Picture of the day

From Diopter:

"Typical US handling of subject matter, their product must always the best."

Yup, that's why my Dad had to rebuild hundreds of their aircraft in Edmonton before they could chance making it up the Alcan and then across into Siberia.
 
smellie said:
From Diopter:

"Typical US handling of subject matter, their product must always the best."

Yup, that's why my Dad had to rebuild hundreds of their aircraft in Edmonton before they could chance making it up the Alcan and then across into Siberia.
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There are still a few in the bush along the way. :)

Grizz
 
grelmar said:
Just "Ok" ? This guy would likely disagree with that sentiment:

richardbongfeature-1-735x413.jpg
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Is that a 20mm bullet hole in the cockpit wall?
 
diopter said:
Always wonder what it could do with a mechanically centrifuge charged Merlin or two stage supercharged DB603
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The Brits converted a couple and the results were similar to refitting the P51 with Merlins.

Google it.

The Brits sent at least one back to the US for evaluation. I believe politics, graft, greed got in the way of refitting with the different engines. IMHO, it was likely more of a lack of the engines.
 
Cottage Hill Bill said:
An old Brit soldier told me "They keep the rocks out of your boots and the spiders out of your trousers."
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"Puttees", an Indian term, came into being when the Brits were campaigning in Northern India. The idea was to prevent the shredding of trouser legs and act as a deterrent to snake bite. They quickly became the norm in most European and Asian armies and were worn by civilian sportsmen as well. This was the same time as "Khaki" (aka as "sh!t brindle brown") became the colour of field uniforms, strong tea being the first means of dying them in the field.

The colour of the puttee denoted regimental and corps affiliation as did the direction of the wrapping: bottom up or top down. I suppose they offered some leg support and warmth when worn to below the knee, but the 'modern' short puttee was a royal pita and universally hated by soldiers.
 
Direction of wrapping the puttee was driven by use not regimental affiliation. Infantry wrapped bottom up because it's easier to do. Cavalry wrapped top down because if the puttees is fastened at the knee your action of using your knee as an aid (i.e. giving direction to the horse) quickly unties or loosens the puttee. Tied at the ankle the fastening is out of the way.
 
The army dispensed with puttees in WW2 and wore gaiters made of webbing. After the war they returned to puttees, as did the Brits. I've heard that puttees were a Gen Guy Simonds preference, as were things like devising the Canadian Guards, a new post war regiment with no historical predecessors.

I don't know WTF they went back to puttees when many other armies had made the move to high top boots. The 3rd Cdn Div was equipped with high top boots for the Normandy invasion. As I recall, we wore puttees up to 1967/68 or so.
 
USAAF armorers at work on North American AT-6B Texans (NA-84s)
The AT-6B was built for armament training, and could mount a .30 caliber on the right nose cowl, right wing, and in the rear cockpit, besides having a light bomb rack.
Original colour image.
(NARA Archives)
142086560-2804244703124753-1418503919676770052-n.jpg
 
purple said:
The army dispensed with puttees in WW2 and wore gaiters made of webbing. After the war they returned to puttees, as did the Brits. I've heard that puttees were a Gen Guy Simonds preference, as were things like devising the Canadian Guards, a new post war regiment with no historical predecessors.

I don't know WTF they went back to puttees when many other armies had made the move to high top boots. The 3rd Cdn Div was equipped with high top boots for the Normandy invasion. As I recall, we wore puttees up to 1967/68 or so.
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Yes for sure ,I never did understand the Canadian Army going to puttees from the high top combat boots , when I joined the Militia in 1971 we wore battle dress with puttees and ankle weights, smart looking on the parade square, a pain to wind around the ankles , General Simonds was a real fan of the British way of doing things , I heard him and General Foulkes clashed constantly, Foulkes had been appointed Chief of General Staff , over Simonds , apparently Foulkes was better at dealing with the politicians..lol ,compared to Simonds who could be very scathing..lol
 
bearhunter said:
The Brits converted a couple and the results were similar to refitting the P51 with Merlins.

Google it.

The Brits sent at least one back to the US for evaluation. I believe politics, graft, greed got in the way of refitting with the different engines. IMHO, it was likely more of a lack of the engines.
Click to expand...

The P-63B (Model 34) was a proposed version of the Kingcobra to be powered by the Packard Merlin V-1650-5 liquid-cooled engine. However, all of the Packard Merlin engines were urgently needed by the North American P-51 Mustang, and this project was abandoned before anything could be built. The aircraft that had been scheduled to be the prototype for the P-63B series was completed with an Allison engine and redesignated XP-63A

Sources:

The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

War Planes of the Second World War, William Green, Doubleday, 1964.

United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

Bell Cobra Variants-P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra, Robert F. Dorr, Wings of Fame, Vol 10, 1998.
 
fat tony said:
Richard Bong. He was from Wisconson iirc. Years ago we drove by a memorial to him in that area. We did not stop to view it as we had a timetable.
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I drove by that as well once, seem to remember a P 38 on a pedestal, that's what caught my eye. Same story, we were transiting through the US.

Grizz
 
CanukMauser said:
The P-63B (Model 34) was a proposed version of the Kingcobra to be powered by the Packard Merlin V-1650-5 liquid-cooled engine. However, all of the Packard Merlin engines were urgently needed by the North American P-51 Mustang, and this project was abandoned before anything could be built. The aircraft that had been scheduled to be the prototype for the P-63B series was completed with an Allison engine and redesignated XP-63A

Sources:

The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

War Planes of the Second World War, William Green, Doubleday, 1964.

United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

Bell Cobra Variants-P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra, Robert F. Dorr, Wings of Fame, Vol 10, 1998.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I thought the question was about the P38 Lightening.

I didn't even think the Airacobras had been considered for Merlins.

Thanx for that.
 
^^ There should have been a law that these ads had to be done in disappearing ink.

Each time I see one I have to do some math and convert a rifle purchase to a week's wages, to see if they are cheaper now. They usually are.
 
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