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REUNION OF GIANTS: The Only Two Avro Lancasters [CBD]

7377 built, and these two are the only ones flying. A documentary of the project and the flights of these last two bombers to Lincolnshire, where they flew together, will be released this summer.

It has been 50 years since two Avro Lancaster Bombers flew side by side. These marvels of mechanical engineering, part of a proud lineage that is credited with bringing an end to WWII, finally met high above the English Countryside this past summer. Making that reunion possible was a monumental task.

In early August, The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Avro Lancaster, Vera, flew from Hamilton, Ontario to meet her British counterpart, Thumper--the only other surviving flight worthy Lancaster Bomber in the world--the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Lancaster in England. It was a mission unlike any other this Lancaster had ever undertaken; flying thousands of miles across the ocean, requiring multiple landings on remote runways from Goosebay to Iceland to make it across the vast Atlantic Ocean, and a crew that was on their own, far away from any mechanical support or facilities that keep the plane flying. If anything went wrong, needed to be repaired or replaced, they had very limited options to get the Lancaster flight worthy to continue the journey.


[If you can, watch this in 1080HD in full-screen mode]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:55 PM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Squid should not be first!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 25, 2015 11:05 AM (KH1sk)

2 Sweet as Hell!

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 11:08 AM (4MMvf)

3 Two planes, four tails, and eight Merlin engines.

Symphony anyone?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 25, 2015 11:08 AM (lQHc1)

4 Very cool.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 11:11 AM (Ce4DF)

5 Charlotte has an air museum. No Lancasters, but B-17 come. I've flown in one. Great flick!



Did I mention the "Mircale on the Hudson" is here?



http://tinyurl.com/284x86

Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 11:14 AM (0FSuD)

6 Avro Lancasters, specially equipped with 22,000lb bombs, finally sank the German battleship Tirpitz in her Norwegian lair.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 25, 2015 11:17 AM (lQHc1)

7 Bruce Jenner product endorsements 1977 and 2015.

http://tinyurl.com/pg3tyco

Posted by: The Great White Snark at April 25, 2015 11:17 AM (pQL3p)

8 Yes, someone, not here or here had that up on the site posted that video, very dang cool.

Posted by: Gmac- Pulling in feelers in preperation... at April 25, 2015 11:17 AM (4CRfK)

9
We are a bunch of weenies. Can you imagine today's brits or even us going through the bombing of WW2? There wd be demands for immediate surrender.

Posted by: Bruce J. at April 25, 2015 11:19 AM (iQIUe)

10 I saw the CWH Lanc' once. On the ground.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 11:21 AM (4MMvf)

11 The only strategic bomber the Germans could put into production was nicknamed the Flaming Coffin.

Posted by: Aliot Verdon Roe at April 25, 2015 11:22 AM (l3vZN)

12 Damn. The men who flew in those things. What can you say?

Just damn.

Posted by: Tex Lovera at April 25, 2015 11:23 AM (wtvvX)

13 Yikes!

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 25, 2015 11:25 AM (NeFrd)

14 daughter is going to prom tonight....she has zero idea that her older brother is working with the entertainment company supplying the dj.......i hope someone gets a picture of her reaction

Posted by: phoenixgirl at April 25, 2015 11:27 AM (0O7c5)

15 This post needs a train station. It just keeps on moving...

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 01:02 PM (Ce4DF)

16 Wow... any of you Air Heads got info on that guy who did the flying for the movie Battle of Britain, who has all the BF 109s sitting in crates?

Only story I saw was he was trying to sell them.... wonder if he ever did...

Posted by: BB Wolf at April 25, 2015 01:05 PM (qh617)

17 All you WW2 buffs in the DC area - on May 8 there will be a flyover of historic WW2 aircraft in historic training formations. There will be something to see every 10 minutes or so. Should be very very cool. This is a private enterprise doing this. I'll try to get more details.

Posted by: biancaneve at April 25, 2015 01:12 PM (j+dwA)

18 Wonderful old planes. Really the age of prop driven flight was its finest time, as cool as jets are.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 25, 2015 01:15 PM (39g3+)

19 The only strategic bomber the Germans could put into production was nicknamed the Flaming Coffin.

Which is weird because their tech was usually so great and Hitler was fixated on bombing. He even wanted the ME-262 to be a bomber.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 25, 2015 01:16 PM (39g3+)

20 That sounds cool, Biancaneve! Here's a link:

http://ww2flyover.org/

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 25, 2015 01:17 PM (KH1sk)

21 The great thing about those old aircraft is the distinct sound they make. We all hear jets and helicopters, but sometimes if you are outside and hear an odd sounding plane in the air, you look up. And usually it's something old and very cool.

Seen stuff like that here in KS, and the other odd sound I used to hear in L.A. was a blimp going overhead. Kind of makes you wonder what a Dirigible would have sounded like.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 01:24 PM (Ce4DF)

22 " who has all the BF 109s sitting in crates?
"


Aren't they probably Buchons? The Spanish built version that they used in the movie.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 01:33 PM (4MMvf)

23
I remember one day hearing something in the sky above Manhattan, at once strange yet familiar. When I gazed up, I saw a B-17 flying at about 1,500-2,000 feet . Man, those Wright engines!

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 01:35 PM (St6BJ)

24 "Which is weird because their tech was usually so great and Hitler was fixated on bombing"


Prior to the war Hitler demanded X number of bombers by a certain date. German industry couldn't meet that demand if they were four-engined but they could if they were simply twin-engined. Thus.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 01:35 PM (4MMvf)

25 Something else very cool happening on the East Coast this June - a group has built a replica of Lafayette's ship The Hermione and is sailing it to America. It's scheduled to reach Yorktown, VA in early June then sail up to Alexandria, Baltimore and on to Philadelphia, new York, Boston, Maine and nova Scotia. Check out Hermione2015.org.

Posted by: biancaneve at April 25, 2015 01:36 PM (j+dwA)

26 22 " who has all the BF 109s sitting in crates? "
Aren't they probably Buchons? The Spanish built version that they used in the movie.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 01:33 PM (4MMvf)

In 1948, the nascent Israeli Air Force had quite an assortment of aircraft including Czech-built Bf-109G's, Mosquitos, Mustangs and a couple of B-17's.


Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 01:37 PM (St6BJ)

27 Brucie baby! Welcome to the party!

Posted by: People Corp at April 25, 2015 01:37 PM (TzeLs)

28 Seen stuff like that here in KS, and the other odd sound I used to hear
in L.A. was a blimp going overhead. Kind of makes you wonder what a
Dirigible would have sounded like.


Heh. I remember the same thing growing up in San Antonio. Once every couple of years the Goodyear blimp would pass through for a visit. They were fascinating to watch.

Posted by: Tex Lovera at April 25, 2015 01:38 PM (nIcKC)

29 "
The great thing about those old aircraft is the distinct sound they make."


At an air show years ago we were standing not too far off the runway as a series of B-25s took off. The B-25 is a loud airplane for what it is.

After they completed a guy near us who had been photographing them turned around with a giant grin on his face and said "I don't care how many jets they build or how fast they make them go nothing sounds like that."

I'll be damned if he wasn't right.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 01:39 PM (4MMvf)

30 Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 01:35 PM (St6BJ)


My Mom grew up on Long Island. She told us that she saw the Hindenburg flying over. Possibly more than once. Just wonder what it sounded like.

Not to mention the shadow it cast.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 01:39 PM (Ce4DF)

31 While we're on the subject, "Whirlwind" episode 12 of "The World at War."

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 01:40 PM (St6BJ)

32 30 Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 01:39 PM (Ce4DF)

If she grew up on the Island, I wonder what he impressions of hearing and seeing the Hellcats, Thunderbolts and Avengers coming off the line at Grumman, Republic and Fairchild.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 01:41 PM (St6BJ)

33 Taking those Lancasters across the English Channel to hunt Russian MiGs was the kind of terror and excitement that you remember for the rest of your life.

Posted by: Brian Williams at April 25, 2015 01:45 PM (yQ8B4)

34 Take your date, girlfriend, wife or mistress to an airshow, especially one heavy with WW-II warbirds.

Y'all are Morons. No need to explain the "why" of the preceding statement.



Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at April 25, 2015 01:46 PM (RzZOc)

35 "I don't care how many jets they build or how fast they make them go nothing sounds like that."

It has been demonstrated that the sound of prop engines humming is actually soothing and comforting on long flights. The screaming roar of jets, not so much so.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 25, 2015 01:49 PM (39g3+)

36 Years ago, on the Wide World of Sports, they used to show footage of an all English Soccer game at Wembley Stadium. Not sure what year, but late '30's.

As the game is being played, suddenly a huge shadow comes over the stadium. The game stops as everyone looks up. It was one of the German Zeppelins coming in low and slow.

Sort of like the Alien ships in "Independence Day".


Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 01:58 PM (Ce4DF)

37 Ricardo and others, a few years back at the Chino airshow they had 40+ warbirds aloft at once for a "parade". Five P-38s, 4 B-25s, etc. As the parade flew past, the rumbling filling ears and souls, the announcer said "I'm just going to go silent hear while they fly past, so we all can enjoy the 'sound of round'".

Airshow's coming up end of next month. Haven't been a while, will check to see how it's looking this year (economy plus who-knows-what has made some years much sparser, in terms of aircraft, than others).

Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 01:59 PM (afQnV)

38 I was fortunate to tour a B-17 about 30 years ago....they aren't very large aircraft...standing at the waist gunners position I could almost touch both sides with my arms out-stretched. No armor...just a 50cal. facing on rushing fighters and cannon fire...not to mention the flak. What brave men.

Posted by: BignJames at April 25, 2015 02:00 PM (HtUkt)

39 30. What blimps sound like?
Here in hawaiistan they sound like 'hey brah, do where be my spam cuz?'

Morning all
And the firing line just went hot

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 02:01 PM (QK70D)

40 Wait, is it Easter? The resurrection of a thread?

Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 02:02 PM (0FSuD)

41 I remember when I was a tiny joe airplanes fascinated me
Then I worked on the flight deck of the Forrestal
Now it's meh.... Just another jet

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 02:03 PM (QK70D)

42 "a few years back at the Chino"


Chino is a nice one from what I hear.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:04 PM (4MMvf)

43 I grew up and now again live under the pattern of a small civilian airport, at least two T-6 "flight-seeing" aircraft are based there, plus occasionally there will be that distinctive rumble and there will be some (usually single-engine) warbird going in to land. Depending on the weather/atmospherics, the distinctive sound of the V-22s from Miramar will also be audible, and of course the F-18s when they're doing pre-deployment intensive operations are easily heard (esp. during night ops).

One thing that was weird about DC. No aircraft noise where I lived, due to flight restrictions (pre-9/11). After 9/11, late at night when city noise was gone, you could hear, high above, the sounds of the Air Force CAP.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:04 PM (afQnV)

44 The sound of the old prop planes is amazing.



Imagine being a German and hearing a 1,000 planes fly over your country.



That's right a 1,000 were in the Hamburg raid.



Talk about a fcuk you! We're coming, and you can not do a damn thing about it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 02:05 PM (0FSuD)

45 Seeing the memories in the eyes of the veterans make my allergies act up. Maybe one day before I die I'll get to see a couple of my beloved F-14's in the sky again.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet at April 25, 2015 02:07 PM (KbNXw)

46 "
Seeing the memories in the eyes of the veterans make my allergies act up."



Yep. Pollen or some such. I have the same problem.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:10 PM (4MMvf)

47 If anyone is looking for a good read: "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand is fantastic: It is an exceptional WWII aviation story, and an amazing survival story. I don't know her politics, but there is a conservative crying out from inside her somewhere. BTW, Angelina Jolie COMPLETELY botched the movie.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:10 PM (5buP8)

48 B-17 video from Jay Leno's Garage. Very cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjRQXjcY6u0

12,500 B-17s built.

Posted by: scottst at April 25, 2015 02:11 PM (Ltygl)

49 Hi Rhomboid, I'm honored to know that you're in my neck of the woods.
I likes the V22s!

Posted by: JohnnyBoy at April 25, 2015 02:11 PM (KG0mU)

50 My favorite plane of WWII was the P-38. It still looks badass.

This brings me to my other thought and mothballing the production of the F-22. What if Britain had the f-80 available to them in 1938 instead of 1948 do you think Hitler would have went forward with his plans? Of course he would not. We need to continue to be 10-15 years ahead of our adversaries for the same reason.

Posted by: Cruzinator at April 25, 2015 02:13 PM (P7ulB)

51 Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 02:05 PM (0FSuD)



And of course the difference between you being there and perhaps someone recording the event is that you can FEEL the sound! No film or video can replace the vibrations that hit you as that many planes crossed the sky above you.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 02:14 PM (Ce4DF)

52 Also, if you're ever in or near Pensacola, the Naval Aviation museum is NOT to be missed. Pick the right day, and you can watch a Blue Angels practice session, then wander around the free museum. They have massive flying boats, a captured first gen. German jet fighter, helicopters, (including RNixon era Marine I) all kinds of cool aircraft. It's immense, almost worth a destination vacation.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:14 PM (5buP8)

53 Hi JohnnyBoy. Actually a little bit sad that the V-22 means the CH-46 is no more (at least in the active forces). At the El Centro airshow a few weeks ago, there was the "last" USMC CH-46, based at Pendleton I think. It's painted in historic livery, with special symbols on it. Talked with the commander, don't recall exactly but think they are doing a "farewell tour" of airshows (at least some airshows) and will have a ceremony to mark retirement of the last active Frog some time soon.


Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:15 PM (afQnV)

54 Bruce Jenner product endorsements 1977 and 2015.

http://tinyurl.com/pg3tyco
Posted by: The Great White Snark at April 25, 2015 11:17 AM (pQL3p)

******

Whoa! Nice rack, if I do say so myself.

Posted by: Bruce Jenner at April 25, 2015 02:16 PM (3F6F8)

55 45. When nck was little her goal in life was to be a tomcat pilot
She's never seen one and of course they got rid of them

She said she'll settle for a raptor if she has too

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 02:17 PM (QK70D)

56 "USMC CH-46"


Another classic workhorse.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:17 PM (4MMvf)

57 Sir Robin, Pensacola's very high on my to-do list, for all the reasons you mention.

Some time I need to actually sit down and specifically map out my massive national military museum tour. West to east, AZ has the Tucson stuff (boneyard plus Titan silo), then NM with nuke stuff incl. Trinity pilgrimage site, then Fredericksburg in TX, then ..... anyway, a very long trip.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:19 PM (afQnV)

58 Bruce Jenner product endorsements 1977 and 2015.

http://tinyurl.com/pg3tyco
Posted by: The Great White Snark at April 25, 2015 11:17 AM (pQL3p)

******

I really should move on from cereals. If Victoria's Secret refuses to let me model in their catalog, can I sue them for discrimination?

Posted by: Bruce Jenner at April 25, 2015 02:20 PM (cIoI4)

59
14 daughter is going to prom tonight....she has zero idea that her older brother is working with the entertainment company supplying the dj.......i hope someone gets a picture of her reaction
Posted by: phoenixgirl at April 25, 2015 11:27 AM (0O7c5)


Ah prom. I have a better memory of my older sister's senior prom than my own. I had a good time at my proms. I was a sophomore and my parents were out of town the weekend of my sister's prom. EVERY surface of our house was covered and stacked with empty beer cans BEFORE prom.

Posted by: buzzion at April 25, 2015 02:20 PM (zt+N6)

60 44 Talk about a fcuk you! We're coming, and you can not do a damn thing about it.
Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 02:05 PM (0FSuD)

The dropping of chaff (or "Window" as it was called back then) totally fucked up the Kraut radar and gun aiming.

Speer himself said that 6 more raids like Hamburg would have finished the war, but the RAF and the USAAF just didn't have the capacity to do it at that time.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 02:22 PM (St6BJ)

61 Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:19 PM (afQnV)


Make sure to stop by my AO:

http://tinyurl.com/ljgxtcd


And eventually they'll get this built here, too:

http://tinyurl.com/myhnoym

Posted by: Country Singer at April 25, 2015 02:22 PM (nL0sw)

62 Some time I need to actually sit down and specifically map out my massive national military museum tour. West to east, AZ has the Tucson stuff (boneyard plus Titan silo), then NM with nuke stuff incl. Trinity pilgrimage site, then Fredericksburg in TX, then ..... anyway, a very long trip.

+ Wright/Patterson AF Base in Dayton has a very cool museum. ALSO, near Badlands NP in S.Dakota, there is a Minuteman silo that was an amazing experience to see. It is kept EXACTLY what it was like when they walked out in ~1984. We figured about halfway through the tour that our guide was the former commander of the site.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:24 PM (5buP8)

63 I remember seeing, and hearing, a Lanc come in for a landing at Calgary International airport about two dozen years ago. I don't know if it was Vera, or another that that still airworthy at the time. Later, it was on static display at the terminal, alongside a Heinkel He-111, IIRC.


I'm pretty sure there is a non-flying Lanc in the Calgary Aero Museum, and I know there is non-flying one in the little air museum at Nanton, Alberta. Nanton was one of the many sites in Alberta where bases were located for the Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 25, 2015 02:24 PM (wfUWX)

64 Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:19 PM (afQnV)


Pima County Air Museum. Right next to the boneyard. Very cool. Hours of enjoying.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 02:24 PM (Ce4DF)

65 Speer himself said that 6 more raids like Hamburg
would have finished the war, but the RAF and the USAAF just didn't have
the capacity to do it at that time.
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 25, 2015 02:22 PM


That makes all kinds of sense, but when you have a batshit-crazy leader who held out almost beyond the bitter end, I wonder what would have happened if we could have mounted the additional raids?

Seems as if it takes a lot more than facts to end wars.

Posted by: MrScribbler at April 25, 2015 02:26 PM (P8YHq)

66 (figured out.) An interesting note about the Cold War and missile silos: We knew where the Sovs sites were, and they knew where ours were. The point of the strike was to take out their silos, thus their ability to launch,not Moscow or Kiev. The wild card was the submarine fleets.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:29 PM (5buP8)

67 Imagine being a German and hearing a 1,000 planes fly over your country.

Very similar thing happened to London in the Battle of Britain. Not quite as many planes though

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 25, 2015 02:29 PM (39g3+)

68 52 Also, if you're ever in or near Pensacola, the Naval Aviation museum is NOT to be missed.
==

I've GOT to do that sometime. I've been to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, as well as Pima, Hill Air Force, etc, but still haven't been to the newer part of the Smithsonian Air and Space.

An in-law's father helped develop the B-29, and also helped get the last one flying in the Confederate (Commemorative) Air Force. I crewed on her at one airsho in the 80s before I got a full time job and a house and husband. "Crew" meaning helping with the paid tours of the airplane, and taking one flight sitting in the far rear of the plane watching out the window for fires or parts falling off--more of a joyride really.

Yes, there is no sound on earth like those old piston engines.



Posted by: stace at April 25, 2015 02:30 PM (CoX6k)

69 " then Fredericksburg in TX"


The Nimitz museum is pretty nice. They have (or had) the only Rufe that I know to exist on display.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:30 PM (4MMvf)

70 "Pima County Air Museum"


Been there. Fun.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:31 PM (4MMvf)

71 Some time I need to actually sit down and
specifically map out my massive national military museum tour. West to
east, AZ has the Tucson stuff (boneyard plus Titan silo), then NM with
nuke stuff incl. Trinity pilgrimage site, then Fredericksburg in TX,
then ..... anyway, a very long trip.



Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:19 PM (afQnV)


Somebody should try to put together a Moron Military Museum tour. Hire a nice tour bus, and sell seats for an extended tour. Make it run about 3 weeks or so, and have it priced similar to what an ocean cruise would cost. All-inclusive, except maybe for the booze, LOL.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 25, 2015 02:31 PM (wfUWX)

72 A 1.000 fcuking planes. Do we even have that many in service now?



I doubt it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at April 25, 2015 02:32 PM (0FSuD)

73 Close your eyes and imagine living in a world where we have to use a French rocket to launch our next space telescope in 2018. Now, open your eyes. Yep, that's it. Where did America go, one might ask?

Posted by: goon at April 25, 2015 02:32 PM (A53Jp)

74 Pima County Air Museum. Right next to the boneyard. Very cool. Hours of enjoying. Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 02:24 PM

Gotta admit it: I've NEVER seen an air museum, no matter how small, that wasn't worth a visit. I remember being taken to a few back in the late 1950s that didn't have much in the way of rare aircraft, but the few they had still had the dust of History on them.

The museum at Balboa Park in San Diego (CA) has a PBY like the one my dad flew on anti-sub patrols off the CA coast in the early days of WWII. I wished he had been there to tell me stories....

Posted by: MrScribbler at April 25, 2015 02:33 PM (P8YHq)

75 B-17 was not designed for the function that made it famous; it was supposed to be a "patrol" bomber that could interdict naval operations. It's easy to think of a couple of days we wish they were on patrol, instead of the neat rows where Japan found them.

Lancaster, developed out of the "somewhat less successful" Manchester, had a very fine spar design and was essentially a freighter with a very bad attitude from the onset. Not intended for long-range solo work, it was able to have a really impressive bomb load. Despite having a little armor here and there, and versions with .50 and 20mm in addition to the standard .303, it was a little less successful at defending itself than the B-17 -- although there are scary pictures of both making it home with frightening damage. Could be the better belly turret?

Unladen and with no one shooting at you, the B-17 is incredibly easy to fly. I've flown one. They say the Lancs, the Liberator, and the Cats wore you out in no time.


Posted by: Stringer Davis at April 25, 2015 02:34 PM (xq1UY)

76 All-inclusive, except maybe for the booze, LOL

Couldn't afford to have an open bar with this crew.

Need an auxiliary tanker trailer just for the Valu-Rite.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 02:34 PM (brIR5)

77 Also, if you're ever in or near Pensacola, the Naval Aviation museum is NOT to be missed. Pick the right day, and you can watch a Blue Angels practice session

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:14 PM (5buP




When I was at "A" and "C" Schools at Corry Station I was in Performing Arts Company as a trumpet player in the band. We did a shit ton of retirement ceremonies at that museum.

Posted by: Country Singer at April 25, 2015 02:36 PM (nL0sw)

78 B-17 was not designed for the function that made it famous; it was supposed to be a "patrol" bomber that could interdict naval operations.

Not very successful at Midway.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 02:38 PM (brIR5)

79 B-17 was not designed for the function that made it famous; it was supposed to be a "patrol" bomber that could interdict naval operations.

Not very successful at Midway.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 02:38 PM (brIR5)

80 One thing that was weird about DC. No aircraft noise
where I lived, due to flight restrictions (pre-9/11). After 9/11, late
at night when city noise was gone, you could hear, high above, the
sounds of the Air Force CAP.

Posted by: rhomboid


I don't know why, but there were flights of Ospreys up and down the Potomac this week. That's very unusual.

Posted by: pep at April 25, 2015 02:40 PM (LAe3v)

81 Somebody should try to put together a Moron Military Museum tour. Hire a nice tour bus, and sell seats for an extended tour. Make it run about 3 weeks or so, and have it priced similar to what an ocean cruise would cost. Action all-inclusive, except maybe for the booze, LOL.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 25, 2015 02:31 PM (wfUWX)
----
..and you shall know us by the trail of Valu-Rite bottles.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at April 25, 2015 02:40 PM (KH1sk)

82 Somebody should try to put together a Moron Military Museum tour. Hire a nice tour bus, and sell seats for an extended tour. Make it run about 3 weeks or so, and have it priced similar to what an ocean cruise would cost. All-inclusive, except maybe for the booze, LOL.

I'm in.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:41 PM (5buP8)

83 Stringer hit it. The B-17 was not designed as a heavy bomber. It was supposed to be a medium bomber with a couple extra engines and fuel to carry it farther out to sea to attack incoming invasion fleets.

But, war started, it was in production, so.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:41 PM (4MMvf)

84 OT: so T is shooting her Baer at a 8" target at the 50yd line and the dick two lanes down says to her "hey honey, don't you think that's a little too much gun for you?"

She responds "sucks my dick". And promptly dumps 4out of 5 on paper

Sniff, she's a keeper

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 02:44 PM (QK70D)

85 And the USN modified the B-24 so that it became a superb long-range ASW aircraft.

Posted by: mrp at April 25, 2015 02:48 PM (JBggj)

86 "hey honey, don't you think that's a little too much gun for you?"

Why would you ever flip shit at a woman w/a loaded gun? That's stupid on so many levels. And, the gun range should be free of stupid shit like that. What an asshole.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at April 25, 2015 02:48 PM (5buP8)

87 When I was at the Pima County Air Museum, I wasn't particularly familiar with a lot of aircraft. So I came around a corner, or another airplane, and saw the damnedest thing. A black plane, that looked like it just wanted to take off. I mean like a grasshopper wanting to jump. I stopped dead. My brother came up behind me and I went "What the Hell is THAT?" And he enlightened me.

SR-71. Most impressive plane I have ever seen.

Posted by: HH at April 25, 2015 02:48 PM (Ce4DF)

88 "
And the USN modified the B-24 so that it became a superb long-range ASW aircraft."


PB4Y

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 02:53 PM (4MMvf)

89 If you can only visit one AF museum, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson (Dayton, OH) is the place to go.

Posted by: mrp at April 25, 2015 02:55 PM (JBggj)

90 85 And the USN modified the B-24 so that it became a superb long-range ASW aircraft.

PB4Y Privateer. Single tail. Also used to hunt Condors in mid-ocean.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 02:56 PM (brIR5)

91 Some Privateers replaced the ball turret with a radar for sub hunting.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 02:58 PM (brIR5)

92 Thanks to all those contributing their museums for the Moron National Military Museum Tour. I've heard of most of them. Good comment about the "small museums", too. Those are always worth visiting.

Thanks Country Singer, will check out those links (to add to my over-whelming "to do" list ....).

And we're just talking aviation, so far, so 3 weeks wouldn't suffice, would it, AOP? There's armor, and the D-Day Museum in NOLA, and on and on.

MrScribbler, sure you know this already, but the Catalinas were a San Diego product - Consolidated Aircraft. Think they were assembled in over 30 locations incl. foreign countries by the time their use reached its max. Half the 14,000 (??? most produced heavy bomber of WWII)B-24s were produced here, too (and all the maritime patrol variant PB4-Ys). Sadly, not a single B-24 or Catalina to be seen anywhere in San Diego County. Kind of outrageous, really.

In my dreams, not only is the USS Iowa tied up down in Chula Vista where it belongs (and would do spectacular business as a double-draw with the most successful ship museum in the world, the USS Midway), but the local Commemorative Air Force has flying Catalinas and B-24s. And that trainer that Harrison Ford crashed recently - those must have been produced at Lindbergh Field by Ryan, I assume. One of those, too!

Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:58 PM (afQnV)

93 55
She said she'll settle for a raptor if she has too

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 02:17 PM (QK70D)



Introduce her to AtC.

Posted by: rickl at April 25, 2015 03:03 PM (sdi6R)

94 The last flyingPB4-Y was at the El Centro show. Interestingly, it was in military livery (again). Nobody around to talk to, so no explanations. Last time (first time) I saw it was at the centennial of naval aviation at North Island/Coronadon in 2011. Was surprised one was still flying. Even better, it was in commercial service as a fire-fighting tanker, and was in orange/white color scheme. Based in AZ somewhere. But this time, military paint job. Not sure what's going on and haven't web-searched to correct my recollections here.

About that day at North Island. Finale of the air show portion was a CAG (carrier air group) fly-by, right overhead. Not something one can almost ever see. Think they're only done very rarely, usually for carrier commissionings/etc. (thus not very frequent). Entire air group, in formation, grouped by type. Spectacular. Seeing them come in over Pt. Loma, then across North Island and right by downtown SD ..... once in a life-time scene.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 03:03 PM (afQnV)

95 Also used to hunt Condors in mid-ocean.

That should probably be restricted to PB4Y-1 Liberators, as the Privateers were first delivered in summer of '44. By which time the Condor threat was essentially eliminated.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 03:11 PM (brIR5)

96 MrScribbler, sure you know this already, but the
Catalinas were a San Diego product - Consolidated Aircraft. Think they
were assembled in over 30 locations incl. foreign countries by the time
their use reached its max. Half the 14,000 (??? most produced heavy
bomber of WWII)B-24s were produced here, too (and all the maritime
patrol variant PB4-Ys). Sadly, not a single B-24 or Catalina to be seen
anywhere in San Diego County. Kind of outrageous, really.



In my dreams, not only is the USS Iowa tied up down in Chula Vista
where it belongs (and would do spectacular business as a double-draw
with the most successful ship museum in the world, the USS Midway), but
the local Commemorative Air Force has flying Catalinas and B-24s. And
that trainer that Harrison Ford crashed recently - those must have been
produced at Lindbergh Field by Ryan, I assume. One of those, too!



Posted by: rhomboid at April 25, 2015 02:58 PM (afQnV)


My father worked on tail sections of PBY's in the Boeing factory in Vancouver, B.C.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 25, 2015 03:11 PM (wfUWX)

97 Don't forget the NPS operated Minutemen II launch control facility and launch facility in South Dakota. And retired missileers provide tours of the LCF at Whiteman AFB in MO. That one needs a DOD credential to get on base.

And I read that Paul Tibbets IV (BG, USAF) just assumed command of 509th Bomb Wing.

Posted by: Fox 2! at April 25, 2015 03:17 PM (brIR5)

98 "Entire air group, in formation, grouped by type."


Sounds fantastic.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 03:18 PM (4MMvf)

99 I few years back, the wife and I were on a driving trip and we happened upon a massive WWII air show in Columbus OH. It had about 100 Mustangs, plus an assortment of B17s, B25s, P38s, P47s, Spits, Tempests and even a static A6M Zero and a Hurricane. But the star of the show was the Canadian Lanc, which totally dwarfed the B17s. I vividly remember a flight by the Lanc with about 20 P51Ds. Absolutely amazing hearing that many Merlins in the air at the same time. Now, if only I could get to an airshow with my favorite plane of all time, the deHavilland Mosquito! I've seen a couple of them in static display, but sadly, there's only one that's airworthy and it's based in NZ.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at April 25, 2015 03:26 PM (vktMu)

100 93. Introduce her to AtC.

Ummmm, no

Actually she wants to meet her
Scary huh?

Posted by: Navycopjoe betting on Da Cubbies at April 25, 2015 03:28 PM (QK70D)

101 "Now, if only I could get to an airshow with my favorite plane of all
time, the deHavilland Mosquito!"



Beautiful airplane. Saw one flying years ago. Graceful as Hell.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 03:33 PM (4MMvf)

102 And, I'd kill to see a real flying Hurricane.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at April 25, 2015 03:34 PM (4MMvf)

103 I was driving back to university after spring break years ago, and along a country road, near a municipal airport that was having an air show.

I heard a loud droning noise, getting louder by the moment. At first, I thought it was a tire, so I rolled down the window. The noise got louder and louder, and the entire car started to shake. For the life of me, I could not figure out where this monstrous noise came from.

Suddenly over a stand of trees, the huge shape of a B-17 appeared on my left, the four unmuffled Allisons churning out nearly 2,000 horsepower apiece. It was coming in for a landing, and crossed directly over my car. At 100 feet up these are deafening, at 15,000 feet they are still loud, and I can imagine the terror in our enemies when they heard and saw a thousand or more of these over their cities, opening their bomb bay doors.

Posted by: Vashta Nerada at April 25, 2015 03:51 PM (/i3Yt)

104 103 - Vashta, was that Geneseo, by any chance?

(BTW, they're Wright Cyclones, not Allisons)

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at April 25, 2015 04:19 PM (/pB9Z)

105 That two-bird Lancaster flight actually caused me a disappointment, as the Canadian Lanc would have been at the airshow I attended last summer had it not gone to Blighty.

My sadness was somewhat alleviated by the unexpected (by me) appearance of a Mosquito. So at least I got half my allotment of Rolls-Royce Merlins.

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at April 25, 2015 04:22 PM (/pB9Z)

106 @103:

While there was an experiment to fit the B-17 with Allison engines (the XB-3 only one was built and it crashed in June 1943. Your B-17 came with the standard Wright R-1820 Cyclones.

Posted by: Captain Ned at April 25, 2015 04:24 PM (WI6nT)

107 XB-38

Posted by: Captain Ned at April 25, 2015 04:25 PM (WI6nT)

108 Isn't Avro Lancaster a Game of Thrones character?

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at April 25, 2015 04:26 PM (a5m3K)

109 Robins AFB in Central Ga has a very nice museum. Robert Scott helped found it and there is an exhibit about him too.

They have a Blackbird and B2 there along with many other planes.

Admission is free. It's not too far off of I-75 if you are headed to Florida.

Posted by: freaked at April 25, 2015 04:33 PM (JdEZJ)

110 Oops B1 not B2. It's sitting right out in front of the Museum.

Posted by: freaked at April 25, 2015 04:36 PM (JdEZJ)

111 Prop engine planes: My dad was career A.F. and flew C-47 and C-54 aircraft. He/we got stationed at Tachikawa, Japan in '59 and flying there took 33 hours with refueling stops in Honolulu and Wake Island. Coming back stateside in '63 we flew in a turbo-prop that took 17 hours with a refueling stop in Anchorage.

Posted by: Hank at April 25, 2015 04:53 PM (K+1ie)

112 Two of my mother's favorite cousins were lost in a Lancaster on D-Day; Tim Rolph and pilot Walter McGregor, Jr.

Posted by: Benjamin Works at April 25, 2015 05:45 PM (47htW)

113 We're flying these airplanes
We're putting it together
It's now or never
You have to do it here
It's a passion
It's a scale unknown
Flying 'em makes 'em come alive
It comes alive
You just don't forget
It's an iconic aircraft
One and only opportunity
You hear those engines and just know it's coming
Here we are, we did this, we actually did this
It actually came together
We made it. That's the first obligation
The memories were disappearin'
There's fewer and fewer of them every day
This is our chance to say 'thank you'
If we didn't do this now it might be too late
It's for them that they stand
It's for them that they fly
It's in honor of them, our living memorial
She's a memorial and she's there to remind people
The best place to do that is where she can be heard and seen.

Writer, see me in my office, please.

Posted by: bour3 at April 25, 2015 07:35 PM (5x3+2)

114 Regarding the CWHM plane, I was working in Buffalo in 1995 and with nothing to do decided to take the wife and on a quick trip up to Hamilton to see the CWHM. I didn't realize until we got there that that weekend was their annual BIG SHOW.
Sidebar: Wife is an absolute "Dambusters" nutcase.
Anyhow we got there and got to see the Lanc take off right over us - four sync'ed Merlins.
Also talked to a Lanc flyer from WWII. We joined the museum and eventually I bought her a ride on the Lanc - hour flight is ~$2K.

Posted by: emdfl at April 25, 2015 08:06 PM (/ig2D)

115 Many years ago at an airshow (the US Air Trade and Show in Dayton, OH if I remember right) I got to see the CAF's B-17, B-24, and B-29 "Fifi", *and* the CWM's Lancaster, fly a missing man formation. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

Posted by: Moose4 at April 25, 2015 08:17 PM (O4XaS)

116 Also, about that same time, went with a buddy up to Martin State Airport in Baltimordor where the Collings Foundation had their B-17 and B-24 on display one weekend. He brought along a friend he worked with, and she brought along her dad, who happened to have flown 24 missions with the Fifteenth AF out of Italy in 1944-5. He then proceeded to give us the complete tour of a B-24J, all sorts of little stuff, like the fact that the nose turret gunner (J-model Liberators had that funky little nose turret grafted on) was basically locked into the turret and had to be let out by the bombardier in the event of a bailout or he was screwed. Or that the elevators on a B-17 are fabric. The more of this "trivia" he came out with, and the more she saw the planes, the lower his daughter's jaw dropped. And he was so incredibly matter-of-fact about it all.

(He only made 24 missions, btw, because on his 24th, his plane was hit over the Adriatic and had a bomb hang up in the bomb day. After his unsuccessful attempt to free it--by standing 10,000 feet over the sea, straddling the bomb, over an open bomb bay door, and whacking at the shackles with a crash axe--they had to land back in Italy with it still onboard and armed. They had hydraulic damage and went off the end of the steel-plank runway, and when they did, the bomb finally fell out of the bay...and went off. Killed two crew, wounded the rest. The wreckage wasn't even recognizable as a B-24 and yet eight men survived.)

Posted by: Moose4 at April 25, 2015 08:28 PM (O4XaS)

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