Aeronautical engineer Herb Phelan is interviewed about his career in the aviation industry and his involvement in several aircraft restoration projects. He discusses his work with various aviation companies and his career at Boeing, circa 1950s-1990s. Projects discussed include the 727, 747, SST (Supersonic Transport), Minuteman III missile, and the AWACS program. He then discusses his restoration work on the Boeing Model 80A, the B-17F Flying Fortress, and the B-29 Superfortress. All three of these vintage aircraft are now on display at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
Herb Phelan is a retired aeronautical engineer who has worked on several restoration projects of vintage aircraft. He was born on March 6, 1928 in Everett, Massachusetts and grew up in a foster home in Dorchester. He attended John Marshall Elementary School, Grover Cleveland Junior High School, and Hyde Park High School. While in high school, he studied drafting and worked as an apprentice draftsman for the Clifford Manufacturing Company (Boston, Massachusetts). He then apprenticed for Westinghouse.
In 1946, Phelan received his draft notice from the U.S. Army. He completed basic training at Sheppard Field (Texas) and advanced training at Scott Field (Illinois), where he earned his qualification as a teletype operator. He served at Holloman Air Force Base (New Mexico) until 1947, when he was honorably discharged.
After completing his military service, Phelan enrolled in the aeronautical engineering course at Cal-Aero Technical Institute (California). He completed the course in two years and then worked a series of engineering jobs with Lockheed, American Machine and Foundry Company, Chance Vought, and Pratt & Whitney. During this time, he also completed an aeronautical engineering degree at Boston University. He was hired by the Boeing Company in 1960 and relocated to Washington State.
During his career at Boeing, Phelan worked on a variety of engineering projects and contributed design details to numerous aircraft, including the 727, 747, SST (Supersonic Transport), and the E-3 and E-6 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) programs. He also worked on the Minuteman III missile and served as the Boeing representative to the Dornier Company in Germany.
Phelan assisted in the restoration of The Museum of Flight’s Boeing 80A by repairing the lower left outboard wing. His next aircraft restoration project came in 1993, when he joined the team of volunteers restoring the Museum’s B-17F Flying Fortress. The team successfully restored the aircraft to flying condition, and Phelan served as the B-17 crew chief when it went on display at the Museum’s main campus. He also served as the crew chief for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress restoration project, following the passing of crew chief Dale Nicholson in 2009. As of 2018, Phelan is still an active volunteer at the Restoration Center and has logged over 13,000 hours of volunteer work at the Museum.
Phelan married his wife, Isabel, in 1954. They had four children together.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
World War II veteran Joseph Polocz is interviewed about his military service and his expertise in mechanics and machine restoration. He describes his wartime experiences as a member of the Royal Hungarian Army and Royal Hungarian Air Force, his time in a French prisoner-of-war camp, and his post-war life as a laborer in Germany and France. He then discusses his immigration to the United States and his technician career with Philco and RCA. The interview concludes with an overview of Polocz’s volunteer work at The Museum of Flight Restoration Center, where he served on the restoration teams for the Boeing 247 and several Link Trainers.
Joseph Polocz served with the Royal Hungarian Army and Royal Hungarian Air Force during World War II and afterwards immigrated to the United States, where he had a decade-spanning career with RCA as an electronic technician. He was born on May 10, 1921 in Pannonhalma, Hungary. His father was an ornamental metalsmith. During his youth, Polocz studied his father’s trade, worked at a brick factory and movie house, and assisted family members on the family farm.
During World War II, Polocz was called to military service with the Royal Hungarian Army. He later transferred to the Royal Hungarian Air Force, where he trained as a mechanic and served as an instructor at a mechanical school. He also participated in glider training. At a late point in the war, Polocz and another serviceman escaped from advancing Russian forces by flying an obsolete Dornier Do 23 aircraft out of their abandoned airfield. Polocz’s unit was captured by American forces soon after, and he spent approximately three months in a French prisoner-of-war camp. Following his release, Polocz worked in Germany as a farmhand, then attempted to return Hungary. When he learned that many returning Hungarian soldiers were being sent to the Gulag, he decided to return to Germany.
In the post-war years, Polocz worked as a coal miner in France but soon became worried that the heightened international tensions might lead to another war. With the help of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), he immigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Though he initially did not speak English, Polocz’s strong mathematic and mechanical skills led to a job opportunity with the Philco Corporation. He later was hired by RCA as an electronic technician. During his 38-year career with RCA, Polocz worked on technology related to the Moon program and the guided missile cruiser, among other projects.
After his retirement, Polocz relocated to Washington State and settled in the Everett area. In the 1980s, he joined The Museum of Flight Restoration Center as a restoration volunteer. He served on the restoration team for the Boeing 247 and also helped to restore several World War II-era Link Trainers to operational status. As of 2014, he is still an active volunteer at the Restoration Center.
Polocz married his wife, Mary, shortly after his immigration to the United States. The two had one daughter, Maxine.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.
Born-digital video recording of an oral history with Jim Jackson and interviewer Dan Hagedorn, recorded as part of The Museum of Flight Oral History Program, September 23, 2014
Aviation mechanic James “Jim” Hawthorne Jackson is interviewed about his life and military service. Particular focus is given to Jackson’s time with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, when he worked as a B-29 mechanic in the United States and Guam. Afterwards, Jackson discusses his involvement with The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center and his work restoring various aircraft, including the Museum’s B-29 Superfortress and Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star.
James “Jim” Hawthorne Jackson was a B-29 mechanic during World War II. Later, he volunteered at The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center, assisting with the restoration of the Museum’s B-29 and YO-3A.
Jackson was born in Seattle, Washington on May 31, 1915 to Herbert Robinson and Margaret (Metzgar) Jackson. He grew up in the Kirkland and Bellevue, Washington area. His father was a friend of Bill Boeing Sr. and worked as the first foreman for the Boeing Company’s woodshop in the Red Barn. Jackson graduated from Bellevue High School in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) shortly thereafter. In this role, he ran telephone lines across the Cascade Mountains. He worked for the CCC for a little over a year and continued to work in residential construction before losing sight in one eye from an accident. Afterwards, he worked as a security guard on docked ships in Lake Union.
At the beginning of World War II, Jackson was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Forces. He attended Arrow Industries Technical Institute in Glendale, California for training as a sheet metal worker. Following the completion of that training, he was sent to Oklahoma City Air Service Command and then was transferred to Pratt Army Airfield in Kansas, where he encountered his first B-29 Superfortress. Despite being blind in one eye, Jackson was sent on overseas duties to help construct what would become Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He also serviced B-29s returning from missions over Japan, working with the 29th Bombardment Group of the 314th Wing.
Jackson was discharged from military service in January 1946 and returned to Seattle. He worked at Wilson Machine Works in West Seattle until his retirement in 1974. Following the death of his wife, Cynthia, he joined the restoration team at The Museum of Flight’s Restoration Center. He worked on the Museum’s B-29, YO-3A, and other aircraft.
Jackson died on July 13, 2016 and is buried in Anderson Cemetery in Snohomish County, Washington, alongside his wife.
Biographical information derived from interview and additional information provided by interviewee.