WW II plane buffs?

Something funny about these planes; if you get close you'll see that on the nose where kill flags and bomb symbols are located, they have silhouettes of WWII-era movie cameras, next to each is the name of a movie the plane has appeared in. Fifi has appeared in many, for obvious reasons. :)
 
SpitfireIX said:
Something funny about these planes; if you get close you'll see that on the nose where kill flags and bomb symbols are located, they have silhouettes of WWII-era movie cameras, next to each is the name of a movie the plane has appeared in. Fifi has appeared in many, for obvious reasons. :)
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Probably reprising her role as Enola Gay on more than one occasion.
 
Akhenaten said:
B-29 Superfortress.
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Oh, right, thanks - impressive photo of an impressive plane btw :)

Yuri

eta - actually, looking back I should have read the post before the one I queried :o (but then I wouldn't have seen the photo!)
 
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SpitfireIX said:
Erm, Memphis Belle is an F, hasn't been flyable since shortly after the war, and is currently under restoration at the Air Force Museum.

From the nose art on the truck in the foreground, the aircraft is presumably Sentimental Journey, which I saw with some friends a couple of years ago. I don't have my photos handy at the moment; they're on my laptop, which is on loan to my cousin, and the back-ups are in the side pocket of the case. Here's one I found online.
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She lives in my town. I get to see her flying sometimes driving into work.

http://www.azcaf.org/
 
Went to one of those in 1946 or 47 at Marshall Field, Fort Riley Ka.
Got to fire a Browning .30 cal machine gun! :)
Touched a P-80!
(30 years later, when told not to touch the first spaceship to land on Earth, I did that also!) :)
 
SpitfireIX said:
Fifi is the only flying B-29 in the world at the moment. I've seen rumors of another possibly undergoing restoration, but don't know the status.

I saw her about 12 years ago on the ground, but didn't get to see her fly. :(
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I got to go inside Fifi on the ground about eight years ago. I sat in the captains seat for a couple of minutes. It's an interesting view. The pilots have only the basic flight instruments in front of them, but look over your right shoulder at the engineer's station and you see an imposing wall of instrumentation.
 
MRC_Hans said:
One of the last piston engined bombers. A very beautiful bird.

Hans
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Even the Soviets admired it so much that they felt compelled to pay tribute to it with their own version.


TupolevTu-4_1.jpg


Tupolev Tu-4




TupolevTu-4_2.jpg


Well, 'tribute' might not be exactly the right word.

:)
 
An interesting story about the Tu-4:

When Tupolev engineers were ordered to reverse engineer the three interned B-29s, the Stalinist bureaucracy was so crazy, and the fear of upsetting the unpredictable Stalin so great, that they went to great pains to literally produce the exact copies that Stalin had demanded. An erroneous rivet hole drilled by mistake by a Boeing worker was duplicated on all production Tu-4s. Even the Boeing logos on the control yolks were duplicated in order to avoid the torturous bureaucratic process required to make the slightest alteration. Tupolev himself had to ask Stalin for permission to use Soviet markings instead of the Army Air Force star and bar. Despite all this, the Tu-4 was over one and a half tons heavier than the B-29 because the Soviet aircraft industry produced skinning (and corresponding rivets) in metric gauges, rather than the 1/16 used by Boeing. Other changes included the use of Shvetsov engines that were developed from license produced Write 9-cylinders and thus shared some parts with the Write R-3350, and the use of NS-23 cannons.
 
The Soviets also produced a replica C47, but IIRR, it was on a legit licence.

BTW, on Soviet planes, one of the little known workhorses of WW2:

http://www.hans-egebo.dk/Polikarpof.htm

(Maybe I already mentioned this. If so, sorry for the repetition)

Hans

ETA: I did. well ....
 
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Foster Zygote said:
An interesting story about the Tu-4:

When Tupolev engineers were ordered to reverse engineer the three interned B-29s, the Stalinist bureaucracy was so crazy, and the fear of upsetting the unpredictable Stalin so great, that they went to great pains to literally produce the exact copies that Stalin had demanded. An erroneous rivet hole drilled by mistake by a Boeing worker was duplicated on all production Tu-4s. Even the Boeing logos on the control yolks were duplicated in order to avoid the torturous bureaucratic process required to make the slightest alteration. Tupolev himself had to ask Stalin for permission to use Soviet markings instead of the Army Air Force star and bar. Despite all this, the Tu-4 was over one and a half tons heavier than the B-29 because the Soviet aircraft industry produced skinning (and corresponding rivets) in metric gauges, rather than the 1/16 used by Boeing. Other changes included the use of Shvetsov engines that were developed from license produced Write 9-cylinders and thus shared some parts with the Write R-3350, and the use of NS-23 cannons.
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I think on the names of the original B-29 engines, you should try to get it Wright.
 
- So, what's Wrong?

- Write is Wrong.

- Then what is Right?

- That´s Wright.

- ...etc....

...... Sorry, couldn't resist.

Hans
 
MRC_Hans said:
The Soviets also produced a replica C47, but IIRR, it was on a legit licence.

BTW, on Soviet planes, one of the little known workhorses of WW2:

http://www.hans-egebo.dk/Polikarpof.htm

(Maybe I already mentioned this. If so, sorry for the repetition)

Hans

ETA: I did. well ....
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Those saw action with the People's Korean Air Force as well. They often flew "Washing Machine Charlie" night raids against bases in South Korea.
 
Foster Zygote said:
Those saw action with the People's Korean Air Force as well. They often flew "Washing Machine Charlie" night raids against bases in South Korea.
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Yes. Nato designation "Mule".

There is a story of one example belonging to a Polish (?) vintage flying club. On a solo flight the pilot had a heart attack and died. The plane flew on till it ran out of gas, then landed itself. Due to soft ground it overturned, but was no more damaged than it was later restored to flying condition.

Hans
 
The Poles also flew the MiG-23... of which was said... wait a bit, and you too can have one land in your garden!
One of theirs did get from Poland to Belgium after the pilot ejected... in itself a noteworthy feat, as the seat tended to kill its users, and bellying the thing in was usual.
 
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