About me

Since email is so impersonal, here's a bit about me, just so you'll have more information than you probably wanted to know. I know this is going to be a bit of over-kill, but got a bit carried away and am still excited about finding any other folks involved in or interested in the SOC Seagull. Here goes and sorry for the length. You may wish to just skip this part of the note.

I have a life-long interest in our nation's Navy and Naval Aviation. Hence the picture below taken aboard the USS Nimitz.

I am the son of a retired career Navy officer (he retired in 1964 and passed away in 1990) and have worked for the government since 1963 (as a civilian for the Navy at NAS Seattle) and as a career professional from 1967 with the Internal Revenue Service, until my retirement in 1996. I was born in East Saint Louis, Illinois, during World War II while my Dad was busy in the South Pacific, attempting to save world's democracies from the evils of the axis forces. I grew up (or as close to that description as my development can be called) as a "Navy brat" and traveled across all of our country with my parents, Bob & Jane and my younger brother Ed. As a Navy family, this entailed regular relocations every couple of years, but we grew and benefited from the travel. To be honest, there are those who claim I'm a walking case of "arrested development." Some of my most favored memories are of traveling, seeing our country and meeting and enjoying new friendships wherever our travels took us. "Home" to us included Saipan, Bremerton, San Diego, Quonset Point, Boston, Adak, Norfolk and Seattle. There are also those who say that the life of a military dependent is tough -- neither my wife Helen or I agree. We profited from our childhood experiences and feel our families are even stronger because our the periodic moves. I feel fortunate to have lived in the Seattle area for over 40 years and we love almost everything about the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The picture of my Dad was taken by a Navy combat photographer on Wolmi-do Island, offshore from the Korean port city of Inchon, following his participation in the 1st Marine Division's very successful invasion (abour 16 September 1950).

Since I'm talking pictures, here's one that's seldom seen.  It was taken from the Chicago Daily News and one from the St. Louis Dispatch.  Apparently, even as a little baby, I was noisey and demanding lots of attention.  These are a small sample of the noterity that came from Mom's photo being picked up around the country.

My interest in the history, traditions and operations of the Naval Aviation probably stem from my childhood as a Navy dependent . Some of my earliest memories while living around air stations, including NAS Adak, Norfolk, North Island, Quonset Point & Seattle (where I worked for fours years as a college student). I have photographed naval aircraft and built scale models for approximately the past 50+ years. I am a dedicated photographer of naval aircraft, model builder and historian of naval aviation. I have also had several articles and numerous photos of Navy aircraft published during this period; most of these photographs are presented for the use and research by scale modelers. My interest includes all elements of carrier aviation and including my photography of Navy aircraft over the past 30 years. I am also one of those known as "Navy brats" and wouldn't take anything for the many life's experiences I gained as a dependent and from my varied opportunities around the Navy and military in general. I have had several family member serve in the Navy including my brother who is a disabled veteran of the "brown water Navy" in Vietnam and an uncle who served and will always be aboard the USS Vincennes (CA-44) lost to enemy action at the Battle at Savo Island, 9 August 1942.

Recently I wrote a brief illustrated historical article on the development and use of powder driven catapults and their use aboard surface vessels through WW II, including the SOC Seagull aircraft (the Navy's last operational biwing aircraft).

I got interested in the SOC when the Hasegawa kit first came out in the early '70's and wrote to a friend in the Bay area, Bill Larkins. Bill's rich background in photographing the SOC in the Bay area in the 30's led me on to further research and look for information. Bill's photographs are beautiful. During one of our discussions (most of which occurred while I was actively involved in the production and work on the AAHS Journal (1971-73, while I was living in Southern California), Bill urged me to use whatever resources and access I had as a government employee to track down and all available government sources for information and photographs of the Seagull.

This quest led me into several offshoots of the Seagull including my research into the catapult (primarily the P-6), SOC pilots and the national archives records related to this aircraft. In fact I even turned up some information, using one of my contacts at the CIA (of all places). A friend, George Pfromm, painted a beautiful rendering of a Seagull on floats in WW II colors for me and an another drew a beautiful set of scale drawings for the P-6 catapult (based in part on original drawings I got from a federal records center which have now been destroyed). Two added documents I have (by copies of originals) are (a) excepts from the erection and maintenance manual for the SOC (originals are still (?) in the National Archive files in D.C.) and (b) Pilots Handbook - Model SOC-3 (Curtiss-Wright corporation). I was also fortunate to have many opportunities to inspect and copy a number of the Navy's original still photo collection, dating from about 1911 through the mid '60s (while on details and trips to Washington, D.C.). During many of the trips I actually photographed the original print shots and have a nice collection of both negatives and slides of the Seagull and its catapult use/operations. There has been very little in print, though the IPMS-USA material has included two interesting articles over the years. I was also intrigued by the early Profile publication on the Seagull, largely based on the narrative and experiences of a former naval aviator, Fred Dickey. I also found that an old modeling friend of mine, George Lee, actually worked on these aircraft at the Alameda rework facility before and during the war years. I suspect the quest will go on for the rest of my life.

The following catapult article is one I originally wrote for our 1992 IPMS-USA Convention in Seattle. Since I was the guru for both the convention and our program publication, I put this in knowing everyone would want to know this information. To no one's surprise, it has brought me almost no feedback of any type and most probably thought I was crazy.

I have also been a member of the Naval Institute, Naval Aviation Museum Foundation and the Tailhook Association for over twenty years. My life long ambition is and has been for some years, to study and write about the operations of a typical air wing, from its early organization, preparations for and actual deployment aboard a modern carrier. I think I mentioned that I had made tiger cruises aboard several carriers and gotten to sea for trips aboard the USS Coral Sea, Midway, Enterprise, Nimitz, Vinson, Kitty Hawk and Constellation. Aside from other aspects of interest in most things Navy, I have collected a number of NATOPS manuals on naval aircraft and equipment, collect survival equipment and have fully restored an ejection seat from an A-7E.

I worked for approximately 30 years professionally and as a manager for the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. I worked in several divisions (including the much dreaded ATF) and have served for the last 26 years as a manager. At the very least this career afforded me a unique opportunity to observe and study human behavior and the bureaucracy in depth. My hobbies include aviation, competitive shooting (service rifles), camping, hiking, housework, volkswalks, reading (mostly history, aviation and some modern techno-mystery), flying (pilot with about 1000 hours) computers, Scouting (now in my 52nd registered year of activity), photography, model building and fly fishing (hence the second picture, taken on the Yakima River).

As a result of both my life as a Navy "Brat" and as a civilian government employee I have lived and traveled a great deal. The list of locations sounds awesome and to a great extent, I believe I enjoy the life and interests I have largely because of the diversity afforded me during my childhood and life of travel. The list includes: Williamsburg, VA, East St. Louis, IL, Chicago, IL, Saipan, Bremerton, WA, San Diego, CA, Quonset Point, RI, Wakefield, MA (Boston Naval Shipyard), Adak, Alaska, Norfolk, VA (NAB Little Creek), Bothell, WA (NAS Sandpoint), Atlanta (Roswell), GA, Santa Barbara & Ventura, CA, Seattle, WA, Mercer Island and most recently in Redmond.   After retirement, I worked briefly for a CPA firm, Eddie Bauer and then AT&T Wireless and have really been "on my own" since mid-2003.  I enjoy it immensely, but there isn't the vast wasteland of "extra time" we all dream about.

Just to make sure I haven't overlooked my best friend and wife Helen, here's another picture to illustrate that we even like to fly fishing, camping, river floating and visiting our beautiful National Parks together, though she seems to enjoy bird watching more than watching for the strikes on our flies......

And just so you'll know I'm almost "certifiable," here's a picture of our two "kids" Gunship and Amber. They really spice up our lives together and allow us to live in the same house with them....  We recently lost Gunship, which was a terrible loss in our loves, but have Amber to make our house a home.

The additional material is related to other aspects of plastic scale modeling as well. Like many other dedicated plastic modelers, I have, to my wife's consternation, built up a "collection" of approximately 2000 unbuilt kits. My modeling desk and closet has about 35 kits which I claim are under "active construction" and I might be involved with at any time. For years I said, "a guy needs a kit for the day he is home sick or the weather is rotten outside and you know what trouble idle hands can be....." I also use to say that my hobbies were a lot cheaper than if I'd gotten into drinking, or heaven forbid, drugs! Looking back over my collection and the related expenses, I suspect even drugs would have been less costly.....

By the way, I am using a Mac and my primary software is the Microsoft Word program for about 95% of my computer work. This site and its construction have been "mangled" using Adobe GoLive.

I have probably missed something of importance, but fear I may destroy a new friendship by droning-on any more. I'll wait to hear from you folks and see what I can do to partake in our mutual interests.

Thanks for listening (or reading).

Bob

This picture of my Mom and Dad was taken at our home in Seattle in 1975.

The picture of my Dad was taken by a Navy combat photographer on Wolmi-do Island, offshore from the Korean port city of Inchon, following his participation in the 1st Marine Division's very successful invasion (abour 16 September 1950).