Art & Inspiration ot ww 2 planes

http://www.flyingheritage.com/

The really nice thing about the Flying Heritage Collection is that the planes that are there are all flyers (except for the german rockets) and are all restored to as-built condition. Kinda like if the Smithsonian would every fly anything they have. And, they do a nice flying display at that airport. Unfortunately, you have to go there as they do not travel away from home base.

 

Great thread, my second great passion REAL aircraft!

Nick.

 

...and last but not least is this website dedicated to warbirds (as if you needed another reason to spend more time on the web!!) http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB2/index.php

Not as fast moving as this place, but some good info. And if you look in the warbird registry, you'll be able to track down the history of most of the surviving warbird population.

There are a few HAMBers over there, so you won't be alone.

 

As far as flyable aircraft goes, specifically B-29's, I see they've got the first of their new and improved 3350's installed on FIFI, but has anyone heard any recent news about Doc's status?

 

It's stopped as far as I know. They need $$$$$ for engine overhauls, new fuel tanks, and some spar repairs. They also lost their workspace (Boeing needed the space back). It spent at least 2 years outside. I believe that it's indoors now, but they are not able to work on it.

 

I like the warbird registry. Sort of like my multi-million-dollar-lottery-dream classifieds...

I'd get a B-25, hire my buddy to be the pilot (I'm a gunner, baby), call her the titty twister and paint a brunette riding a tornado with six guns on the nose. The tail would of course be 345th Bomb Group, Air Apaches, all the way.

 

For sure, all these affore mentioned "fly boys" are true heroes!
How many of you knew that when the US Army Air Force was looking for fighter pilots, one of the first questions asked was: "Do you ride a motorcycle"? It seemed that guys that did, would turn out to be a so called "chance taker" & posessed a certain dare devil attitude, required then to pull off most missions.

At the start of WWII, I was 10 & lived "Airplanes", always sketching & drawing them, not to mention all the old "Strombecker" solid wood kits that you had to carve out & finish best you could!
For those of you that live or have lived in the Inglewood, Ca. area, you will know the territory I'm about to talk about.
Our home in 1941, was on 94th st.& Inglewood Ave.----Century blvd. was 6 blocks South, & Century was just a 2 lane blacktop road running East & West, if you followed Century West, you would come to the main landing strip of Mines Field, now known Internationaly as LAX.
My bedroom window faced Century blvd. 6 blocks away, & I could observe every airplane landing at the airport all during the war until the end in 1945.
As mentioned, Mines Field quickly became a center of airplane activity, both in the design & manufacture & componant parts of North American Aviation on one side of Imperial blvd. & Douglas Aviation on the other side. At that time (1942) it was imparritive to be secretative as possible & large camoflage nets covered hundreds of acres over the entire area & both aircraft facilities, from the air it looked like the adjacent bean farming business, but hidden in the top, & scattered around in phony farm looking buildings were anti-aircraft guns manned by around the clock US ARMY personnel, always scanning the skies with their binnoculars (before radar).

Meanwhile, airplane production continued day & night around the clock, Douglas producing planes for the US NAVY, & North American producing the P-51 Mustang & the B-25 Mitchell at their plant. As soon as planes came off the assembly line, they went to dirt bunkers where all their machine guns were test fired, then moved to another holding area to be test flown the next day.
I can remember the loud noise those 50's made when trying to go to sleep just 2 miles away!!
One day while looking out my window, I heard an unusual & eratic B-25 engine noises, & observed the twin tail section coming apart in mid air with the test pilot trying to make the airport, the B-25 hit the ground at a 45% angle just short of the runway, luckily missing surrounding homes, not lucky for the test pilot!

Back then, there were quite a few women test pilots & "ferry pilots", Just like so many other war time gals like "Rosie the Riveter", these women pilots flew cross country to deliver bombers & fighters to various 48 state destinations for overseas distribution by full flight crews.

About 1 year later, I became a "JR. Aircraft Spotter", knew just about all the planes, enemy & allied, armament,caliber,engines,etc.---Japanese I.D.'s were the hardest!!

After the war, rode my bicycle out to the airport where some P-38 Lockeed Lightnings were parked, no fences or keep out signs, so one plane had a ladder on wheels next to the body, no one in sight--- I climbed up the ladder & sat in the cockpit---What a great feeling came over me!!!---This was reality & a great thrill to experience as a young kid!!!---Nope!! didn't get caught & smiled all the 2 mile ride back home!!--------Those were the days--------Don

 

Cool stories.

Lest we forget....

 

Me too!!!!

Glad you love it!!!!

Your a lucky cat thats for sure....

HC

 

My uncle flew a Mustang with the 8th Airforce, 359th f/grp 368th f/sqd and was based in East Wreatham England during 1944. He was only there 3 weeks. While on bomber escort mission the Berlin, on there way back the England German fighter planes overwhelmed them over the villiage of Wutike which is NW of Berlin. He went down and the locals buired him in their small cemetary. After the war he was moved to Belgium then back home to Detroit.

Fifty years later in 1994 during a 3 year stint in England I aquired his entire personel file from the AF which included details of the dogfight over Wutike. I flew to Germany, rented a car and spent a week touring the area. Met up with a group of sweet older ladies in Wutike who were young children playing in the streets during on Sept 12th 1944. None of them spoke English but a local gentleman helped translate why I was there and what I was there for. Got the entire true story from that day. Much different than the story my grandmother was fed by the military back in the day. I've since been given his footlocker which includes his flight log, diary, letters, uniform etc. It's a treasure chest for sure.

Also while in England I was able to attend many of the vintage warbirds airshows, mostly at Duxsford which is where I got to fly a T6 much like the trainer my uncle flew before shipping off to the UK back in 1944. Spent an hour in that radial engine plane. Fantastic!

 

I've posted it before, but here's a picture of my dad standing in front of one of the planes he flew out of England during the Second World War. It's a C-47. The other planes he flew didn't have engines, Horsa and Waco gliders.

Kind of a side note, you can't see them here but he wore his boots all of the time. They called him Tex while he was overseas, but not because he was from Texas. They all knew Tex Ritter from the movies and since my dad wore the same "manly footwear" he got the nickname.
Larry T

 

This was a fun day for me, got to stand right on the runway!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDIYyaGSU5U&feature=channel_page

 

I believe these are B26 tails,but we can't forget those who built-em..

 

My Dad in 1943 (green X )---------Don

 

Very cool.

Was he P-61 crew, or a Northrop employee??

 

Couple more photos from my uncles footlocker. One of his buddy Leonard Carter with his Mustang "Little Ann" and the other a couple lady friends having some fun.

 

B-25 I shot at the Camarillo WW-2 air museum a couple of years ago. Lot's of teeth on this Bad Boy. Heres some video of another B-25.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/YouTubeDisplay.aspx?videoid=L5TTDea5rRk&term=B-25

 

Uncle John flew one of these, said it was the best flying plane ever made, what's wierd is they destroyed every single one of them, there is some stories and weird stuff abought these, one of those "lifes mysteries"

 

Damn i went to stearman the same time, been at Beech 35 years

 

What??? No they didn't.

 

Ok Boys and Girls for all you Hot Rod and Airplane people the Stray Kat Star liner September 11-12 will be held at the Kansas Air Museum which is a beautiful very Art Deco building which was actually the original Wichita airport terminal.Beautifully restored plus we will be allowed to park on the ramp among all the vintage aircraft. Micky will be posting more on this "Don't Miss" gathering

 

What do you think of this?

 

my bad, that is what I thought, I was evidently thinking of something else, I'm not having a good year, I was sure this was the plane uncle John flew, p-38 lightning and he told me they destroyed them after the war, was ther something simmilar with the twin nacell that was destroyed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glzG9lizkSc

 

Kermits P38:
http://campaign.constantcontact.com...S1b-_dLvkRaQg7T786yHeggZZIcIjFtMCvOcWtH8buQ==

Early short wing B26 "widowmaker". Love the nose down attitude with the
nose gear strut collapsed.

 

MotoVintage, I'm not sure what plane that might have been, but thanks for the cool little video!

 

For you pilots; I've been told this before, look at the direction of rotation on those propellers; In 'engine out' proceedure, EITHER engine is the 'Critical Engine'..........................

Too bad they are restricted from 'showing it's stuff' with manuevering...............

 

you can't help but be proud of this country while looking at that old stuff. There where no targeting computers or "smart" bombs. All they guys had was guts ,well that and a set of nuts the size of Alabama. Thanks for posting .

 

Christopher

There's approximately 40 - 50 P-38's left. In this country approx 5 that are currently flying. The gub'ment did set up scrapping operations at the end of WWII that did scrap MOST of the planes that were produced during the war. They did sell some to foreign governments and businesses / individuals that had the cash and the need.


As a matter of fact there is one that is based in San Antonio and second might be in Texas now as well. Neither are on public regularly though.

 

Dad was fnal inspector at end of assy. line at Northrop during WWII---Don

 

There is something truly sexy about a radial engine.