Click Here to go directly to our Secure Online Store Click Here to go to All of our Air Force Academy information... Click Here to learn about the Starlite process... Click Here to contact us... Click Here to return to the Home page...

 

 “PEACE IS OUR PROFESSION”
By Richard R. Broome 

Our Exemplar painting for the United States Air Force Academy Class of 2013 is a continuation of the theme of our 2012 work of fine art depicting General Hap Arnold and titled “My Dear Curt ….”  This painting featured the B-29 Superfortress which arguably played a decisive role in the air war victory over the Imperialist Japanese Empire in World War II.   

For our USAFA Class of 2013 Exemplar painting I chose to depict the very serious days of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.  I also chose to feature the final design of the Boeing B-52H model in the correct paint scheme of natural aluminum with white antiglare radiation paint on the underside surfaces of the Stratofortress as it appeared in 1962.  The mighty Strategic Air Command banner, which was designed by General LeMay, is brilliantly displayed on the nose section of the Boeing. 

To keep this painting simple; and yet convey a powerful message and symbolism, our original painting depicts the Boeing coming out of the dark and into the light through canyons of cumulonimbus clouds.  No doubt this scenario was seen by many of the bomber pilots and crew members who flew nuclear alert missions during this critical and dangerous time in our nation’s history.

When the Soviet Union introduced missiles capable of delivery of nuclear warheads in Cuba in 1962, General Curtis LeMay was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs during the Kennedy administration.  Coincidentally then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had worked for LeMay during the World War II and a number of history books record that McNamara despised the general.   

It is a matter of fact that an artist can best depict events and history that they have experienced.  Thus, to our family, it seems significant that I soloed an airplane on my 16th birthday at Broome Field commonly known as Jeffco Airport west of Denver.  The date was October 13, 1962 and I had been patiently waiting for six years since my flying lessons began.  Finally I would be able to get rid of my flight instructors and go flying!  Unknown to me the Denver Post was on hand to cover the event and the next day they devoted a full page of the Sunday paper including lots of photos. 

The following day a special military exercise shut down all flying nationwide.  And apparently this was also when the CIA and military intelligence first learned there were missiles being assembled in Cuba.  These rockets could deliver a nuclear weapon to targets throughout the south and upon our east coast with only a five minute warning.  Those 13 days of October were indeed frightening for every American.  The threat of global thermonuclear war was never greater.   

Coincidentally the very last Boeing B-52H was rolled out of the factory in Wichita, Kansas thirteen days later on October 26, 1962.  About 100 of the bombers are still serving in our Air Force almost fifty years after the final jet was built.  The H model features the improved and then powerful Pratt and Whitney TF-33 turbofan engine.  This same engine is known as the JT-3D in civilian parlance.  

The H model also had a host of upgrades and modifications compared with earlier versions of the huge bomber.  Today the airframe and wings have been strengthened but for all practical purposes it and the engines are still basically the same as the last one rolled that off the assembly line.  However this is where the similarity ends as the giant bomber has continued to evolve with new electronics as well as a host of other improvements. 

In reflecting back on American history to the role of the Boeing B-29 during World War II -- as it really happened and without historical revisionism -- there is no doubt that General LeMay’s strategy to use the pressurized high performance bomber at low altitudes in the controversial napalm fire bomb raids did indeed inflict tremendous damage and destruction on Japan.   

The first of these raids took place on March 9, 1945 when 344 B-29 bombers flew out of Guam, Saipan and Tinian.  Crews were shocked to learn at the mission briefing that General LeMay had ordered the bombers stripped of their gunner’s ammunition, and guns and most figured it was a death sentence to be flying the mission at 5,000 feet.   

The weight savings allowed more fuel and the newly developed M69 napalm cluster bombs to be carried to the targets.  When the last of the giant B-29’s folded its wheels and set the vector for Tokyo the total bomb tonnage was calculated to be 3,334,000 pounds of the deadly pipe bomb sized napalm devices.  Each bomblet in the huge cluster only weighed six pounds. 

The first bombers over Tokyo flew patterns to mark the ground with a huge X and the for several hours bombs rained on the civilian and military industrial areas of the huge city burning over 12.5 square miles to the ground.  The conflagrations caused millions of civilian “collateral damage” injuries, tragic casualties, and death to the Japanese population who were innocent victims and not directly involved in the war effort.   

Finally, when the use of nuclear weapons was approved, the two atomic bombs that were dropped on the island nation convinced Japan’s military leadership that capitulation was the only option to save the land of the Rising Sun. 

Shortly after World War General LeMay was given the peace time task to plan and develop the newly formed Strategic Air Command.  Within a year of the United States Air Force becoming it’s own branch of our armed services in 1947, the Boeing Company -- working with German aeronautical engineers and scientists – designed and prototyped the six engine swept wing Boeing model B-47.  Over 1800 variations of this medium range nuclear bomber were built during the production run that extended throughout the 1950’s. 

The United States and freedom loving nations worldwide faced the terrible facts that the Communist Soviet Union had developed their own nuclear weapons.  With the “Cold War” was soon upon our citizens, military planners were quick to realize that a super long range nuclear bomber would be needed to counter the threat.   

The first long range nuke bomber was the Convair B-36 which was powered by six R-4360 piston radial “pusher” rear mounted engines.  Soon four additional J-47 pod mounted engines were added to the wings.  These were identical to the pod mounted Pratt and Whitney J-47 turbojet engines powering the Boeing B-47.  Flight crews of the day commonly noted that the B-36 had “Six pushin’ and four burnin” when referring to the ten engines that powered the huge “aluminum overcast” nuclear bomber.   

Coincidentally the billion dollar USAF B-2 Stealth bomber wingspan is 172 feet the same width as the original Northrop 1940’s era design.  According to a friend (and 1975 USAFA graduate) Major General Perry Lamy (USAF Retired) the story goes that before he died Jack Northrop was shown a model of the B-2 along with photography of the secret bomber.  Northrop had a twinkle in his eye when he commented “I knew it would work!”  General Lamy was one of the select test pilots to first fly the then experimental B-2. 

In the late 1940’s competition for the long range nuke bomber soon narrowed down to the Convair XB-36 versus Northrop’s XB-49 flying wing.  The unconventional “flying wing” design sported six internal jet engines.  Meanwhile back at the Ranch at Muroc AFB the prototype XB-36 and YB-49 were being developed and tested in a race for the very lucrative contract award to build production versions.  The name of the base was changed to Edwards in memory of U.S. Air Force test pilot Glen Edwards who died along with the crew of five on June 5, 1948 northwest of the base while testing the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.

Shortly after this tragedy Northrop learned that they had lost out in the bomber competition too.  This sparked a congressional investigation.  Northrop company spies apparently determined that there were alleged payoffs and other scandals which were documented to Congress however this didn’t stop the Air Force contract award.  Soon Convair assembly lines in Fort Worth, Texas were busy constructing the giant B-36 bombers. 

Fast forward twenty years and your artist and his young wife were working full time jobs to pay for Broome’s college and flying time in Southern California.  Rick was enrolled as an aircraft maintenance engineering student enrolled at Northrop Institute of Technology (1965 – 1971) and while working in the Northrop library he was allowed access to some of the documentation which appeared to prove Jack Northrop’s claims of corruption in the contracting award.   

Word around the campfire and campus at NIT was that this alleged scandal involved some very high profile Texas Senators including future President Lyndon B. Johnson.    Per Jack Northrop’s personal directives (at the time of the alleged conspiracy) Northrop directed all those within the Northrop Corporation who were aware of the apparent corruption to seal up all corporate records, documentation, and classified information to include corporate spy documentation. 

A lot of the students at Northrop Institute of Technology were told that all of this history was well documented.  However, rather than expose the corruption to the media and public, Mr. Northrop took the high road of integrity and orders were to lock and seal their company documentation in a hidden location never to be seen by the American public.     

These were the heady days of corporate espionage in the aerospace industry within both military and civilian aviation.  Serious students of aerospace history recall that Howard Hughes was called before Congress in 1946 to give testimony about Hughes Corporation’s military contracts which were awarded during World War II.   

Both his giant “Hercules” flying boat and super powerful twin engine spy plane were at the center of the stage.  The so called “Spruce Goose” was where the Senator from Maine focused his attention during the hearings.  These were intense and the Senator took great glee in playing on Hughes personal issues and mental issues.  The 2004 motion picture “The Aviator” captures some of the drama quite well.    

Any serious student of aviation history would certainly be enlightened to know that the real reason Hughes was brought before the Congressional investigation had more to do with his ownership of TWA which began International flying route competition with the “Chosen Instrument” Mr. Juan Tripp’s Pan American Airways soon after the war using the triple tail Lockheed Constellation airliners.   

Following the investigations laws were passed about “wining and dining” military contracting officers with the major focus on the newly formed USAF.  It is worthy to note that these problems and scandals still existed in the 1990’s and early 21st century.  Improprieties caused the delay of the advanced air refueling tanker program which was just awarded to Boeing which will build tanker versions of their Boeing 767 to replace the KC-135’s which first went into Air Force service in 1957.  And as recently as a few years ago problems surfaced regarding the Public Relations contract and huge budget afforded the Air Force Thunderbirds. 

All of this history is important to understand.  Only a few years after the B-36 entered service the Boeing B-52 design was accepted and contracts awarded for the prototype XB-52 and later YB-52 version of the huge super long range nuclear bomber.  The drafting lofts in Renton, Washington were soon filled with aeronautical engineers hired by the thousands to design and perfect the mighty Boeing B-52 intercontinental bomber.   

Within a relatively short period of time the giant 8 engine prototype B-52 was taking flight.  And General LeMay had coined the phrase “Peace is our Profession” for his Strategic Air Command.  The design of the XB-52 was changed from a tandem cockpit to the now familiar dual front seats and the first B-52A models were soon being delivered to Castle Air Force Base in California for initial training and introduction into America’s nuclear arsenal. 

The half million pound bomber featured eight J-57 engines and a unique center mounted main landing gear with small outrigger wheels to take the weight of the wings when fully fueled.  These were early designed turbojet engines which turned raw and highly flammable wide-cut gasoline designated as JP-4 jet fuel into noise and smoke at an impressive rate.  Runways throughout the SAC Air Force bases had to be strengthened and lengthened for the heavy weights and very long take off runs. 

Strategic planning had the B-52’s on nuke alert at all times.  And at any given time of the day or night for over four decades nuclear armed B-52’s were flying within two hours distance of penetrating the Soviet Union’s borders.  Development of the bomber continued through the various models which featured changes in fuel loads as well as powerplants.  The venerable B-52D had 3,000 gallon fixed fuel tanks on the wing tips and saw extensive duty in Viet Nam. 

As children growing up during this era of American history those of us who were air-minded went to see all the war movies and read all the books about our military and aviation advancements.  And most kids knew in our hearts that the United States of America was being protected by all branches of our military services.  General Curtis LeMay was very well known to all Americans.   

My particular interest in the United States Air Force was fueled by my passion for flying as well as all the magazines and books I could get my hands on.  I still have the majority of these publications.  And my VHS copy of the 1955 movie “Strategic Air Command” is a regular on my play list.  This great film stared Jimmy Stewart who was in fact a USAF Brigadier General Reserve officer.  It is a true classic and I recommend it for anyone interested in this era of Air Force history.  This film begins in 1951 and covers the era of the B-36 up until introduction of the B-47.   

One really cool part of the movie was when a civilian DC-3 declared an emergency and had to land at the SAC base.  Jimmy Stewart played the part of USAF Reserve Officer Lt. Col.  “Dutch” Holland who had flown B-29s during World War Two.  With the war over Stewart’s character was cast as s a major league baseball player for the Saint Louis Cardinals.   

Cold War pressures from the communist Soviet Union had resulted in many of the reserve officers being recalled to active duty.  Colonel Holland arrives at MacDill AFB to report in.  The USAF had changed uniforms and thus “Dutch” does not have the newly designed uniform requiring his new boss to come and “vouch” for him at the gate. 

A few minutes later an alert goes out that a civilian DC-3 airliner has an emergency and has to land on the restricted base.  The aerial scenes of the venerable old airliner with one engine shut down are outstanding.  However after the venerable “Goony Bird” lands the feathered engine starts up and they taxi right past the follow me truck into a restricted area.   

Wow!  This turned out to be a “no notice” ORI and security test with a bunch of USAF folks trying to take the base.  True to Hollywood form they are totally unsuccessful and then a cigar smoking 4 star walks down the airstairs to be greeted by the Wing Commander and staff.  Obviously the actor played the part of General LeMay and it was quite a thrilling movie for a little kid to see.    

Another great film is titled “Bombers B-52” and was very well done from the perspective of the historical introduction of the Boeing into USAF inventory.  In fact when I was creating our 2013 Exemplar original painting I consulted the film for details on the paint scheme that was virtually unchanged from the introduction of the Boeing into USAF service until the camouflage patterns were introduced during the war in Viet Nam. 

Growing up as a fifth generation Coloradan in Pueblo was exciting too.  Back when General LeMay was the leader of SAC there were simulated nuclear bombing missions flown over Pueblo almost every day and night.  The sound of those huge R-4360 powerplants on the B-36 bombers was not only heard but felt too.  They were that powerful and the huge propellers spun lots of air.   

In the late 1950’s the B-36 was phased out and replaced by the Boeing B-52s.  Most of the simulated nuke flights over Pueblo consisted of three ship B-47 formations flown at high altitude.  Sometimes these were easy to spot because of the contrails.  And as a child I never went to bed afraid of nuclear attack because I knew that General LeMay and all our great military were protecting our freedom!   

Nearly all of my school theme book projects (and artwork) depicted the USAF.  As America developed the Mercury astronaut space program in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s my theme books and history assignments kept pace.  Meanwhile at Edwards AFB my cousin USAF Major James Wayne Wood was selected to be the first astronaut to fly the Boeing X-20 “Dyna Soar” and Neil Armstrong was one of his students.  The program was cancelled soon after the Kennedy Administration took office.      

I obtained my private pilot certificate when I was 17 years old.  By that time I had checked out and soloed eight different aircraft from a Piper Colt through the high performance Comanche.  I flew as often as I could although my log books show that I was “Grounded by Mom because of my school grades” in April 1963.  I was a 10th grade student at Littleton High School. 

My parents went through a long and painful divorce that took four years.  During this time in my young life I was sent to live with relatives and was constantly moving my suit case between various loving relatives from when I was 12 years old until almost my 16th birthday.  The most fun times were the summers of 1959 and 1961 when I lived with my Uncle Jim Smith who was an Air Force maintenance officer assigned to Webb AFB.  Uncle Jim would take me to work with him at the base in Big Spring, Texas.  Typically I would wear my Civil Air Patrol uniform.   

Mom moved from Pueblo to Littleton in 1963.  So I would often fly cross country to Pueblo to see Dad on weekends.  I had my first real engine failure over Castle Rock in a 1959 Cessna 182 Skylane in the summer of 1963.  The number six cylinder “swallowed a valve” which resulted in a catastrophic failure as the oil quickly was blown out of the busted cylinder coating the windscreen and resulting in my Mayday call to Denver Center.     

Flying at 9500 feet I figured I could make Stapleton and imagined the Denver Post headline reading something like “Sixteen year old student pilot saves airplane!”  Well this was certainly not an option as the engine was coming apart very fast.  I didn’t touch the power controls but put the prop into course pitch which allows less drag.   

There was a small uncontrolled airport called Columbine just to the northwest of my flight altitude and I vectored for the field.  Oil pressure was at zero; temps in the redline, and the engine was surging between 1200 and 1800 RPM.  The manifold pressure gauge looked like a windshield wiper!  Advising Denver Center on 121.5 of my intentions they phoned Columbine who cleared the airspace. 

That model of Cessna 182 had manual flaps.  As I flew a left down wind I pulled off the power and the engine seized.  Nice, now the prop blade is blocking my view perfectly centered.  Thus I had to bleed off both airspeed and altitude so I crabbed a touch and used the manual flaps to dump and gain lift.   

I have always felt that when a kid learns to fly at an early age there is a certain natural “seat of the pants” type of feeling of the elements of flight.  Perhaps this combined with the youthful exuberance of flight kept me calm and rather than being rattled I just flew the airplane.  Entering the pattern for left downwind I extended to base and touched down just past the numbers.  A bunch of the folks at the uncontrolled airport ran out to help this 125 pound kid push the Skylane off the runway.   

Two years later I moved in with my Dad in Pueblo and continued flying while working two jobs including being a line boy at Pan Ark Aviation.  When I was 17 years old Piper brought one of the three brand new Cherokee Sixes to Pueblo.  I was the first private pilot in Colorado to be checked out in that amazing aircraft.  Piper had a feature story about the event in their company magazine which went to all registered owners of their aircraft.  That was kinda cool too. 

Recalling the Cold War and Strategic Air Command training I remember when I was flying a new Cherokee 235 near Lamar, Colorado in the summer of 1964.   Flying north of the Arkansas river my altitude was about 1500 feet AGL on a cross country when I noted heavy black smoke headed my way very quickly at very low altitude.  Zoom!  Directly below me flew a Boeing B-47 escorted by three F-102 “Deuce” fighters on an operational simulated nuclear mission.  At that time in American history they called these flights “Operation Oil Burner.” 

My immediate thoughts were about what a great view I had of the jets flying at probably .8 mach and only about 500 feet above the ground.  The shadow of the B-47 almost merged with the bomber!  And of course my thoughts were on Strategic Air Command knowing that my hero General Curtis LeMay and all his troops were protecting our freedom.  

Thinking back on all of this (as a senior citizen) it is obvious that I believed everyone thought the same way that I did as a little kid.  The creeping feeling of our advancing age tells me that my childhood perspective was quite exuberant for which we are very thankful and blessed.  Those who know my wife “Miss Billie” and I on a close personal basis know that this continues to this very day. 

When I was creating the first iteration of our 2013 Exemplar painting my time schedule was very rushed.  Typically some of our USAFA paintings have taken as long as two years to complete.  We had only a few weeks to create “Peace Is Our Profession.”   It has always been an amazing blessing that I actually dream about the paintings I have created before the canvas is cut and paint first applied on the original work of fine art.

Typically I hand draw all of the views of the aircraft I capture on canvas and at the risk of being politically incorrect will share that we all believe these talents to be true gifts.  The only art lessons I received were in my oil painting class as a 14 year old ninth grade student at Colorado Academy in Denver.  The story about my first three oil paintings is quite interesting and we will save that for another time.

With a lifetime’s passion and love of our Academy and the heartfelt desire to share the history of one of my childhood heroes General Curt LeMay in one single painting; it was a piece of cake to choose the Cuban Missile Crisis for the theme.  And all of the recollections, memories, and USAF history shared above were played over and again as the painting evolved as a family effort. 

There is great symbolism in this work of art too.  I chose to depict the nuclear bomber coming out of the dark and into the light.  I also chose to depict the underside of the huge Boeing because of the anti-glare glossy white anti radiation paint scheme.  Plus I chose to put the bomber into a climbing right turn just emerging from the canyon of clouds.  Let the reader imagine why I would chose a right turn over one to the left.

Some of our cadets and others have questioned the accuracy of the Boeing from a standpoint of perspective.  The comment we have heard on several occasions is that the jet appears to be distorted.  This is an optical illusion.  A serious engineering student can place a pair of mechanical dividers on the wings and do the math to understand that the view of the Boeing is correct for this perspective. 

I did have a most excellent photograph to use for reference in making my original drawing.  However, being short on time to create the painting resulted in several short cuts that are old school to my self-taught painting style which have rarely been utilized since the 1970’s.  For one thing I did the U. S. Air Force lettering on the nose section by hand without use of mechanical engineering tools or even a ruler.  Thus this detail of the painting is slightly off perspective from the actual stencils used in 1962. 

Also, all of the aircraft construction breaks in the fuselage – which is composed of different aluminum alloys depending on whether the section is pressurized or not – were laid in by hand as the photo I worked from featured the latest gray paint scheme in USAF service today.

Additionally I was not able to see the demarcation lines in my research photos for the flaps and vortex generators on the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer.  Again I fell back to my old school 1970’s style of painting.  All in all the entire process was wonderful and all of our goals of capturing a specific moment in time in General LeMay’s amazing career accomplished with the true honor and love we have always shared our family gifts with our Academy. 

There is an old saying that an artist never completes a painting; we just reach a deadline.  And that too was the case with our 2013 historical painting.  Our son James was hovering over me with a keen eye on the clock as the final brush strokes went on the canvas just hours before we had to go into production on the one of one print edition the Class of 2013 shared with Mrs. Jane LeMay Lodge.  We received a wonderful thank you letter from Mrs. Lodge which we will treasure forever too! 

During the final hours of creative time I was working on the nose section to finish up the painting and having a problem with the tiny stars in the SAC banner.  James was able to add this digitally with his amazing talents.  Also the small vignette view of General LeMay with his classic cigar and special lightning bolt adorned Chairman of the Joint Chief’s hat on was added to the original painting digitally and then I put in a few brush strokes to complete the scene.

Upon close inspection the number 13 can be seen hidden in the clouds together with “Janie” which is what the General and his wife called their daughter when she was a child.  The other noted hidden vignette is of course the 00055 tail number of the Boeing which is correct.  I attempted to determine if this jet is still in the Air Force inventory today, however this information was not available within the sources consulted.  Consider, if you will that the three zero’s are coincidental with the great Class of 2013 being three degrees when this work of fine art was created.

The other item worthy of note is that our family was blessed to become very close personal friends with the late Jim Irwin who was the eighth man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission.  Jim shared much of his life with our family.  His office was located only a few blocks from our home. 

As pilots we both shared the great wonder of flight together many dozens of times.  I began creating paintings of outer space with Jim in about 1974 and together we probably played with over 200 of these amazing Starlite views of the cosmos.  And we hiked up Pikes Peak several times every year until his unfortunate death in 1991. 

Jim taught my wife and me many of the things about life on our spaceship earth.  He referred to the globe as a “little blue marble” because that is what our home planet looks like from the moon.  Our close personal friendship began in 1972 and whenever possible I put the moon in my paintings.  So when our son James put me on a ten minute countdown clock to complete our Exemplar painting I went outside and there was the moon directly above our home!  I quickly painted the moon in our Exemplar painting exactly where it appeared over our home and our painting was completed.

After the great honor of being able to share the evening with the Class of 2013 and all the wonderful folks who were in attendance my wife and I were on cloud nine.  We got back home and I took a look at the original painting on my easel and wanted to get back to work on it to finish up some of the details still left to complete. 

As they say in Pro football play booth calls; “Upon further review …” the next morning my wife and I reflected on our wonderful evening with the Class of 2013. We are both very sensitive artists and Miss Billie commented on how much she loved both Nic and Josh plus the two cadets we got to sit with for the event.  Reggie’s name was quite familiar to me as his Dad graduated with the great “Wings to Soar” class of 1984. 

I mentioned to Billie that I was going to head for the studio and finish the details still to complete on our Exemplar painting.  And then we realized that some things are best left alone.  Thus the decision was made to leave this painting alone and exactly as it was completed for the Class of 2013 on the very day of presentation. 

Why purchase a Print of this painting?

True historical fine art has great value from both the perspective of what it represents in capturing the moment of time represented.  Throughout the history of the arts when considering the subject matter and depiction of events that resulted in both legacy and heritage the true value is established and has always been shared through the talents of artists.   Art is a great investment.  Capturing specific legacy and heritage -- as seen through the eye, heart and soul of the artists – great art has always proven to be a worthy investment.  Throughout history the best in show always increase in value with time.