Jim_Hooper 3 #51 January 9, 2008 QuoteCare to guess when and where the picture was taken? HW Philippines, perhaps, where my father's TBM was hit by groundfire that blew the top off one cylinder. That old P&W 2600 still got him back to the Hornet, where he got a wave off and ended up ditching. Lost a second TBM the very next day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #52 January 9, 2008 Still have your Dad Jim? It would be cool to pick his brains for stories of his tour of duty. I hope with your writing you have a cache of them already. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #53 January 9, 2008 Not Phillipines, right ocean.The first picture was taken in the early 80s. This one, from the same island, was taken much earlier. Check out the planes. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piper17 1 #54 January 9, 2008 New Zealand"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Hooper 3 #55 January 9, 2008 QuoteStill have your Dad Jim? It would be cool to pick his brains for stories of his tour of duty. I hope with your writing you have a cache of them already. jon No, nor any real attempt to collect stories from his 1943-44 tour with Torpedo Squadron 11. A few anecdotes, only. Shared in the sinking of three Japanese ships, bombed Saigon in late '43, Hong Kong, Okinawa, and covered the Leyte landings. Shame on me. Hoop PS I agree with you about the lines of the Corsair, which he flew post-war. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #56 January 9, 2008 Saipan. Here's another of my father's 1945 slides (no airplanes, but lots of ships). He was a medical officer on a ship which ferried troops from Pearl Harbor to Saipan and Leyte Gulf in preparation for the Okinawa invasion. The original picture is from a trip my parents made there in the early 80s. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #57 January 9, 2008 If you are looking for a great read find "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer. It's about the epic Naval battle of Leyte and is gripping. Wonderfully written and fast reading for a history book. Highly recommended. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #58 January 10, 2008 Hi howard & Hoop, For a great read on those days read AMERICAN CAESAR: Biography of Douglas MacArthur by Manchester. One of the best books I have ever read; and I still have it on my bookshelf. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #59 January 10, 2008 QuoteHi howard & Hoop, For a great read on those days read AMERICAN CAESAR: Biography of Douglas MacArthur by Manchester. One of the best books I have ever read; and I still have it on my bookshelf. JerryBaumchen I concur. That is an excellent book. I would also highly recommend Manchester's books on Winston Churchill. There were supposed to be three books but he never finished the last one before ill health prevented him from completing his trilogy. Unfortunately, the second book ends as England is left alone after the fall of France and Churchill becomes Prime Minister, taking over from Neville Chamberlain.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Hooper 3 #60 January 10, 2008 QuoteHi howard & Hoop, For a great read on those days read AMERICAN CAESAR: Biography of Douglas MacArthur by Manchester. One of the best books I have ever read; and I still have it on my bookshelf. JerryBaumchen No disagreement there, Jerry. My copy of American Caesar probably gets re-read every couple of years. Although not a great fan of historical fiction, I highly recommend Herman Wouk's Winds of War and the sequel War and Remembrance. Having grown up in a brown shoe Navy family (albeit a generation later than the novel's setting), I can say it smacks of authenticity. It ranks at the top of its genre. Hoop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidlayne 5 #61 January 12, 2008 What is the aircraft type and what is the interesting story behind its 'prop'?I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidlayne 5 #62 January 12, 2008 Hopefully a better pictureI don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #63 January 12, 2008 First fighter jet test platform, fake prop was to keep the evil bear from knowing. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,384 #64 January 12, 2008 I searched for "dummy propeller" and found the P-59 Airacomet."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,384 #65 January 12, 2008 What was unusual about the cockpit and attack methods of this fighter?"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidlayne 5 #66 January 12, 2008 QuoteFirst fighter jet test platform, fake prop was to keep the evil bear from knowing. Correct. http://www.aviation-history.com/bell/xp59.htmlI don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #67 January 12, 2008 QuoteFirst fighter jet test platform, fake prop was to keep the evil bear from knowing. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Silly Twardo! Joseph Stalin was our friend back when the Bel Airacomet first flew, towards the end of the Second World War. Russian Communists were not declared "enemies of the USA" until two or three years after the war. Meanwhile, United States Army Air Force engineers were far more worried about German engineers figuring out how to build jet engines. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #68 January 12, 2008 QuoteWhat was unusual about the cockpit and attack methods of this fighter? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The pilot lay prone in the cockpit of Northrup's XP-79B jet fighter and it was designed to ram enemy aircraft. The XP-79B only flew once, but spun in, killing its test pilot. Fortunately, Northrup was able to apply some of the lessons learned - about flying wings and Heliarc welding - the modern B-2 stealth bomber. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,384 #69 January 12, 2008 Quote The pilot lay prone in the cockpit of Northrup's XP-79B jet fighter and it was designed to ram enemy aircraft. The XP-79B only flew once, but spun in, killing its test pilot. Fortunately, Northrup was able to apply some of the lessons learned - about flying wings and Heliarc welding - the modern B-2 stealth bomber. I've always thought it would be a blast to deliberately ram other a/c; Sort of like an airborne demolition derby!"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rapter 0 #70 January 13, 2008 Quote Quote The pilot lay prone in the cockpit of Northrup's XP-79B jet fighter and it was designed to ram enemy aircraft. The XP-79B only flew once, but spun in, killing its test pilot. Fortunately, Northrup was able to apply some of the lessons learned - about flying wings and Heliarc welding - the modern B-2 stealth bomber. I've always thought it would be a blast to deliberately ram other a/c; Sort of like an airborne demolition derby! there was also the XB-35 and xB-49, Northrup make a few wings. Only the good die young, so I have found immortality, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juggalo 1 #71 January 15, 2008 Quote Okay, here's another one... what type of airplane is... err... was... this? A CRASHED ONE Am I right!!! LOL you guys are great lots of fun and history together! Gues yo are really old!!!!waving off is to tell people to get out of my landing area Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
