Born-digital video recording of an oral history with Robert Drew and interviewer Steve Dennis, recorded as part of The Museum of Flight Oral History Program, March 14, 2018.
Pilot Robert E. Drew is interviewed about his decade-spanning career as a military pilot and a test pilot. He discusses his service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II and his postwar service with the California Air National Guard. He then describes his time as a Douglas Aircraft Company test pilot during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing in particular on his flight activities with the company’s Military Division. He also touches briefly on his air racing career. Throughout the interview, Drew discusses his experiences and thoughts on the various aircraft he flew, including the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P-51 Mustang, North American F-86 Sabre, Douglas F4D Skyray, Douglas AD Skyraider, and Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
Robert Drew served as a pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and then with the Air National Guard. Following his military service, he worked as a test pilot for Douglas Aircraft Company.
Robert “Bob” Edmund Drew was born on September 7, 1924 in Los Angeles, California to C.D. Drew and Jane (Rupert) Drew. He grew up in the Los Angeles area, attending Santa Monica High School and then Santa Monica City College for a year studying business administration. He eventually received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerodynamic Engineering and a Graduate Degree in Business Administration from UCLA.
When World War II started, he decided to go into military service and, determining that he would prefer to fly rather than be in the infantry or at sea, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. He earned his commission and silver wings at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Drew spent about a year in training and then was assigned to the 18th Fighter Wing based in the Philippines. He served in the South Pacific from about mid-1945 to mid-1946. While there, he piloted Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and North American P-51 Mustangs. After 13 months overseas, he returned to the United States. He became a flight commander and squadron operations officer by the time he was discharged in 1946.
Drew joined the Air National Guard in California in the late 1940s as a flight commander. During his service with the National Guard, the military transitioned from P-51s to jets, including the North American F-86 Sabres. Although the Korean War was happening while Drew was in service with the National Guard, his squadron (the 195th) did not get sent abroad to fight, but remained on call stateside.
While still in service with the National Guard, Drew joined the Douglas Aircraft Company as civilian engineering test pilot in 1952. However, he resigned from his service with the National Guard around 1956 in order to be eligible for promotions within Douglas. At Douglas, his test flight activity was primarily conducted at Edwards Air Force Base and Patuxent River, Maryland. He flew as a flight test engineer in the DC-6, DC-7, DC-8, and the C-124. As a production test pilot, he flew the F3D, Skyraiders AD-5, AD-6, and AD-7. As an engineering test pilot, he flew the XF4D, XF5D, A-4, A-3, and DC-8. Drew made the maiden flight of the A-4C Skyhawk on August 21, 1958. Finally, as a project development engineering test pilot, he flew the F4D Skyray and A4 Skyhawk. Also, during this time, he conducted the flight test work necessary to set two world speed records, 3km and 100km at 756 MPH, and five time-to-climb world records, which the F4D held in the mid-1950s. He continued flight test work for Douglas Aircraft until 1962.
Drew also competed in Formula One Pylon Races across the country for 40 years, between 1953 and 1993. He flew more than 15 different custom design racers and competed in some 25 races, including Reno, Mojave, Corvallis, Detroit, San Diego, San Marcos, and others. In total, as a combat, test and racing pilot he accumulated nearly 10,000 hours of flight time in more than 75 aircraft types over 50 years.
Drew married his wife, June F. Anderson, on July 19, 1958. After his work in the aviation industry, he worked in corporate real estate. He became a docent for the Museum of Flight in 2000. He died in June 2019.
Biographical note derived from oral history interview, donor information and records on Ancestry.com.
Bruce Mennella served in the U.S. Navy with Fighter Squadron 114 (VF-114) during the Vietnam War. He later operated a car dealership in Burien, Washington.
Bruce Edward Mennella was born on September 16, 1946 in New York City to Vincent and Madeline Mennella. His father had been a pilot in World War II, flying transport airplanes from Sand Point Naval Air Station. After the war, Vincent obtained a college degree under the GI Bill. In mid-1947, he and his family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked for NCM, a cash register company. In the mid-1950s, Vincent opened a Ford dealership in Burien, Washington. He also remained an active pilot in the Navy Reserves.
Mennella attended school in Burien, Washington, graduating from Highline High school in 1964. He attended the University of Washington’s School of Business. He planned on joining his family’s car business after graduation; however, the onset of the Vietnam War altered his post-graduation plans. As a sophomore, he went to a Navy recruiter and worked out a deal to enter the military after graduation. He passed the aviation written exam in order to become a pilot, but due to his eyesight, he did not pass the medical exam. Instead, he went into Air Intelligence. Graduating in June 1968, he reported to Aviation Office Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. From there, he went to Air Intelligence School at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. While in Denver, he re-connected with Louise A. Vacca, a woman he had dated occasionally in high school who was now a flight attendant with United Airlines. They were married in 1969.
Once he had completed his training, Mennella was assigned to NAS Miramar in San Diego, California, arriving there in November 1969. VF-114 flew McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft and was reformatting after a WESTPAC cruise. He spent the next 11 months training, including flying in the back seat of VF-114 airplanes whenever possible. The USS Kitty Hawk, associated with the squadron, was at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington for refurbishing at that time.
Mennella’s first cruise was from November 1970 to July 1971 on the USS Kitty Hawk. Operating in the middle of a bombing halt and in the southern area off the coast of Vietnam, the cruise did not see a great deal of activity. Mennella worked in the Integrated Operations Information Center (IOIC), briefing and debriefing pilots on their targets. Briefings included weather conditions, rules of engagement, tanking procedures, emergency procedures, and an overview of the area of operations. In his off time, he traveled in Sasebo, Japan; Hong Kong; and Subic Bay, Philippines, where his wife was able to visit him.
Mennella’s second cruise, also on the USS Kitty Hawk, began in February 1972. This time, the carrier operated off the north coast of Vietnam and included missions going into Hanoi. Each Alpha strike took 35 to 40 airplanes in a three-operations-per-day cycle. Briefings were longer and more complex due to the area of operations. About five months into the tour, Mennella’s wife had their first child. Since Mennella’s replacement was on board, Mennella was sent home. He left the Navy in October 1972. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for his first cruise and earned the Navy Commendation Medal on his second cruise.
Back in Seattle, Mennella went to work for his father’s Ford dealership. He assumed the role of general manager in 1980 and five years later bought the business. He added Isuzu and Subaru franchises shortly after. His success brought him on to the Ford National Dealer Council, where he served for two years. After that, he was elected chairman of the Northwest Ford Dealers Advertising Group covering Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.
Mennella and his wife ultimately had three children and seven grandchildren. As of 2020, they were still living in the Seattle area.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Letter to Captain Lewis P. Bowers from Montano C[illegible], July 9, 1945. Sends personal news about his studies at St. Paul College (Philippines), asks about Bowers' health and family, and requests help in purchasing school supplies. Three handwritten pages on U.S. Navy statiionary and envelope.
Inscription on verso: "Neilson [Nielson] Field. Manila, P.I. Jan. 1945. One of the major air fields on Luzon in Philippines after 307 hit it."
]]>Aerial photograph of smoke plumes rising from Nielson Field during an aerial bombing, Philippines, circa January 1945.
Inscription on verso: "Neilson [Nielson] Field. Manila, P.I. Jan. 1945. One of the major air fields on Luzon in Philippines after 307 hit it."
Inscription on verso: "Bacolod, Negros, P.I."
]]>Aerial photograph of Bacolod, Philippines, circa 1944-1945. Several bomb craters are visible.
Inscription on verso: "Bacolod, Negros, P.I."
Inscription on verso: "Bacalod [Bacolod]."
]]>Aerial photograph of Bacolod, Philippines, circa 1944-1945. Several bomb craters are visible.
Inscription on verso: "Bacalod [Bacolod]."
Inscription on verso: "Davao, Mindanao."
]]>Aerial photograph of an unidentified location in the Davao Region, Mindanao, Philippines, circa 1944-1945.
Inscription on verso: "Davao, Mindanao."
The footage is in black-and-white and is silent.
Label on container: "S2093-2."
]]>Film footage of harbor and street scenes, Manila, Philippines, circa 1930s. The footage was likely filmed by Julius A. Barr during his travels in Asia and primarily contains shots of a harbor, showing ships, boats, and the coastline, as well as a few street scenes. No particular aircraft is visible in the footage.
The footage is in black-and-white and is silent.
Label on container: "S2093-2."
The footage is in color and is silent.
Label on film container: "Manila - Okinawa."
]]>Film footage taken in Manila, Philippines, and during a flight to Okinawa (Japan), circa 1930s-1940s. The footage begins with shots of unidentified neighborhoods and street scenes in Manila; some of the shots include children and adults. The footage then transitions to aerial views taken from an unidentified aircraft during a flight to Okinawa, showing coastlines, rice paddies, and the Ryukyu Islands. No exterior shots of the aircraft are present in the footage.
The footage is in color and is silent.
Label on film container: "Manila - Okinawa."
Caption: "Picture No. 7 - Photographer circles around to the other side to see what happened aft. Large portion of stern is separated from the rest of the hull."
Item from a disassembled scrapbook documenting the U.S. Navy career of Elvin L. Lindsay, circa 1944-1947.
]]>Aerial photograph of the damaged Japanese cruiser Nachi during an attack by the U.S. Navy, Manila Bay, Philippines, November 5, 1944.
Caption: "Picture No. 7 - Photographer circles around to the other side to see what happened aft. Large portion of stern is separated from the rest of the hull."
Item from a disassembled scrapbook documenting the U.S. Navy career of Elvin L. Lindsay, circa 1944-1947.