Picture of the day

If you want a good indication of the size of a B36 just google pima air and space and look at the satellite picture of ther outdoors collection. You cant miss the B36, even amidst the other big planes.
 
Ganderite said:
I doubt the Brits used the B-29 as their front line bomber. If they had, I am sure we would have been aware of it.

But, the B-29 (the Russian clone of it) was the threat they faced. So it would make sense for them to get a few from the Americans (probably free for the asking). The Brits would want to know what tactics to employ when attacking the Russian B-29.

The Brit fighters were early model jets. The engagement speeds and shoot time would be quite different than their WW2 experience. And attacking a B-29 would be quite different than attacking a JU88, too, from the defensive fie.

I am guessing the Brits had a few B-29s as targets for their fighters to practice on, and for developing tactics.
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Found this on the interwebs:

A formal agreement with the USA was signed on January 27, 1950 and the USAF loaned the RAF seventy B-29 bombers which received the serials WF434-WF448, WF490-WF-514 and WF545-WF574. Later another 18 were delivered under serials WW342-WW356 and WZ966-WZ968. The aircraft received the service name Boeing Washington B.1 (B.1 from "Bomber Mark 1") with RAF Bomber Command from 1950 as a longer-range nuclear-capable bomber, pending the introduction of the English Electric Canberra in quantity.

Most of the airframes were taken out of USAF storage and many were virtually new, having been delivered at the end of the Pacific War, although a small number came from operational units. The first 4 aircraft were delivered to the Washington Conversion Unit at RAF Marham on March 22, 1950. All B-29s for the RAF were ferried by the crews of the 307th Bombardment Wing USAF. The first unit converted to Washingtons was No. 115 Squadron RAF which flown from USA in June 1950. Two RAF Washingtons took part in the Laurence Minot SAC bombing competition in 1951 alongside USAF B-29s.

Squadrons based at RAF Coningsby were converted to English Electric Canberra bombers in 1953. Squadrons from RAF Marham were converted a year later. Most Washingtons were returned to the United States, being flown by RAF crews to Dover AFB; then subsequently to the aircraft storage facility at Davis-Monthan AFB. A small number of Washingtons remained in the United Kingdom, being used by 192 Sq. for Electronic Intelligence operations until 1958; later being used as ground target airframes for RAF combat aircraft.
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So VERY short service life - c. 4 years - and quickly returned to the USAF as soon as possible. No wonder none of us were familiar with this. :)
 
Pranged:

Deuces1.jpg
 
A couple of pages from a photo album I inherited from my Dad..He landed at Normandy and made it to Berlin. He told me they were pics he got off of Pow's along the way.



 
Desert_Fox said:
The Deutsche Soldat on the left side of the bottom right photo in the winter scene is carrying a Mosin Nagant.
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I was watching a documentary show last week on the Battle of the Bulge. Just before the footage showing a GI wheeling a jeep while 2/3 of it is burning there is a plain bit of footage showing a Wehrmacht soldier firing a Garand.
 
I think I was watching the same show- - aside from the wrong rifle, his uniform was a little too neat for war- I thought it was re -enactor footage that someone stuck in to make the show- it wouldn't be the first time discovery has done THAT- esp the one where the 18 year old kid- or was he 17- had to defend a bunkered position with an mg34/42 whatever, and he had a garand IN HIS HANDS BEFORE the invasion- when it should have been a 98 mauser or possibly a 43 - discovery is getting almost as bad as the old mervisch corp using American armor for german( I may have the spelling/name wrong but these guys are the same guys that brought you COMBAT, garrisons guerillas, rat patrol( who later became eric Braeden of y and r- hans goodenhaus or close) -
 
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Creek Party by Gil Cohen


Mechanics from the 126th Air Refueling Wing (ARW), Illinois Air National Guard, deployed to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany during Operation Creek Party, prepare a KC-97L tanker for a mission. Creek Party provided in-flight refueling services for fighter aircraft assigned to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe for ten consecutive years.
 
Can't verify the accuracy of this but found it interesting and quite believable.

The B-17 Flying Fortress was famous for its durability. This B-17, Hang the Expense, of the 100th Bomber Squadron of the USAAF rests in an English airfield after being severely damaged by flak over Ostend on an aborted mission to Frankfurt, Germany, 24 January 1944. The tail gunner, Roy Urick, was blown out - but survived and was taken prisoner. Pilot, Frank Valesh, and co-pilot ,John Booth, miraculously flew the badly damaged B-17 back to England and put down safely at Eastchurch.

View attachment 42867
 
Little bit more about the fate of B17 "Hang the Expense" about a 1/3rd of the way down the page.
http://lettersfromsheppey.########.co.uk/2014_09_01_archive.html

Where I am I am surrounded by WW2 USAF and RAF airfields, one of the biggest was Thorpe Abbots (100th bomb group)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Thorpe_Abbotts
They have a restored control tower and nissen huts which house a large selection of relics and a huge photo archive of damaged planes that made it back to base. Quite a sombre experience , sitting in the control tower and trawling through the archive.
 
Silfield said:
Little bit more about the fate of B17 "Hang the Expense" about a 1/3rd of the way down the page.
http://lettersfromsheppey.########.co.uk/2014_09_01_archive.html

Where I am I am surrounded by WW2 USAF and RAF airfields, one of the biggest was Thorpe Abbots (100th bomb group)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Thorpe_Abbotts
They have a restored control tower and nissen huts which house a large selection of relics and a huge photo archive of damaged planes that made it back to base. Quite a sombre experience , sitting in the control tower and trawling through the archive.
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Thanks for finding some more info about this aircraft. If computers and google wouldn't have come around, most of this stuff would have been hidden away forever. In my working days I spent a lot of time at Gatwick and Crawley and would regularly get a car and explore aviation related places and was amazed at some of the history I came across.
 
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