WWII War Birds - pics and video

Still, hell of a fishing platform...:)

Tootall, the interior shots of that B24 give me nightmares. The thought of trying to wiggle out past all that grabby hardware and those sharp corners while the airplane is rotating in all three axis and coming apart around me... Jesus.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
Still, hell of a fishing platform...:)

Tootall, the interior shots of that B24 give me nightmares. The thought of trying to wiggle out past all that grabby hardware and those sharp corners while the airplane is rotating in all three axis and coming apart around me... Jesus.
Click to expand...

As the war progressed, more and more equipent (electronic) got stuufed inside bombers, making it more difficult to get around.

I flew on Neptunes. The RCAF flew in shirtsleeves and bare heads. The USN flew with helmets. I have scars on my scalp to a test that the yanks had it right.
 
Ground crew in the Aleutians:

rWMN3sJ.jpg


OHS obviously on site...:)
 
Speaking of B-24s I was playing a round of golf on the CFB Trenton golf course in 1968 when I heard a multi-engined aircraft on final approach. It sounded a lot different that the usual C-130s and Yukons that operated there so I looked up and lo and behold it was a B-24 coming in. It had been donated by the Indian Air Force which operated them on coastal patrols and was in essentially in stock 1945 condition complete with turrets and guns. We went over to look at it and learned that it had been ferried home by an RCAF crew for the National Aviation Museum in Rockcliffe where it sits today.

B-25 fans can buy a ride in the fully restored "Maid in the Shade" which is operated on tour by the Commemorative Airforce in Mesa, AZ. I paid $400 for a half-hour ride when it visited Penticton last summer and it was well worth it. I got to ride the tail gunner position and imagined myself fending off all of those nasty Japs and Nazis who were coming to pillage the orchards and vineyards of the Okanagan.;)
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
You're an Army Air Force mechanic. You're bored. There's a pile of stuff laying around. What do you do?

evOYOeb.jpg
Click to expand...

and after the war, when you have just spent the last 5 years working on 1500 hp motors you come home and realize that the old 65hp flathead 6 out back just doesnt cut it. then you go out and build one of these:

1948_Bellytank_Lakester_SCTA_Bonneville_Race_Car_For_Sale_Front_1.jpg
 
ryan said:
How about a P47 Thunderbolt assembly film?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2D3k0sJ8HM
Click to expand...

Interesting video! While I don't think for one moment a whole lot of P-47's were so assembled in the field, a whole lot of crated P-39's were assembled out of crates in the early stages of the Pacific War.
I'll bet pilot confidence was a whole lot higher in a factory assembled aircraft, especially one with a complicated turbo-charger system like the Jug.
 
Sharps '63 said:
Interesting video! While I don't think for one moment a whole lot of P-47's were so assembled in the field, a whole lot of crated P-39's were assembled out of crates in the early stages of the Pacific War.
I'll bet pilot confidence was a whole lot higher in a factory assembled aircraft, especially one with a complicated turbo-charger system like the Jug.
Click to expand...

The aircraft would have already been assembled, rigged and test flown at factory, so assembly is a breeze. Especially with the factory supplied tooling. Only issues would be damage in transit...

Very cool video!
 
So what was the point in field assembly then? If it could be truck transported disassembled and reassembled on site, then flown from the place of reassembly, it could have been be flown to that same place to begin with. Am I missing something here?

Any forward airbase you could drive to that could support landing and take off would be within range of any aircraft capable of taking off/landing from same. Then you have the fuel issue to consider as well as support for the ground crew. Sounds like a great target for an enemy to attack.
 
Flying a single engine fighter across long distances over the ocean (say the pacific) would have been a very risky proposition. At the time it was a lot easier to ship in a crate. Besides a lot of the reassembly points were close to a port far enough behind the lines to be safe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom