(The back story: got buzzed by a locally restored B-25 at sunrise Sat. I waved, he wagged his wings at me!)
The BMW was in town again this morning.
So were the VW's
But the real danger is from strafing out here on these lonely county roads!!
Like Cary Grant, I tried hiding in the corn - but he wasn't wearing a damned hi viz jacket and yellow helmet in 16" corn...!
Fish
"Wow Mr Fish, how'd you survive that?!", said the little boy.
Well, I knew I had to show that B-25 that I was an American - So, I stood next to my scooter, dropped my pants and peed into the corn - waving with my free hand.
Hard to imagine that 16 of them took off from an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. Of course, they had to strip everything out of it in order to carry the bombs and still be able to takeoff, but just seeing that would have been something!
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150 Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
When just one flight of 120 B-17s left England for Germany - and only 84 came back 12 hours later - recall that they have a crew of 10 (2 waist gunners)
That's a lot of 22 yr olds not ever coming home to mom.
My Dad was a navigator on the Fortress. He came home.
Fish
Hard to imagine that 16 of them took off from an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. Of course, they had to strip everything out of it in order to carry the bombs and still be able to takeoff, but just seeing that would have been something!
Seeing as how you have an interest in history visit the museum at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA.
The exploits of Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, Jr. weighed heavily in the making of the movie "God is My Co-Pilot". He spent time with the "Flying Tigers" and subsequently spent a lot of his retiring years on the base.
Lot's to see there. Worth the trip. Been there. . .done that.
When just one flight of 120 B-17s left England for Germany - and only 84 came back 12 hours later - recall that they have a crew of 10 (2 waist gunners)
That's a lot of 22 yr olds not ever coming home to mom.
My Dad was a navigator on the Fortress. He came home.
Fish
Amazing pictures. Where did the separate cockpit with the twin 30 calibres go? Behind the main cockpit?
gn2 wrote:That's the tail gun position.
Looks like a B17G as it has the chin turret.
Everybody had a gun except the two pilots. =FLYING FORTRESS Were they all 50 calibres?
The bombardier used a remote mechanical joy stick to control the chin guns.
The United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH is THE place for military planes (and presidential planes, including the one which brought Kennedy home from Dallas)
Clean, modern, well supervised, free and massive.
Stig
Here's a link to the Museum of Aviation near Robins AFB, Robins Warner, Ga. It's a gallery page of the displays. If you want more info about a particular plane just click on the image.
A friend of ours, no longer with us, took us to Warner Robins Air Museum. We didn't have a chance to see all of it but there were a lot of planes inside as well as outside. We saw the ones inside and some of the closer ones outside. There are just SOOO many planes there! Someday we will go back. That day it was really hot and humid. We will have to go in the fall.
There is another airplane museum close to my daughter's home in Washington as well, and when we go for a visit next time we want to visit it as well. I love planes. When I was very young and my father was stationed in Japan, I use to watch the P-51 Mustangs take off over the fence. I love that plane.
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150 Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
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Oh yeah. . .that Micro Bus. . .awesome. They had several versions. Actually got to drive one a friend of mine had (Westfalia Camper) through the hills of Virginia and the Skyline Drive. It was fun to drive because you were sitting right up to the windshield and the world was an exciting place to watch. That said it was not so great if you were unfortunate enough to get into a head-on collision with one.
But in the mean time YYYyyyyiiiiiipppppeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And yes. . .I'd sure like to own one also and be sent back to 70's.
Interesting to note that the standard bomb load of the B17 for long range missions was the same as the DeHavilland Mosquito.
Two engines, zero defensive armament, made of plywood, fast as fook.
During WW2 my grandfather served in the RAF and worked on Mosquito engines.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
gn2 wrote:Interesting to note that the standard bomb load of the B17 for long range missions was the same as the DeHavilland Mosquito.
Two engines, zero defensive armament, made of plywood, fast as fook.
During WW2 my grandfather served in the RAF and worked on Mosquito engines.
Now that is lovely.
In the killing machine context of course. Bombing, especially civilians is absolute rank cowardice no matter how much bravery, machismo or rank stupidity is involved.
