Planes
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@canefan yep it was on the Doolittle raid . It’s the plane in catch 22 as well.
Later model Lancaster’s only had one pilots seat . The theory being if the pilot got smoked one of the remaining crew could keep it in the air long enough for everyone to bail out and it doubled the pilots they had available if lancs only needed one .
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The theory being if the pilot got smoked
Didn't know that. Inherently stable air-frame design could make that do able. Never considered it.
4 pilots are better than 3, 4 engines are better than 3, 4 hydraulic systems, 4 electric systems, etc, etc. Redundancy is a good thing.
However, needs must.
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@JC p 38s were involved in the NZ navy dramatically shortening the war in the pacific.
http://navymuseum.co.nz/wwii-campbell-buchanan-and-the-sinking-of-japanese-submarine-i-1/
A Kiwi Victory: Minesweepers Moa and Kiwi Bag a Japanese Sub By Repeatedly Ramming It | War History Online
During WWII the Japanese Navy changed its communication codes on a regular basis, this was a mammoth task as new codebooks had to be transferred to all
My favourite bit
"Brisdon wanted to ram the submarine, but the I-1 was double the size of the Kiwi, so the crew members were reluctant.“A weekend leave for everyone if we ram that thing!” Brisdon yelled.The Kiwi hit the I-1 on the port-side behind the conning tower. Japanese submariners immediately began to leave their vessel; some fell in the water while others dived as the Kiwi backed up and fired its Oerlikon. The submarine’s hull was too thick, but it had some barges hooked to its afterdeck, so those burst into flames. The Japanese gun crew was quickly taken care off, but more took their place until, their commander Sakamoto was killed.“Hit her again!
” Brisdon roared, promising a week’s leave – but the I-1 still wouldn’t sink.
Return fire from the deck of the submarine hit the Kiwi, and Brisdon promised a two-week leave in Auckland if they rammed her a third time. They rammed again and they ended all the way on I-1’s deck before sliding back off. For a moment all was calm.
With the captain dead, Torpedo Officer Lt. Koreeda Sadayoshi took command. Four Arisaka Type 38 rifles were passed among the best sharpshooters of the surviving crew. As the Kiwi’s fore slid off the I-1’s deck and back into the water, one hit Buchanan, but he kept manning the lights.
So Sadayoshi ordered all the officers to get their swords and try to board the Kiwi. The navigator, Lt. Sakai Toshimi, was a Kendo 3rd dan swordsman. As the Kiwi made its fourth approach, he grabbed the railing… but the impact was too hard, and he lost his grip."
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@canefan That picture of the P-38 reminded me of the story of Glacier Girl. Have you read it?
https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/glacier-girl-the-back-story-19218360/
Great story , this one is similar but a heartbreaker like those guys transporting a Catalina back to NZ
B-29 Kee Bird, Frozen in Time For 50 Years, She Was Almost Rescued (Watch) | War History Online
The US Air Force's B-29 Kee Bird was a Superfortress class aircraft. This craft belonged to the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron. This craft was stranded
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@Machpants hours and hours of fun
1973 MODEL SABRE (CVRT) TANK | Trade Me Motors
1973 Model SABRE (CVRT) Great “little tank” needs a good home. Powered by a 6 cylinder Jaguar Motor. Transmission is a little tired but still gets around. Ther...
CHIEFTAIN MAIN BATTLE TANK | Trade Me Motors
CHIEFTAIN MAIN BATTLE TANK 04-EB-43 EX BERLIN BRIGADE 14/20 KINGS HUSSARS Has not been started and run for a while. Has a bit of transmission trouble. Cou...
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Sorry to hijack this thread back to Erebus from those beautiful planes above, rented the ‘Erebus Operation Oversdue’ doco lastnight on iTunes.
First of all, a brilliant watch highly recommended. Secondly what a fucking travesty those guys sent to retrieve the bodies had to wait so long to get recognised for their work.
Wasn’t until 2007 they were shown any recognition, they came home from their 2 weeks of hell and were basically ignored and shunned. You can see they are still effected to this day (was filmed in 2014 I believe)What a cluster fuck of a mess this disaster was
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@JC p 38s were involved in the NZ navy dramatically shortening the war in the pacific.
There used to be P38 sitting next to a hangar at Nadzab (Lae) in PNG. It was supposed to be repaired but I don't know what happened to it. Cool machine.
Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the United States, and 10 of which are airworthy.
It does remain a demanding aircraft with numerous crash incidents; several of the surviving planes have been rebuilt many times.
This is a shame:
One historic note was that in 1948, representatives of the then-new country of South Korea attempted to purchase the brand new P-38L Lightnings stored in the Philippines (approximately 100 aircraft). Instead, the USAF persuaded them to accept AT-6s modified to ground attack role as well as worn out P-51D Mustangs; the brand new P-38s were destroyed.
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@JC p 38s were involved in the NZ navy dramatically shortening the war in the pacific.There used to be P38 sitting next to a hangar at Nadzab (Lae) in PNG. It was supposed to be repaired but I don't know what happened to it. Cool machine.
Of the 10,037 planes built, 26 survive today, 22 of which are located in the United States, and 10 of which are airworthy.
It does remain a demanding aircraft with numerous crash incidents; several of the surviving planes have been rebuilt many times.
This is a shame:
One historic note was that in 1948, representatives of the then-new country of South Korea attempted to purchase the brand new P-38L Lightnings stored in the Philippines (approximately 100 aircraft). Instead, the USAF persuaded them to accept AT-6s modified to griound attack role as well as worn out P-51D Mustangs; the brand new P-38s were destroyed.
Adrian Warburton flew a p 38 called an F5B
The tl;dr version of his career is , awesome pilot but given an obsolete piece of shit to fly . He bitched about it and was sent to Malta where it became obvious he was a brilliant if extremely eccentric airman . Was given a F5B reconnaissance version with a camera which was a stripped out hot rod with no weapons because it would be able to outrun anything the Germans had . Eventually his luck ran out and was shot down and killed not too long before D-Day
The long version is waaaaaaay better and he deserves a movie made about him
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Sorry to hijack this thread back to Erebus from those beautiful planes above, rented the ‘Erebus Operation Oversdue’ doco lastnight on iTunes.
First of all, a brilliant watch highly recommended. Secondly what a fucking travesty those guys sent to retrieve the bodies had to wait so long to get recognised for their work.
Wasn’t until 2007 they were shown any recognition, they came home from their 2 weeks of hell and were basically ignored and shunned. You can see they are still effected to this day (was filmed in 2014 I believe)What a cluster fuck of a mess this disaster was
The writeup that Stuart Leighton did for the Erebus website is pretty good. Poor bloke.
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The A-36 Apache was a way of getting the Mustang into the USAAF when there wasn’t funds for a new fighter and the British couldn’t afford any more . It still had the Allison engine which was better at lower altitudes ( the Allison versions are preferred for air racing) after the poms fitted a Merlin and Packard made them under licence that pretty much killed the Apache .
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My favourite part of the Black buck raids in the Falklands
The Vulcan was the only RAF plane that had the range and payload to make an attack, but it would need refuelling. A lot of refuelling. And if one thing was known about Vulcans, you don’t refuel them in mid-air. Most of the equipment in the surviving aircraft for refuelling had been removed. Military scrap yards were searched to find missing pieces, one vital piece turned up being used as an ashtray in one of the mess halls. Then the crews had to practise, not only refuelling but low-level precision bombing.
image url)
Adrian Warburton - Wikipedia
