.C. Gwynne on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/scgwynne-★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcasters-Please check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/-The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

On Wednesday 21st March 1945, the RAF's 140 Wing of De Havilland Mosquito FB.VI fighter bombers, with an escort of Mustangs, attacked the Shellhus in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Shellhus was the HQ for the Gestapo in Denmark, and most of the Danish Resistance's top men were within its walls. The low-level attack would be the last in a series flown by the men of 140 Wing that feature in Rowland White's latest book, Mosquito. There is more to the tale than the aircraft and the men and women of the Danish Resistance are as remarkable as the aircraft that flew down Copenhagen's streets that chilly March morning.-★In the UK, you can buy Rowland White's Mosquito: The RAF's Legendary Wooden Wonder and its Most Extraordinary Mission at The Damcasters bookshop here. 10% of each purchase goes to supporting the podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9781787634534 ★Follow Roland on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/RowlandWhite★Check out Rowland's website here: http://www.rowlandwhite.com/ -★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcasters-Please check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/-The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Hurricane Heritage has the incredible job of operating the world's only two-seat Hawker Hurricane, BE505 'Pegs'. Starting life as a Canadian Car and Foundry-built Mark XII with the RCAF serial AG287, the aircraft was converted and restored to a Mk.IIB 'Hurribomber' configuration in 2007. Just before the pandemic hit, her second conversation to a two-seat Hurricane was complete and now she operates flights all summer all over Europe with a truly unique experience. To find out more about BE505 and what a day with Hurricane Heritage is like, I spent the afternoon at White Waltham with pilot Mike Collett and Abigail Clark, who looks after ground operations for all the flights in 'Pegs'.★To find out more about flying in 'Pegs' visit the Hurricane Heritage website at: https://www.hurricaneheritage.com/★Follow Hurricane Heritage on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/HurricaneR4118★Follow Hurricane Heritage on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/hurricaneheritage/★Fancy becoming a Damcasteer? Join the fun on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcastersPlease check out the latest from our sponsor, the Pima Air and Space Museum, through the links below:★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/★Learn more about the Titan Missle Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/★Find out who is in the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame here: https://pimaair.org/about-us/arizona-aviation-hall-of-fame/★Want to know how the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is progressing? Find out more here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/The Damcasters © 2022 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International