WWII War Birds - pics and video

[tootall]

For those in Greater Vancouver area, the Collings Foundation is bringing a B-17 and a B-24 to the Fabulous Flying Heritage Collection in Everett WA this weekend.
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/event/everett-wa/
http://flyingheritage.com/
I am going on either Fri or Sunday.

So, I didn't make it to FHC at Everett after all...
However, I DID get to see them today at Bellingham airport, just south of the border.
It likely worked out for the better, as there was not a huge crowd.
There was no line-up at all to get inside the bombers. In fact, I went thru the B-17 and the B-24 several times each.
And I was not constantly having to deal with others getting in my photos.
A great day!

Photos up soon..

 

[JR Hartman]

two posts back, P-61 Black Widow right?

 

[donor]

Yup.Big,black,armed to the teeth P-61.

Same idea as Bristol Beaufighter but done 3 years later.Very easy to see how fast technology progressed and changed way aircraft were designed.

Strangely enough Beaufighter served longer than P-61 (at least according to Wiki)

 

[JR Hartman]

P61's are badass for sure. they came out too late to see much service. the Beau was in it from the beginning.

P-61s would have changed the Battle of Britain if they were there. fast, heavily armed, well armoured, and onboard radar.

 

[diopter]

Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden/Jack

The Mitsubishi J2M land-based fighter was the first Japanese fighter designed specifically for the interception role. It had good performance, powerful armament, and adequate armor protection. The Raiden was plagued by technical difficulties and production snags, and only 476 were built.
Specifications[edit]
Data from Mitsubishi J2M3-11 Raiden[2]
General characteristics

Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi MK4R-A Kasei 23a 14-cylinder two-row radial engine, 1,379 kW (1,850 hp)
Performance

Maximum speed: 655 km/h (355kn or 407 mph)
Range: 560 km (302 nmi, 348 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,430 m (37,500 ft)
Rate of clim 1 402 m/min (4,600 ft/min)
Wing loading: 174 kg/m² (35 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.232 kW/kg (0.26 hp/lb)
Armament

Guns: 4 × 20 mm Type 99-2 cannons in the wings, two in each wing, inboard guns having 190 rpg, outboard guns 210 rpg.
Ordnance: 2 × 60 kg (132 lb) bombs or 2 × 200 L (53 US gal) drop tanks.

 

[diopter]

Yup.Big,black,armed to the teeth P-61.

Same idea as Bristol Beaufighter but done 3 years later.Very easy to see how fast technology progressed and changed way aircraft were designed.

Strangely enough Beaufighter served longer than P-61 (at least according to Wiki)

"After training conducted in Florida and California, United States, P-61 Black Widow aircraft were deployed to the front lines. The United States Army Air Forces' 422nd Night Fighter Squadron was the first to complete their training in Florida, and was deployed to England, Britain in Feb 1944, followed shortly after by the 425th Night Fighter Squadron. When the crews of the two squadrons arrived in England, however, they found they were without their P-61 aircraft. Then, in May 1944, USAAF generals began expressing concerns that the P-61 aircraft were too slow to effectively perform in the night fighter role. Many in the Royal Air Force agreed, suggesting the use of Mosquito night fighters instead. At the end of May 1944, the USAAF held a competition between 422nd Night Fighter Squadron-manned P-61 night fighters and RAF-manned Mosquito Mk XVI night fighters to determine whether the P-61 aircraft were to remain in service over Britain and elsewhere; the results were very close, with the Americans considering the P-61 to be slightly better while the RAF thought otherwise."

Classic example of "it ain't invented here" syndrome.

 

[Cdn303]

Ya, a lot of mine is better then yours went on between the Yanks and Brits when they should have been focusing more on, "Is it better then Jerry's"

 

[Sharps '63]

Didn't the Ju88 outclass both the Mossie and P-61 as a nightfighter? Especially with the upward firing guns.

 

[scott585]

Didn't the Ju88 outclass both the Mossie and P-61 as a nightfighter? Especially with the upward firing guns.

the mosquito as a fighter flew higher, had more range and went faster, carried more bomb load, and had more firepower than the ju88, so i would say no

 

[tootall]

So, I didn't make it to FHC at Everett after all...
However, I DID get to see them today at Bellingham airport, just south of the border.
It likely worked out for the better, as there was not a huge crowd.
There was no line-up at all to get inside the bombers. In fact, I went thru the B-17 and the B-24 several times each.
And I was not constantly having to deal with others getting in my photos.
A great day!

Photos up soon..

As promised, photos. I had a few to sift through.
First up is the iconic B-17 Flying Fortress.This one is a B-17G version.

I was early enough to see them land. Very quickly them had the group staged, and readied for the public.

As mentioned, there was not a big crowd, so I have photos of planes, not crowds!

We are going inside that hatch soon. But first, a quick walk-around.

 

[tootall]

In through the front hatch. I thought 'No problem!"
Then I got all hooked up on my camera bag. Couldn't move forward, couldn't move back out either!
That gave me a bit of insight as to how tight these planes are.

Up and in.

Immediately turn forward to get to bombardier spot.

Directly above bomb aimer is the cockpit.

Turn and face rear to get to catwalk thru bomb bay. this itself is a bit of maze. The catwalk is tight! I had to turn sideways to get between the vertical dark green racks.

The 3 bombs are on the Port side of the plane. These 2 pics are taken from the tarmac, but show the bomb-bay. The catwalk is beyond. Up is kind of sideways to the left.

Looking forward thru the bomb bay catwalk we just passed thru. Bomb tailfins can be seen on the photo left.

Lower ball turret and two large ammo cans. 50BMG, of course.
Looking forward.

Similar view, slightly farther back.

 

[tootall]

They also brought a B-24J Liberator.
This is one of only TWO flying Liberators, and the only J type still flying.

First, a walk around.

And now we go inside. We enter Audre from the rear.

This guy is coming up a short ladder. MUCH easier than the B-17 side hatch.

Looking rearwards to the tailgunner area. Off limits.

Moving forwards to the lower ball turret.

600 round boxes of 50BMG for waist gunners.
Beyond is bomb bay catwalk.

Loaded racks

Forward towards cockpit.

If you are the bombardier, you have to weasel your way past the nose gear!

 

[tootall]

I was not expecting to see the B-25 Mitchell. It was not part of the scheduled tour, but just joined recently.
( http://www.collingsfoundation.org/event/everett-wa/ Not listed. )
This was a bonus aircraft. So I cannot be too disappointed that it was not available for walk-throughs...
No sign, so lifted from the website.


“The B-25 was never conceived to fly off of an aircraft carrier, but it adapted…”

It is an unmistakable sound… two Wright R-2600 engines echoing through the sky as one of America’s most famous medium bombers, the B-25 Mitchell, soars through the skies over 50 years after its service life. Made most famous for the Doolittle Raid on Japan, the first American attack made on the Japanese mainland after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This famous raid saw sixteen B-25s take off from the aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet on a daring mission that brought morale back to America in a time of war. The B-25 was never conceived to fly off of an aircraft carrier, but it adapted… that’s what the B-25 was known for, adaptability under any combat circumstance.

Employed as a bomber in every theater of operations, and even as a ground attack aircraft and low-level bomber, the B-25 was a reliable aircraft with a proven record that was hard to beat. Even after WWII, the B-25 saw considerable use in the civilian sector as a transport aircraft and as a fire-bomber over America’s forested regions.

Today the B-25 “Tondelayo” is operated by Collings Foundation volunteers. It is available for viewing and flight experiences during our national Wings of Freedom tour and at specific events throughout the year.

Long live the Politically incorrect nose art!

Bomb bay, looking forward.

Collings also brought along a rather unique P-51 Mustang.
This one is a two-seater. However it was not originally built as a two-seater.
I assumed it had been, for use as a trainer.
However, the sign says otherwise.

I asked about a 2 seat trainer ever getting into combat, and getting kills.
The pilot said that in it's original single seat configuration, this aircraft did see combat.

(Trying to get all creative, with the fort in the background...)

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

Very cool pictures, Tootall. Those are stunning restorations, and the P51 is an amazing variation. Wish I could have been there. We attended Luftwaffe Day at the FHC last year, and it was well worth a 20 hour drive to get there.

It's not much after the windfall you've provided, but here's a RNZAF Avenger in the South Pacific:

 

[sail32]

Great pictures !

 

[diopter]

I can smell the Avgas!

 

[Dark Alley Dan]

A couple of interesting Spitfire shots:

I had no idea there was ever a floatplane Spit. A Spitfloat?

 

[t-star]

yea. they did make 1- a mk1X variant, - the old frog series used to have 1 in their lineup , from what understand it was an experimental only and the floats were scrapped as it reduced the airspeed and handling too drastically- that was b4 airfix dominated the model airplane field- I have 2, and these came as a double kit with white styrene floats- trouble was the spit that came with was a mk xv11 which was totally wrong , should have been a mk9.

 

[sail32]

According to the web site " http://www.airvectors.net/avzero.html ", the floats on a Zero cut the speed by approximately 80 mph.

Zero A6M5 = 350 mph

Zero A6M2-n = 270 mph

 

[Ganderite]

According to the web site " http://www.airvectors.net/avzero.html ", the floats on a Zero cut the speed by approximately 80 mph.

Zero A6M5 = 350 mph

Zero A6M2-n = 270 mph

That would convert it from a dangerous adversary to an interesting target....