Drew, Robert E. -- oral history interview, 2018 March 14

File

Contents of the Collection

From the Collection:

The Museum of Flight Oral History Collection chronicles the personal stories of individuals in the fields of aviation and aerospace, from pilots and engineers to executives. This collection, which dates from 2013 to present, consists of digital video recordings and transcripts, which illustrate these individuals’ experiences, relationship with aviation, and advice for those interested in the field. By the end of 2019, approximately 76 interviews will have had been conducted. The interviews range in length from approximately 20 minutes to 4 hours and 45 minutes. Most interviews are completed in one session, but some participants were interviewed over multiple occasions.

The personal stories in this collection span much of the modern history of flight, from the Golden Age of Aviation in the 1930s, to the evolution of jet aircraft in the mid-twentieth century, to the ongoing developments of the Space Age. The selected interviewees represent a wide range of career paths and a diverse cross-section of professionals, each of whom made significant contributions to their field. Among the many interviewees are Calvin Kam, a United States Army veteran who served as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War; Robert “Bob” Alexander, a mechanical engineer who helped design the Hubble Telescope; and Betty Riley Stockard, a flight attendant during the 1940s who once acted as a secret parcel carrier during World War II.

Dates

Creation: 2018 March 14

Creator

From the Collection: Museum of Flight (Seattle, Wash.) (Organization)

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

All materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. Interviews are being made available online on an ongoing basis. For more information contact us.

Biographical Note: Robert E. Drew

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, 7, 8, and the C-124. As a Production Test Pilot, he flew the F3D, Skyraiders AD-5, 6, and 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.

Extent

0 Gigabytes (tbd)

Additional Description

Summary

[From transcript] Robert Drew was born in southern California, and like many other draft‐age Americans during the early days of World War II, decided he preferred to fly rather than spend the next few years in the infantry or at sea. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943, and earned his commission and silver wings at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona.

Beginning on May 13, 1943, he graduated in 13 months plus 13 days. He completed transition training and was assigned to the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific. After 13 months overseas, he returned to the United States. Drew's assignment in the South Pacific Theater in 1945 was as a fighter pilot in P‐38 Lightning and P‐51 Mustang aircraft.

He became a flight commander and squadron operations officer by the time he was discharged in 1946. Drew joined the California National Guard in 1946 as a flight commander, and during his CNG service joined the Douglas Aircraft Company as flight test engineer, in 1952. His work on various test programs led to transitioning to production test pilot status at Douglas Aircraft on the Navy AD Skyraiders, and later to engineering flight test on the F4D Skyray at Edwards AFB.

The F4D was also the first delta‐wing aircraft to attain supersonic flight and it held the world speed record for both three‐kilometer and 100‐kilometer courses, as well as five Time‐To‐ Climb records in the early 1950s. It was the first Navy airplane to hold world speed records since a Navy seaplane set the record in 1934. For his design and development of the record‐setting Skyray, long‐time chief engineer at Douglas Aircraft, Ed Heinemann, was awarded the Collier Trophy.

Bob Drew served as the project test pilot for the Skyray and, after the preliminary tests at Edwards, completed the formal structural and aerodynamic demonstration tests required at the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1956. Some of his chase pilots at both NATC and Edwards were future astronauts Deke Slayton and Al Shepard, pilots Ivan Kincheloe and Mel Apt of the altitude and speed record holder X‐2, and Captains Bob White and Bob Rushworth, pilots of the hypersonic X‐15.

He made the maiden flight of the A‐4C Skyhawk on the 21st August 1958. He continued flight test work for Douglas Aircraft until 1962, flying everything from subsonic and supersonic fighters to four‐engine, commercial airliners and military cargo craft.

He also flight tested and competed in Formula One Pylon Racers across the country for 40 years, between 1953 and 1993. In total, this combat, test and racing pilot accumulated nearly 10,000 hours of flight time in more than 75 aircraft types over the past 50 years.

Table of Contents: Introduction -- Early upbringing and education -- Army Air Corps cadet and training -- First combat assignment -- Getting into a P-51 from P-38s -- Douglas production flight testing -- Your first jet fighter -- AD Skyraiders -- Skyray and Skylancer -- Other fast jet aircraft -- Formula One air racing -- What did your wife think about racing?