tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post6752172530905249386..comments2023-11-03T09:36:22.100-04:00Comments on In From the Cold: The "Forgotten" BomberGeorge Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049707648660651119noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-51940207909780913522011-01-10T13:17:25.970-05:002011-01-10T13:17:25.970-05:00The National World War II Museum in New Orleans is...The National World War II Museum in New Orleans is getting a B-24 Liberator that is being made museum ready right now. Estimated museum unveiling is late 2011.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-57954164398149503942010-08-29T22:41:42.104-04:002010-08-29T22:41:42.104-04:00The ball turret (on the bottom of the fuselage) ha...The ball turret (on the bottom of the fuselage) had to be retracted up inside the fuselage before landing our it would be wiped off because of the small clearance between the bottom of the fuselage and the runway in the best of circumstances. Put a seriously injured gunner in the turret and/or jam the retraction mechanism and you have one of those "no good answer" questions. As many missions and as many planes per mission it had to happen.Walter Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942330755192583797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-90401921970437608362010-08-27T23:08:10.520-04:002010-08-27T23:08:10.520-04:00Fabulous post -- thanks! I too marvel at how highl...Fabulous post -- thanks! I too marvel at how highly successful aircraft and their roles in history tend to be overlooked. A few years ago I decided to bone up on the B-24 and its design because my Dad was Plane Captain on PB-4Ys during the Korean War. The fascinating thing about the ‘Davis Wing’ is that it was based upon mathematical nonsense: it was purely accidental that Davis’ theories yielded an airfoil that produced laminar flow...but no one knew it. At the time it was adopted, testing showed that the wing worked, but no one could explain why. I love the irony of the arguably most successful aircraft of WWII having a wing design that was pure serendipity and sprung from the mind of an outsider. <br />I believe part of the disparity between how planes are remembered has a lot to do with how they are covered (or not covered) by the news in their day, followed closely by how crews like the way they ‘fly’. This last point was really driven home to me back in the mid 80’s when I was looking into dry leasing a support aircraft for a flight test program. The choices were a Beech 1900 or Metroliner. The pilot we had on board kept trying to sell us on the Beech by asserting certain aspects of the Beech were better, and on every point he brought up the data showed the Metroliner was actually on top (I remember specifically single engine-out performance and cargo door size as two factors). Then the pilot argued that since Beech King Air variants were already flying for the DoD, the support would be easier to set up, and I had to tell him the AF just fielded a few Metroliners. Finally, the pilot broke down and admitted he and his guys just “liked the way the Beech flew”. Both aircraft met requirements and cost was a wash, so guess what? We selected the 1900 (and of course shortly after the program was cancelled). I wonder how much of the B-17’s ‘popularity’ comes from being the first bomber in the field in significant numbers of its generation – and gaining the initial constituency that ‘liked the way it flew’?<br />I’m looking forward to the New Orleans museum coming to fruition. Thanks again!SMSgt Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08126690689798203866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-57215693626056508502010-08-27T09:54:22.538-04:002010-08-27T09:54:22.538-04:00Those aircraft and their crews were truly amazing....Those aircraft and their crews were truly amazing. Today, one only has to move one's wrist (in the case of the F-16 with side stick), or apply small forces to fly modern strike fighters. I put my mother in an FA-18 dome simulator and had her dropping bombs relatively close to on target within about 15 minutes, but those old bombers and fighters took both muscle and skill to perform the mission. Not to mention the fact that the casualty rates were very high, and the crews knew it every time they went out. These guys are truly heroes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com