LCDR John Joseph Magda, USN

John Joseph Magda, Jr. was born in Camp Taylor,KY 1918. He attended Western Kentucky State Teachers College in Bowling Green, KY. After graduation in 1940, he enlisted in the United States Navy and completed flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida in 1941. As a fighter pilot flying from the USS Hornet at the Battle of Midway he ditched in the Pacific, spending five days in a life raft until rescued. Later in the war, Magda scored multiple victories in the South Pacific flying the F6F Hellcat. After World War II, he flew the Grumman Panther with the Navy Blue Angles, becoming their Commander in January, 1950.

During the Korean War, while flying an F9F-2 Panther on a combat mission from the USS Princeton, Magda's jet sustained damages from the ground fire and crashed in the sea, resulting in his death at age 33 on March 8, 1951.

His numerous military awards and decorations include: the Navy Cross; the Air Medal with two Gold Stars; the Purple Heart; the American Defense Service Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Korean Service Medal; the United Nations Service Medal.

Grumman F9F-5 - BuNo 125992

The Panther being flown by Magda at the time of his death was an F9F-2, an earlier vision of the Panther on display here. The Panther you are viewing was accepted by the Navy on April 25, 1952, and has flown a total of 2,343 hours. Active duty stations include North Carolina, Japan and California. It was last assigned to the Naval Reserve at NAS Minneapolis on February 28, 1958. The aircraft was on public display at Winona, MN for a number of years. In November, 2007, the National Naval Aviation Museum gave special permission to restore the aircraft in Blue Angels colors and place it on loan to Warren County to be an exhibit in Aviation Heritage Park.

This aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum.

Crew:1
Length: 38 ft 10 in
Wingspan: 38 ft
Height: 12 ft 3 in
Powerplant:
1 Pratt & Whitney J48-P-6A
Weight:
Empty: 10,147 lb
Loaded: 17,766 lb
Max speed: 579 mph
Cruise Speed: 481 mph
Climb rate: 5,900 ft/min
Service ceiling: 42,800 ft
Armament:
Guns: 4 20mm cannon
Rockets: 6x5-inch
Total bomb load: 2000 lb

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