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Post by xray on Nov 2, 2011 11:13:29 GMT 8
Slightly off topic, as its not all WW2 related, but I thought some might enjoy these pics. Most guys into history/warfare will also be into military aviation of all eras, and I am no exception. These pics were taken about a year ago at the Kzoo "Air Zoo" in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They have an absolutely stunning display, all of the aircraft are immaculate, some very rare. None of these are flyers, as you might imagine, though I remember as a kid seeing the P-40 which hangs in the entrance fly all the time. What I am posting here is just a small portion of what they have. Many pics unfortunately turned out blurry. Would highly recommend a visit to anyone who might be going through the area www.airzoo.org/You are greeted walking in by this fantastic P-40 hanging from the ceiling - What our boys on Corregidor wouldn't have given to see 30 or so of these roaring towards Bataan ! Push type experimental fighter Curtiss XP-55 "Ascender, one of only a few examples made. Many mistakenly think this was derived from designs captured from Germany after the war. It was in fact conceived in 1939 and built in 1943, therefore precluding any German input. Stunning P-39 Gorgeous B-25 Air Apache, a devastating gunship variation which general Kenney used to great affect against Japanese shipping. Forward firepower like this was hitherto unknown to any type of aircraft, they could literally saw a ship in half - It is pleasing to contemplate having a few squadrons of these based on Mindanao in 1940. Dreaded German V-1 drone bomb, the 1st employment of unmanned combat aircraft Spanish made BF-109 - I had read somewhere that this aircraft had the highest production run of any combat aircraft in history ,,,, A record that will obviously stand for all time. Pristine P-47 Some nice wall sized murals On to a few jets A breath taking F-14 Tomcat, which was retired a couple of years ago F-18 Hornet A-4 Skyhawk F-8 Crusader They have one of only 2 SR-71B ever made. This aircraft is so large that, combined with the dim lighting, it was not possible to get a single good profile shot. Amazing aircraft, decades ahead of its time. closeup in the intake inlet spike, which was very crucial to achieving its mind bending speeds Cobra gunship They actually have 2 facilities, walking to the other one they have these 2 old warriors outside guarding the gates, F84 & B57 Nice large scale models, 100's of them Cases and cases of weapons, you can spend hours in this section easily Finally, a B36 engine, the size & complexity of this thing has to be seen to be believed. Was a pusher engine, B36 had 6 of them, and the start up/shut down procedure was so complex it took 6 hours to start up and 4 to shut down, and a helluva lot of maintenance.
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Post by fots2 on Nov 2, 2011 17:29:03 GMT 8
That place is impressive. I love that B-17 mural. I miss those F-14 Tomcats too.
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Post by okla on Nov 2, 2011 23:36:22 GMT 8
Hey X-Ray...One would do well to visit this Aviation Museum if ever in the vicinity. Have you ever been to the Confederate Air Force (where ever it might be at present). Back in the 1980s it was located at Harlingen, Texas, but has since moved to where I don't know. The day I looked it over, to my misfortune, the B-17, B-24, and B-29 Superfort were on "tour". There were still plenty of "goodies" to view, P-38, P-40, P-51,etc plus many German, RAF, and USN A/C. There was even a Stuka present (formerly of the Spanish Air Force). In regard to the Me-109, my brother-in-law had a friend (a wealthy MD) who owned and flew one of those aircraft. Being a prominent Doctor he could well afford to fly up to Oskosh every year or two for the air show. Bro in law was told by the owner that it was a "tough" plane to handle, whatever that means. I have heard that it was very comfortable for the pilot. This particular plane was, also, formerly a member of Franco Spains Air Force. A lot of folks don't know that the P-39 Aircobra played a part in the Battle of Guadalcanal, especially in ground support of the Marines in the defense of Henderson Field. It was, of course, no match in aerial combat with the dreaded Zero, so this activity wasn't even attempted, but in shooting up Japanese ground forces and positions it did a very adequate job. Those USMC people, I would think, appreciated the efforts of the Army AF guys, few as there were at Henderson. Thanks for posting this excellent stuff. Cheers.
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Post by xray on Nov 3, 2011 11:06:40 GMT 8
fots, the murals are very inspiring, and huge as you can see. Was a crying shame when they retired the Tomcats ,, I still miss the Phantoms as well, though at least they have 1 flying on the airshow circuit here.
okla ,,, Never been to "Rebel Field", have seen plenty of their aircraft over the years, including Fifi when she was flying. They changed their name to Commemorative Air Force some years back ,,, Officially because they thought the word "confederate" was offensive, and hindered fund raising. If I recall correctly, one of their members was caught smuggling a large amount of drugs in one of their aircraft, and obviously their reputation suffered because of that. I think that had more to do with the name change than anything else. Would love to see the F-82 twin Mustang, wherever it may be. I think its the only surviving example left ,,, And I recall reading the F-82 chalked up the first air to air kill in Korea.
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Post by EXO on Nov 3, 2011 22:48:32 GMT 8
I was a member of the Confederate Air Force through the 1980's, and attended shows down in Harlingen. As a member of the photo team, I was fortunate to obtain a lot of rides, and had unlimited access everywhere.
Second to the rides, was runway duty during the airshows - we were placed out on the grass adjacent to the runways, where we were buzzed by the aircraft, some of them clearly less than the height limits imposed by the FAA.
On one occasion, a Harrier dropped a gas cap which landed very near me. I was under strict instructions not to move, and there I was, standing under a hovering AV-8 which I knew had lost its gas tank cover. That pilot sure was happy when I returned it to him in the bar that night!
What prompted me to write was that I was there the day that the twin Mustang came in and one of its landing gear wheels collapsed. I heard it before I saw it, so I didn't get the immediate moment of impact, but I caught the slide on film, several frames, the only film of the accident (as far as I know.) A copy of it is somewhere in my footlocker. All the images are slides, a quaint process that is now as common as rocking-horse manure.
It was a bit of an urban legend of sorts, in those days, that some of the aircraft owners had used their aircraft in the early years, dashing into Mexico. Some of them also had stories of being paid to fly P-51's against P-47's in one of those "South American Soccer Wars." Got no idea how true it was, but I did meet the guy who purchased several of those P-47's.
There sure were a bunch of great personalities in those days, the men were larger than life. I still am in contact with some of them, well past their 90's.
I also lost a few acquaintances over the years - in the demise of the B-26, the Catalina and the A-20. One thing thing (of many) that I shall never forget was being part of the start-up ground crew for Paul Tibbets' 1980 FAA Check Ride. It was my job to rush in with an extinguisher in case of an engine fire. Standing there and looking up at Tibbets at the window was a true heart-thumper, and my memory of that dawn still is today.
One of the funniest (ie weird) experiences I can recall was discovering that one of the hot-shot pilots (who had donated more than one aircraft to the CAF) and who had fancied himself as same - well, between one year and the next, he had a sex change operation and he came to the following airshow as one hell of an ugly woman.
My wife still hasn't forgiven me the fact that I used to go holiday in Harlingen and leave her at home, and I don't think she ever will. If she had have liked aircraft, and later the big iron of Corregidor, now that might have been different!
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Post by okla on Nov 4, 2011 1:47:29 GMT 8
Hey Guys....In regard to the "Twin Mustang", i, ironically, only yesterday was conversing by phone with an old buddy, now retired in Florida, who was my "roomie" at Wolters AFB, Texas. He was a mechanic on those Aircraft at Suwon (K-13) AFB which was also my station. We weren't acquainted with each other while stationed at Suwon, but by coincidence met after returning to the States. His outfit was the 68th Fighter. It was withdrawn to Itazuke AFB, Japan in 1952. My unit is still Korea, having moved 10 miles South to Osan. He still brags about his unit being the first to record a "kill" in the Korean conflict. Those aircraft were strange looking machines, not nearly as neat looking as their twin fusilage "cousin" the Lockeed P-38. Postscript...EXO, while at Harlingen, did you stray over to Matamoros or Reynosa??? Also, I am sure you are aware that Harlingen was an aerial gunnery school during WW 2. The installation was turned over to the City of Harlingen and still serves as their Air Terminal and other areas are used as an industrial district the last I heard.
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Post by xray on Nov 4, 2011 5:46:29 GMT 8
Thanks for sharing your reminisces EXO, if you could find and post anything F-82 related, that would be great. I remember attending an airshow sometime in my teens [I'm 43], and the CAF Fifi was there. It was taxiing down the runway, and these anti-war loons dashed out and threw buckets of red paint at the nose. Can you imagine the sheer stupidity of running out towards a taxiing B-29 ? Lucky for them, they avoided being ground into burger, unlucky for the crowd, they cancelled what would have been a great flying demo.
Tibbets grandson was [is] a bomber commander who flew [flies] B-2's, saw him doing flybys at a few shows.
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Post by EXO on Nov 4, 2011 8:10:07 GMT 8
Yes, we visited but didn't stray in Matamoros - I felt that it was like descending into Fellini's Satyricon, but without any pretentiousness to Art or taste. To call it a chaotic dystopia would not even come close. Until then, I hadn't any idea how high they could heap s**t and call it a civilization, the place made grunge look like hospital clean. There was nothing there that couldn't have been improved by a liberal application of napalm.
What always got - and retained - my interest about Rebel Field was the very extensive boneyard which had been there for some years, I spent hours there. I have never gotten around to digitizing my images though.
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Post by okla on Nov 4, 2011 9:19:04 GMT 8
Hey EXO....Your description of Matamoros sums up it's neighbor on up the Rio Grande, Reynosa. I lived at McAllen, just across the river from "Reno", as we called it., for seven years. A most depressing locality and much worse today due to the "Cartels" I am reliably informed by former neighbors,etc. still living there, that hardly anyone from McAllen,etc ventures across the "silv'ry Rio Grande", severely crippling the "tourista" industry. Cheers.
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