Watch Anime Online

Tags : naruto one piece bleach trigun kenichi inuyasha devil may cry deathnote claymore

User: Bomberguy

Fieseler and the F2 Tiger - 1st World Aerobatic Champion There was great speculation when a World Cup competition for aerobatics was announced in early 1934, to take place at Vincennes, Paris, on 9-10 June. The French Aero Club's invitation to this first ever World Championship included total prize money of 275,000 francs on offer. The winner would receive 100,000 francs. It was an enormous event, a high-spot of the Paris society season, with 150,000 spectators crowded into the military parade-ground at Vincennes which had been converted expressly for the occasion, with grandstands specially erected. Nine competitors took part, drawn from six nations: Ambruz and Novak from Czechoslovakia, Cavalli and Detroyat from France, Achgelis and Fieseler from Germany, Christopher Clarkson from Great Britain, Ambrogio Colombo from Italy and Placido d'Abreu from Portugal. The initial compulsory programme required a list of figures to be performed within a time limit of eight minutes, including a right-hand and a left-hand spin, a bunt, a negative loop forward and upward, and an inverted 360 degree turn. On the Sunday, each contestant flew his free programme, for which he had ten minutes: his sequence was submitted in advance to the Jury, and each manoeuvre was assigned a difficulty coefficient already set out in the rules, new figures were also awarded appropriate coefficients, but most were to be found already in the current catalogue of 87 manoeuvres. The task of the judges was to assign each figure a mark between I and 5 for quality of performance, with a zero mark for figures not executed. These were then multiplied by the difficulty coefficients, the totals of all the judges were added together, then they were divided to arrive at an average. On the second day, Sunday, after the morning's air display, German star Gerhard Fieseler had the harrowing experience of watching a French pilot crash to his death on landing right next to him shortly before the contest resumed. The atmosphere became charged, but this was only a foretaste of later events: the fourth competitor of the afternoon, the Portugese Captain d'Abreu, mishandled his controls during a half-roll from inverted and got into a spin at very low altitude, his aircraft speared into the middle of the field and burned . . . pandemonium reigned. Two men dead in the space of an hour. The organisers were at a loss; should the competition be stopped? Many felt that it should. Gerhard Fieseler stepped forward and assumed the role of spokesman for his fellow pilots: " Each man among us knows that he may meet his fate at any time. We are prepared for that. What if the early pioneers had given up when one of their number lost his life to aviation? I believe we will best honour our comrade by continuing to fly." The contest was resumed, and immediately afterwards another mishap occurred: the Italian Ambrogio Colombo, flying a newly-built aircraft from the Breda factory in Milan, started a spin without enough height and collided with the top of a tree. He retired with a branch embedded in his landing gear. On a later take-off, with the machine repaired, he had an engine failure and crash-landed the aeroplane rather than risk coming down in the public enclosures; the aircraft was destroyed, though he himself escaped without serious injury. The crowd remained calm. The afternoon wore on: Cavalli, Novak, Ambruz, Achgelis, Detroyat; Fieseler flew last. He had spent five weeks practisng his free programme, which contained 38 extremely complicated and taxing figures, among them super-slow rolls which carried very high marks if performed precisely. Suddenly, four minutes before the end, he felt his shoulder harness come loose. This was his main security during manoeuvres under negative g; and it had happened at the worst possible moment: immediately before a negative loop. His only solution was to make a much bigger circle - widen the diameter of the loop - so as to reduce the amount of negative g he would have to sustain. But in doing this he consumed vital seconds from his time limit, and at the end of the sequence he had over-run by three whole manoeuvres. Surely this must dash his hopes of the title. When the results were announced however, Fieseler had a lead over Detroyat by 23 points despite the over-run; he was the first World Aerobatic Champion in history. Michel Detroyat finished second, Gerd Achgelis third. Fieseler now took the decision to retire from the sport at the pinnacle of his success. He is a valued patron of sport aerobatics to this day, and thanks to his generosity the Fieseler Trophy contest is one of the most prestigious international events in the modern competition calendar. Fieseler is remembered today as the designer of the Fieseler Storch, a utility aircraft with remarkable STOL capabilities. Tags: Gerhard Fieseler F2 Tiger Michel Detroyat Morane MS225 fi2 World Aerobatic Championships Paris 1934

User: Bomberguy

P-51B 4312451 "Peggy" AKA "Live Bait" Note, the pilot close up is of Bob Stephens (not Gil Talbot), a Flight leader and Ace with the 355th Sq. This footage may actually be the day he became an ace. I believe Gil Talbot is the pilot climbing out of "Peggy" at around 1:46 This aircraft was originally issued to 1st Lt. Gil Talbot who named it "Peggy". When Talbot received a new P-51B, 4312451 was passed on to Gross. Gross was once asked by his fellow pilots to fly at an altitude to attract enemy planes. He responded by asking "What do you want, live bait?" Thus the name on the nose of this aircraft. Captain Clayton Kelly Gross flew P-51B Mustang "Live Bait", GQ-I (312451), when he was assigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, 9th USAAF, based in Boxted, England. He completed two tours with the 354th FG, and flew 105 combat missions. He shot down six enemy fighters, including an ME-262 on April 14, 1945. He was awarded the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 16 Air Medals. Tags: P-51B 4312451 Peggy Live Bait Lt. Gil Talbot Clayton Kelly Gross Bob Stephens

User: Bomberguy

Clark Gable unedited, 8th Air Force film stock Clark Gable is just a two-bar Joe doing a job By Andrew A. Rooney, Stars and Stripes staff writer June 7, 1943 Herewith a report on Capt. Clark Gable: Last summer he quieted a rumor that he was going to accept a direct commission as a major by enlisting as a private in Los Angeles. On Oct. 28, after completing the air corps OCS at Miami. Fla., he was commissioned second lieutenant. He served at Tyndall Field, Fla., for a while, and later was shipped to a mid-West field. He came to England about seven weeks ago, has been on one raid, (Antwerp, May 4) and his job here is to make a training film for aerial gunners. He is 42 years old, six feet one inch tall, his hair is grey. He seems like an OK guy. With the possible exception of the German Army, no one is having a tougher time trying to fight this war than Capt. Clark Gable. They Want to Know A few hundred thousand relatives of privates in the infantry who have been fighting in North Africa want to know why Clark Gable isn't a private in the infantry fighting in North Africa. The fathers and mothers, sisters and friends of the staff sergeants on combat crews of B17s and B24s want to know why he is a captain instead of a staff sergeant. And some of the boys wonder. He is not a captain doing a staff sergeant's job. He is a captain doing a job that has been done by majors and better, and he went from a second lieutenant to a captain in less than six months, not because he had a direct pipeline to the commanding general, but because he is an intelligent man doing a good job for the Air Force. Last Saturday a couple of carloads of newspapermen, most of whom were women, were taken to an Eighth Air Force field to watch the public relations office take the wraps off their man Gable. They were prepared to write cynical articles of the movie star playing a phoney part, but Gable fooled them. He was a very nice guy about it all, and his performance at the press conference left nothing to be cynical about. He didn't try to act any part. He was Clark Gable in the Air Force, a little tired, but resigned to being looked at and talked to — and he looked like a very decent guy with no angle to his being where he was. The conference was held around a B17, and there were several combat men from Gable's station hanging around. The captain was dressed in pinks, a leather jacket, cap and solid English shoes. He looked like what America thinks the boys in the air corps look like. His mustache has acquired a slightly RAF look, his hair is a little long, and the collar of his leather jacket is turned up with that casual nonchalance which makes life look easy. The cap he wore looked just a little more like an air corps cap than most, and he pulled it just a little further over his right eye than the rest. He is in England on the orders of Brig. Gen. Luther S. Smith, director of the Air Force training program. With him are 1/Lts. Andrew J. McIntyre, former MGM cameraman, and John Mahin, who wrote several of the scripts for Gable's pictures. Together the three of them, with the help of several veteran gunners, are putting together a film they hope will be some help in the training program for aerial gunners. In the film, Gable interviews men, gets opinions and observations on equipment and combat problems. He appears in some of the scenes — does not appear in others. He went on the Antwerp raid so that he could talk through something besides his hat about raids. One of the correspondents asked him if he was going on another. "I'm going to do what I have to do to finish this job." After Capt. Gable introduced T/Sgt. Kenneth Hulse and T/Sgt. Phil Hulse (not brothers) to the correspondents, and they told a brief story, it was decided that the newspapermen should hear what a cal. 50 machine-gun sounded like being fired by Capt. Gable. It sounded just like a cal. 50 being fired by anyone. Phil Hulse, whose home is in Springfield. Mo., has worked with the captain quite a bit on the picture, and he is at the field with Gable. "He is a regular man," Hulse says "He gets an awful lot of unfair criticism. He used to go out to the towns once in a while but the people won't let him alone, so he just doesn't go out any more." Capt. Gable himself says that he has been to London once, and has been to some of the pubs in the small towns near his station several times. He hasn't seen a movie since he's been here. (GWTW still plays at the Ritz, in Leicester Square.) Herewith ends the report on Capt. Clark Gable. For our money he is an OK Joe fighting a war, and, until he bites a dog or figures in a legitimate news story, just like any other Joe, The Stars and Stripes will leave the guy alone, as he would like to be left, for the duration. Tags: Clark Gable captain ww2 USAAF

User: Bomberguy

Sandhurst School bombed; 611 Sqn Pilot Interviews At 12.30 pm, on Wednesday 20th January 1943, Sandhurst School was bombed. According to eye witnesses the pilot waved to the children in the playground as he flew at rooftop height over the school. Half the building collapsed into aheap of rubble killing 38 children and six teachers. More than 60 children and staff were injured. For two days people picked through the rubble digging out the casualties. Eye Witness accounts: "65 years ago last week my old primary school, Sandhurst School in Catford, was shockingly bombed by a German fighter plane, eyewitnesses including my grandmother used to say that the plane was flying so low that you could see the evil in the pilot's eyes. When I was there in the 1970's the air-raid sirens were still situated around the corner from the school. On January 20th, 1943 just after lunch had began the then familair sound of sirens sounded. Some kids made their way to the shelter, a bricked up classroom on the 2nd floor, others ignored it and continued chatting with friends and eating their sandwiches. These were young school children, blissfully unaware that a fellow human being would want them dead. The pilot flew his FW190 Fighter-Bomber down low over Downham Way and the nearby playing fields around midday aimlessly firing bullets at gawping and ducking people below. The pilot then turned his premeditated intentions to his major target, the school situated between Minard and Ardgowan Roads. Flying at roof level the German pilot flew down the top of Ardgowan Road where my Grandmother, pregnant with my Mum, was like her neighbours drawn to the window of their house to investigate the sound of roaring engines. My late Nan told us the story many times of the determined look in the face of a killer. Other eye witnesses said that the Nazi pilot actually waved to children in the playground before he dropped a 1,100lb on their young innocent heads. Half of the school building collapsed into a heap of rubble killing 38 children and six teachers, most not even having the decency of dying instantly, just suffocating under a collapsed building. More than 60 children and staff were injured, many being plucked from the debris by hundreds of rescuers. For two days people picked through the devastation digging out the casualties. The dead were buried in a mass grave at the nearby Hither Green Cemetery." "Although only a small child at the time in 1943, one of my vivid memories of the war was a day in January when my mother and I heard the sound of a low aircraft. We went out into the road and saw an aircraft flying at roof level. We could see into the cockpit and even after all these years I can see the pilot with his helmet and goggles. He then went in a straight line to Sandhurst School where he dropped his bomb killing many children and teachers, many of whom were in the dining hall when the bomb exploded. The is a memorial garden in the school grounds with the names of those who lost their lives inscribed on individual paving stones" "Remember, remember — yes, I remember how it happened. That day, January 20th, 1943, though now far away, will never be forgotten. To me, as child of twelve, it was the most terrible day of my life. Yet I think I learned a lot on that day about how brave and self-sacrificing people can be... the whirr and screech of a diving aeroplane right above us. My friend, Edna, and myself clung together, our hearts thumping very rapidly. "It's alright," we tried to console ourselves. "It's only one of our fighters." Then two girls rushed into the shelter — "The plane," they said, "it's got black crosses on it!" We all looked at each other, the silence being shattered by a tremendous thud which shook everything and everyone in that shelter." Tags: Sandhurst Road School Catford 20th January 1943 Wg Cdr Milne Sqn Ldr Hugo Armstrong 611 Squadron S/Lt Gouby

User: Bomberguy

The Mighty Eighth part 3 of 3 From May 1942 to July 1945, the Eighth planned and precisely executed America's daylight strategic bombing campaign against Nazi-occupied Europe, and in doing so the organization compiled an impressive war record. That record, however, carried a high price. For instance, the Eighth suffered about half of the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties (47,483 out of 115,332), including more than 26,000 dead. The Eighth's brave men earned 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals. The Eighth's combat record also shows 566 aces (261 fighter pilots with 31 having 15 or more victories and 305 enlisted gunners), over 440,000 bomber sorties to drop 697,000 tons of bombs, and over 5,100 aircraft losses and 11,200 aerial victories. All ETO Losses Type.......... Number Lost B-17.......... 4,754 B-24.......... 2,112 P-47.......... 1,043 P-38.......... 451 P-51.......... 2,201 Total.......... 10,561 Tags: The Mighty Eighth 8th air force usaaf B-17 flying fortress B-24 liberator aaf ww2 aviation history

User: Bomberguy

"The Mighty Eighth" part 2 of 3 Note: 'Spokane Chief' shown in the opening and ending sequences is identified as P-47C-5-RE WZ-Z (41-6630) 84th FS, 78th FG, 8th AF, USAAF At one time in the days before Pearl Harbor, it had been hoped that it would be possible for the RAF to test the Thunderbolt in combat in the Middle East. However, production difficulties caused the British Air Ministry to be informed in September 1941 that it was not a good idea to do this until all the bugs had been wrung out of the design. Consequently, it was a USAAF outfit that was to be the first to bring the Thunderbolt into service. The 56th Fighter Group based near New York City was the first outfit to receive the P-47B, and began to reequip with the type in June-July 1942. They were entrusted with the task of shaking the bugs out of their new mounts. Since their base was fairly close to the Farmingdale plant, the Group could easily call upon Republic engineers to solve problems as they were encountered. Tests and operational training went slowly, accompanied by the loss of 13 pilots and 41 aircraft in accidents. As more Thunderbolts became available, P-47Bs were subsequently issued to the 348th and 355th Groups. The first P-47Cs arrived in England as early as December 20, 1942, and equipped the 4th Fighter Group which somewhat reluctantly traded in their Spitfires for the type. P-47Cs also reequipped the 82nd, 83rd, and 84th Squadrons of the 78th Fighter Group. P-47Cs were also supplied to the 56th Fighter Group which left their P-47Bs back home in the States when they transferred to England. Engine and radio problems caused some delays, but the first operational sorties began on March 10, 1943, and consisted of high-altitude escort duties and fighter sweeps. The first encounter with German fighters came on April 15, when the P-47Cs of the 335th Squadron shot down three German fighters for a loss of three of its own. The high-altitude performance of the P-47C was far superior to anything the Luftwaffe could put up against it, but at low and medium altitudes the P-47C could not match the maneuverability and climb rates of its opponents. However, the P-47C could out-dive just about anything in the sky, and many a Thunderbolt saved itself from a sticky situation by using its superior diving performance to break off combat at will when it proved necessary to do so. According to Robert S. Johnson of the 56th Fighter Group, the Thunderbolt could outroll any other fighter. The Thunderbolt's eight 0.50-inch machine guns provided sufficient firepower to destroy any enemy plane which had the misfortune to come within its sights. The P-47Cs of the 56th, 4th and 78th Groups of the 8th Air Force were intended as bomber escorts, but were ineffectual until fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks to lengthen their range at the end of July 1943. These three groups were joined later in 1943 by seven new groups flying P-47Ds-- the 352nd, 353rd, 355th, 356th, 358th, 359th, and 361st Fighter Groups. P-47s flew escort missions until the end of 1943, when they began to be replaced by longer-range P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs which were better suited for the long-range escort role. Once the Mustang began to take over the long-range escort role, the Thunderbolt was largely diverted into the ground attack role, where the P-47 was to gain its reputation. After seeing action in North Africa, the Ninth Air Force was transferred to England as part of the build-up for D-Day. The 362nd and 365th Fighter Groups of the Ninth Air Force were the first to receive P-47Ds. They were joined by the 358th Group from the Eighth Air Force. In May 1944, these three groups were joined by many other units flying P-47Ds in providing air cover for the impending landings in France-- the 36th, 50th, 366th, 367th,, 368th, 371st, 373rd, 405th, 406th, 48th, 354th, and 404th Fighter Groups. These units provided much effective ground support for the advancing Allied forces as they penetrated further and further into France. The Thunderbolt was extremely effective in eliminating enemy forces in the face of the Allied advance. Even though the P-51 Mustang had largely replaced the Thunderbolt in the long-range, high-altitude bomber escort role in the ETO by the end of 1944, the P-47D continued to rack up an impressive number of air-to-air kills against the Luftwaffe, while it beat up the Wehrmacht on the ground in its destructive bombing and strafing career. Many pilots became aces while flying the Thunderbolt. Outstanding among these was Lt-Col. Francis S. Gabreski (31 kills, the highest-scoring Thunderbolt pilot), Capt. Robert S. Johnson (28 kills) and Col. Hubert Zemke (20 kills). The highest-scoring USAAF Group in the ETO was the 56th Fighter Group, which destroyed 1006 German aircraft against a loss of 128 Thunderbolts--a ratio of nearly eight to one. Tags: The Mighty Eighth 8th air force p-47 thunderbolt usaaf aaf ww2 aviation history

User: Bomberguy

"The Mighty Eighth" part 1 of 3 The "Mighty Eighth" began operations in England on Feb. 20, 1942, when Brig. Gen. Ira C. Eaker led a seven-man advance team to scout the country and prepare for the arrival of American combat flying units. For the next four years, England became the USAAF's "unsinkable aircraft carrier" as they fought the Luftwaffe and Hitler's Axis forces. By D-Day on June 6, 1944, the USAAF had two-thirds of its operational forces in England and by the end of the war, almost 350,000 airmen had passed through the 8th Air Force. Weaved into the green patchwork of East Anglia were more than 130 American bases, about 75 of them airfields. East Anglia appears as the bulge on the map north of London, and it's about the size of Vermont. The Eighth flew from bases with names the GIs said sounded like they came from nursery rhymes -- Bury St. Edmunds, Bassingbourn, Eye, Kingscliffe, Podington, Bungay, Martlesham Heath, Little Walden, Molesworth and Duxford, to name a few. During the war years, U.S. servicemen outnumbered local nationals 50 to one in some villages. A normal station was home to about 50 heavy bombers -- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators -- and 2,500 men who flew, serviced and repaired the planes or supported air operations. Each morning bombers took off at 30- to 45-second intervals and would gather 20,000 feet above England in a slow revolving spiral before crossing the North Sea and blasting the Third Reich's war-machinery plants, fuel supplies and airfields. "The spectacle of seeing hundreds of aircraft trailing formations was an extraordinary sight," said Freeman, who was a base rat at Boxted near Colchester. "On one cold and freezing day, early in 1945, when I was 15, I saw the contrails of a thousand bombers forming in the sky at one time. I didn't count a thousand, but there were 28 groups, and I knew that each group had 30 to 40 in each formation. "At the time I didn't quite appreciate it," Freeman said. "But there were 25,000 young airmen up there going to war. A lot of times people talk about the number of aircraft going to war, and they don't quite appreciate the cost in human lives." Although the average age of a bomber crew member was 22, flying still took a physical and mental toll on them. A combination of extreme cold, fluctuating air pressure, constant noise and vibration, 10-hour missions and stress caused by the fear of being shot down by fighters or flak exhausted the crews, and, as a result, most of them literally slept when not flying. A standard tour for a heavy bomber crew was 25 combat missions; however, most didn't make it half way. After the U.S. Army Air Forces gained air superiority, the magic number was raised to 30 and then 35 missions. Aircrew members completing their tour were inducted into the "Lucky Bastards Club." On May 17, 1943, Maj. Robert K. Morgan and his crew joined this exclusive club first, and were sent home. "We were all very young guys, and the odds of surviving weren't very good. This was before we started receiving fighter escorts, so the chances of buying the farm were high," said Morgan. "I lost my right and left wingmen a couple of times," said the retired colonel who now lives in North Carolina. "After that you start asking yourself 'Why me? Why did I come back and not them?' There has to be some reason or you were just damn lucky." During the latter years of the war, luck had little to do with the bomber crew's increased survival rate. The 8th Air Force owned the skies over occupied Germany thanks to fighter pilots like Francis "Gabby" Gabreski, the 8th Air Force's most successful fighter ace with 28 kills in the air and three on the ground during the war. Gabreski, an Oil City, Pa., native, flew the P-47 Thunderbolt with the 56th Fighter Group, nicknamed Zemke's Wolfpack after its commander Hub Zemke. Gabreski scored one triple and eight double kills while with the group, and he credits his success to training, equipment, leadership and faith. "Back then, we didn't have time to mourn. Sure, we were sorry and a bit depressed for a short period, but tomorrow was another day and another mission. "The mission was always No. 1," he said. "And it was a very simple job-to give escort to B-17s and B-24s at high altitude. You wanted to make sure the bombers you were escorting weren't shot down. Secondly, you thought about survival. You wanted to come back, so you could fight again tomorrow. We knew it was going to be a one-day war." According to Freeman, the greatest achievement of the 8th Air Force during the second world war was gaining air superiority over enemy territory, which had been thought impossible. "Without an air force to attack or protect, the Germans were finished," Freeman said. "When D-Day came, Eisenhower could say to his forces, 'If you see any aircraft overhead, they will be allied.' " Tags: The Mighty Eighth 8th air force usaaf B-17 flying fortress B-24 liberator aaf ww2 aviation history

User: Bomberguy

U.S. Supersonic Transports - Lockheed L-2000 and Boeing 2707 The United States' Supersonic Transport (SST) program was initiated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1963. The program aimed for a Mach 2+ aircraft capable of carrying 300 passengers with intercontinental range. The US aimed to outstrip the British Aerospace/Aerospatiale Concorde and Soviet Tu 144 programs through the use of advanced technology and materials. By the late 1960s contracts had been let to prime contractors Boeing (airframe) and General Electric (engines) but the program was four to five years behind the European and Soviet efforts, which had graduated to supersonic flight testing while the US program had yet to pass beyond the mockup stage. In 1971 the slow pace of technical development, environmental concerns, high costs, and questions over the commercial feasibility of the aircraft led Congress to cancel the program. This video includes silent footage of both the Lockheed and Boeing SST mock-ups. Tags: Lockheed L-2000 Boeing 2707 United States Supersonic Transport SST

User: Bomberguy

Concord 1962-69 Collection of clips showing the concept and development of the Concord from 1962 through first flight in 1969 Tags: Concord super sonic transport

User: Bomberguy

Allies Crushing Air Power Film story about the destruction of German cities and infrastructure through air power. Tags: ww2 air war aircraft aviation history bomber allies crushing power

User: Bomberguy

Ship Against Plane Good footage of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) under attack. The "Big E", was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear that name. She was a ship of the Yorktown class launched in 1936, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to survive the war (the others being Saratoga and Ranger). She participated in more major actions of the war against Japan than did any other US ship. These actions included the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, as well as the "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo. On three separate occasions during the Pacific War the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle. Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II. She was the only ship outside of the British Royal Navy to earn the highest award of the British Admiralty Pennant in the more than 400 years since its creation. Some have labeled her the most glorious and honored ship in all of United States Naval history, rivaled only perhaps by the 18th century frigate USS Constitution. Tags: USS Enterprise CV-6 ww2 pacific

User: Bomberguy

Robert Stanford Tuck In his words: At the age of 19 I accepted a short - servicecommission in the Royal Air Force in September, 1935, after having had two years at sea as a cadet. I was bored and wanted to fly. After training at No. 3 F.T.S. at Grantham, flying the Avro Tutor, Hawker Hart, Hawker Fury and the Bristol Bulldog, I was glad to pass out with the highest rating available "exceptional" in my log-book. In July 1936, I was posted to my first Fighter Squadron, No. 65(F) at Hornchurch where I flew Hawker Demons, wich were replaced by Gloster Gauntletts, then Gladiators, and finally Spitfires, which we received in late 1938, being one of the first Squadrons to be equipped with this revolutionary aircraft. Consequently, by the outbreak of war I had flown several hundred hours on Spitfires and was thoroughly familiar and confident in it. A tremendous advantage later when going into combat. On the 16th May 1940, I was instructed on a top secret order to fly to Hendon with two other Spitfires. We were to act as fighter escort to an un-armed twin-engined Flamingo, carrying Winston Churchill and a small staff to Le Bourget, for his final attempt to prevail on the French to hold out a little longer. Churchill realised the evacuation of the B.E.F. from Dunkirk was imminent. After the retum flight to Hendon the next day, Winston thanked us for our escort, but from his expression he left us in no doubt that he had been unsuccessful. My first aerial combat took place over Dunkirk on 23 May 1940, as a flight commander in 92 (F) Squadron. I couldn't have got off to a better start when I destroyed an Me 109; later the same day I shot down two further enemy aircraft, both Me 11O's. I continued to serve with No. 92 Squadron on Spitfires, commanding one of the Flights throughout the Dunkirk battles, the large air battles which followed over the Channel in the build up to the Battle of Britain. I was still with 92, during the first half of the Battle of Britain, when I was posted to take over command of No. 257 Hurricane Squadron, which up until this time had suffered heavy casualties. I commanded this squadron until half way through 1941, when I was given command of the Fighter Wing at Duxford. I spent October 1941 in the U.S.A. lecturing on air combat, and flying all the American fighters as part of an Air Ministry assessment for the Lend-Lease programme. I returned to the U.K. to take command of the Biggin Hill wing of four Spitfire Squadrons. My air combat career finished when I was shot down by ground fire during a low level attack over Northem France, in January 1942 and was taken prisoner by the Germans. I was credited with 29 air victories. However, in 1978, the Aircraft Recovery Group excavated the remains of an Me 109 22 ft deep in the marshes, (sadly still containing the remains of the pilot, Lt. Wemer Knittle), and subsequently, after considerable research at the M.0.D., it was decided that it was an aircraft I had shot down, but had only claimed as "probable" at the time. It was duly accredited to me, bringing my total to 30. I spent the next three years as a P.O.W., but managed to escape in January, 1945, and made my way via Poland to meet up with the advancing Russian Army. Back in England by April 1945, I completed a refresher course on Harvards at Digby before flying Vampires and Meteors at Tangmere and West Raynham. In 1946 I became Station Commander at Coltishall, and after a spell in Singapore, retired from the R.A.F. in 1949. Commands: No. 65 Squadron RAF (1935-1940) No. 92 Squadron RAF (1940) No. 257 Squadron RAF (1940-1942) Awards Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross DFC AFC Tags: Robert Stanford Tuck Stanford-Tuck

User: Bomberguy

Boulton Paul Defiant Often maligned as a failure, the Boulton Paul Defiant found a successful niche as a night-fighter during the German 'Blitz' on London, scoring a significant number of combat kills before being relegated to training and support roles. The Boulton Paul company first became interested in powered gun turrets when it pioneered the use of a pneumatic-powered enclosed nose turret in the Boulton Paul Overstand biplane bomber. The company subsequently brought the rights to a French-designed electro-hydraulic powered turret and soon became the UK leaders in turret design. On 26 June 1935, the Air Ministry issued Specification F.9/35 calling for a two-seat fighter with all its armament concentrated in a turret. Peformance was to be similar to that of the single-seat monoplane fighters then being developed. It was envisioned that the new fighter would be employed as destroyer of unescorted enemy bomber formations. Protected from the slipstream, the turret gunner would be able to bring much greater firepower to bear on rapidly moving targets than was previously possible. The first prototype (K8310) made its maiden flight on 11 August 1937, with the turret position faired over as the first turret wasn't ready for installation. Without the drag of the turret, the aircraft was found to handle extremely well in the air. With these promising results, a further production contract was awarded in Febrary 1938. Performance with the turret fitted was somewhat disappointing, but still considered worthwhile. In May 1938, the second prototype (K8620)was ready for testing. This aircraft was much closer to the final production standard. Development and testing of the aircraft and turret combination proved somewhat protracted, and delivery to the Royal Air Force was delayed until December 1939, when No.264 Squadron received its first aircraft. Numerous engine and hydraulic problems were not finally resolved until early in 1940. The Defiant undertook it first operational sortie on 12 May 1940, when 264 Sqn flew a patrol over the beaches of Dunkirk. A Junkers Ju 88 was claimed by the squadron. However, the unit suffered its first losses the following day, when five out of six aircraft were shot down by Bf 109s in a large dogfight. The Defiant was never designed to dogfight with single-seat fighters and losses soon mounted. By the end of May 1940, it had become very clear that the Defiant was no match for the Bf 109 and the two squadrons were moved to airfields away from the south coast of England. At the same time, interception of unescorted German bombers often proved successful, with several kills being made. The limitations on the Defiant's manoeuvrability forced its eventual withdrawal from daylight operations in late August 1940. 264 and 141 squadrons became dedicated night-fighter units. The Defiant night fighters were painted all-black and fitted with flame damper exhausts. Success came quickly, with the first night kill being claimed on 15 September 1940. From November 1940, an increasing number of new night fighter squadrons were formed on the Defiant. Units operating the Defiant shot down more enemy aircraft than any other night-fighter during the German 'Blitz' on London in the winter of 1940-41. The lack of forward firing armament presented a great handicap to a fighter which lacked the manoeuvrability to match single-seat fighters in combat, but as an interim night-fighter the Defiant met with a great deal of success. Specifications (Mk I) Crew: 2: pilot, gunner Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m) Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m) Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m) Wing area: 250 ft² (23 m²) Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,755 kg) Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,773 kg) Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp[2] (780 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 knots, 489 km/h) Range: 465 mi (404 nm, 748 km) Service ceiling 30,350 ft (9,250 m) Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (9.65 m/s) Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg) Armament Guns: 4 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in hydraulically-powered dorsal turret (600 rounds per gun, 2,400 rounds total) Tags: Boulton Paul Defiant ww2 aviation history

User: Bomberguy

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a British three-engined biplane airliner built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft and operated by Imperial Airways from 1926 to 1935. Known popularly as a "flying railroad car", it was one of the earliest forms of passenger air transport. The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy stemmed from a declaration by Imperial Airways that all its aircraft would be multi-engined designs on the grounds of safety. They were intended to replace the older single-engined de Havilland aircraft that Imperial Airways had inherited from its constituent companies, mainly Daimler Airway. The first example (G-ELBF ) flew in March 1926 following an initial order for three Argosies from Imperial Airways. The Argosy was initially used on European routes (later operating on services to South Africa), with the fleet named after famous cities. Argosies implemented the world's first "named" air service, the luxury 'Silver Wing' service from London to Paris, in Argosy City of Birmingham (G-EBLO). Two seats were removed and replaced with a bar and a steward was in attendance. Three Argosies were lost during service with Imperial Airways, with one being written off in a forced landing near Aswan and one during a training accident, both in 1931, with no injuries in either accident. In March 1933, however, an Argosy caught fire over Belgium , causing a crash in which all 3 crew and 12 passengers were killed. Argosies continued in service with Imperial Airways until 1935, with the last example being used for joy-riding by United Airways Ltd of Blackpool airport, which then became British Airways Ltd. It continued in use with British Airways until December 1936. Variants Argosy Mk I : Three engined airliner. Powered by three 385 hp (287 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IIIA radial piston engines. Later fitted with Jaguar IVA engines. Three constructed. Argosy Mk II : Three engined airliner. Powered by three 420 hp (313 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA radial piston engines. Four constructed. General characteristics Crew: 2 Capacity: 20 Length: 64 ft 6 in (19.66 m) Wingspan: 90 ft (27.44 m) Height: 19 ft (5.79 m) Wing area: 1,890 ft² (176 m²) Empty weight: 12,090 lb (5,495 kg) Max takeoff weight: 19,200 lb (8,727 kg) Powerplant: 3× Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA Radial, 420 hp (313 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 96 knots (110 mph, 177 km/h) Cruise speed: 78 knots (90 mph, 145 km/h) Range: 352 nm (405 mi, 652 km) Tags: Armstrong Whitworth Argosy A.W.154 A.W.155 imperial airways aviation history

User: Bomberguy

Golden Age Pioneers - Amy Johnson Amy Johnson was born July 1, 1903, in Hull Yorkshire and lived there until she went to Sheffield University in 1923 to read for a BA. After graduating, she moved on to work as a secretary to a London solicitor where she also became interested in flying. Amy began to learn to fly at the London Aeroplane Club in the winter of 1928-29 and her hobby soon became an all-consuming determination, not simply to make a career in aviation, but to succeed in some project which would demonstrate to the world that women could be as competent as men in a hitherto male dominated field. Her first important achievement, after flying solo, was to qualify as the first British-trained woman ground engineer. For awhile she was the only woman G.E. in the world. Early in 1930, she chose her objective: to fly solo to Australia and to beat Bert Hinkler's record of 16 days. At first, her efforts to raise financial support failed, but eventually Lord Wakefield agreed his oil company should help. Amy's father and Wakefield shared the 600 pound purchase price of a used DH Gypsy Moth (G-AAAH) and it was named Jason after the family business trademark. Amy set off alone in a single engine Gypsy Moth from Croydon on May 5, 1930, and landed in Darwin on May 24, an epic flight of 11,000 miles. She was the first woman to fly alone to Australia. In July 1931, she set an England to Japan record in a Puss Moth with Jack Humphreys. In July 1932, she set a record from England to Capetown, solo, in a Puss Moth. In May, 1936, she set a record from England to Capetown, solo, in a Percival Gull, a flight to retrieve her 1932 record. With her husband, Jim Mollison, she also flew in a DH Dragon nonstop from Pendine Sands, South Wales, to the United States in 1933. They also flew nonstop in record time to India in 1934 in a DH Comet in the England to Australia air race. The Mollisons were divorced in 1938. After her commercial flying ended with the outbreak of World World II in 1939, Amy joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, a pool of experienced pilots who were ineligible for RAF service. Her flying duties consisted of ferrying aircraft from factory airstrips to RAF bases. It was on one of these routine flights on January 5, 1941, that Amy crashed into the Thames estuary and was drowned, a tragic and early end to the life of Britain's most famous woman pilot. While flying an Airspeed Oxford from Blackpool to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, she went off course in poor weather. She drowned after bailing out into the Thames estuary. Although she was seen alive in the water, a rescue attempt failed and her body was never recovered. The incident also led to the death of her would-be rescuer, Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher of HMS Hazlemere. She was the first member of the Air Transport Auxiliary to die in service. Her death in an Oxford was ironic as she had been one of the original subscribers to the share offer for Airspeed. Tags: Amy Johnson aviatrix Jim Mollison aviation history

User: Bomberguy

Fairey Long Range Monoplane In 1926 a proposal was made that the RAF should attempt a non-stop flight to India. This would not only be operationally significant, but enormously prestigious to the service if successful. It would at the same time establish a new world long-distance record. The chosen vehicle for this attempt was the Hawker Horsley, then entering RAF service as a day and torpedo-bomber. A production example was modified with strengthened landing gear to carry the additional weight of an extra 3,955 litres of fuel accommodated in new wing and fuselage tanks. On 20 May 1927 Flt Lieut C. R. Carr (later Air Marshal Sir Roderick) and Flt Lieut L. E. M. Gillman took off for India, only to be forced down in the Persian Gulf after completing 5,504km: a new long-distance record that was beaten in less than 24 hours when Charles Lindbergh landed at Paris after his 5,778km solo flight across the North Atlantic. Two later but unsuccessful attempts were made with the Horsley. Consequently the Air Ministry decided to obtain a purpose-built long-range aircraft to make a new attack on the record: the Fairey Long-Range Monoplane was the result. A clean, high-wing cantilever monoplane of low wing loading, it was of composite construction and fabric-covered. The high-efficiency wing, which incorporated a triangulated-tube internal bracing system devised by Hollis Williams, also contained tanks for more than 4,546 litres of fuel. In this aircraft (J9479) Sqd Ldr A. G.Jones-Williams and Flt Lieut N. H. Jenkins flew from Cranwell, Lincolnshire to Karachi, recording the first non-stop flight between Britain and India, but failing to beat the world long-distance record. This aircraft was lost in a second long-range attempt, resulting in the construction of a new aircraft which differed only in detail and by the addition of an autopilot. In this, during the period 6-8 February 1933, Sqd Ldr Gayford (with Flt Lieut G. E. Nicholetts as navigator) flew non-stop from Cranwell to Walvis Bay, South West Africa, creating a world long-distance record of 8,544km. Such was the speed of progress that only six months later this record was captured by France. First attempt December 1929 to Cape town from Cranwell ended when it crashed in to high ground near Tunis, Killing both pilots :( , Second aircraft, Had better instrumentation and an automatic pilot developed by RAE Farnborough, Handed over to RAF July 1931, Did a proving flight to Egypt, Slight damaged from forced landing, Repaired and left Cranwell on 6th Feb 1933 and flew 5,410 miles(8707km) to Walvis Bay, South west Africa in 57 hours 25mins, Latter broken by Codos and Rossi in a Bleriot-Zappata 110, Flew a great circle route of 5,657miles(9104km) between New York and Syria, Thoughts of re-engining the Monoplane in 34 with a Jumo diesel, estimated range 8,300miles (13358km) came to nothing, The final fate of the plane does not seem to be recorded. Specifications (Fairey Long-range Monoplane II) General characteristics Crew: 2 Length: 48 ft 6 in (14.8 m) Wingspan: 82 ft (25.0 m) Height: 12 ft (3.6 m) Wing area: 850 ft² (79 m²) Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) Powerplant: 1 (fixed-pitch propeller)× Napier Lion XIa twelve-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 570 hp (425 kW) each *Mean chord: 11 ft (3.3 m) Performance Cruise speed: 96 knots (110 mph [5], 177 km/h) Wing loading: 20.7 lb/ft² (101.1kg/m²) Power/mass: 29.2 hp/lb () Take-off distance: 4,500 ft (1.370 m) Tags: Fairey Long Range Monoplane Fairey-Napier Oswald Robert GAYFORD Gilbert Edward NICHOLETTS

User: Bomberguy

Blenheim attacks submarine This is some stock footage of a (simulated I am sure) air attack on a Japanese submarine I edited together. Not great stuff but it seemed a shame to waste it. Location and date unknown, also unknown is what the footage was originally intended for. Tags: Bristol Blenheim ww2 bomber aviation history aircraft

User: Bomberguy

Two Avro Ansons landed together after mid-air 1940 The mid-air collision of two Avro Anson aircraft, on a training flight from No. 2 Service Flying Training School (2SFTS) based at Wagga Wagga, resulted in this dramatic and successful crash landing. On 29 September 1940, the two Ansons of 2 Service Flying Training School were flying at near 1,000 ft in the Brocklesbury area. N4876 (piloted by L. Fuller, observer I. Sinclair) and L9162 (J. Hewson, observer L. Fraser) lost sight of each other. The first aircraft descended onto the other. The lower aircraft's turret became lodged in the wing root of N4876, and much of L9162's cabin was crushed. Both port engines were making strange noises. The occupants of the lower aircraft bailed out, Hewson being obstructed by the damage and slightly injured. In the upper aircraft, Fuller decided a forced landing was possible, and ordered his observer out. Southwest of Brocklesbury he brought the two aircraft down, locked together. He was uninjured. N4876 was surprisingly undamaged and continued in use after repairs, but L9162 was only fit to continue as an instructional airframe. Fuller went on to fly with the RAAF in Europe and won the DFM. Unfortunately he was killed at East Sale on 18 March 1944 when he was hit by a bus while riding a bike. Tags: Leonard Graham Fuller avro anson mid-air collision N4876 L9162

User: Bomberguy

Golden Age Pioneers - Nicolas Florine Russian born engineer Nicolas Florine built one of the first successful tandem rotor helicopters. The rotors turned in the same direction but were tilted in opposite directions to cancel torque reaction. Boulet (1984) describes the various mechanical aspects of the machine. Florine's first aircraft was destroyed in 1930, but he had a second design flying successfully by 1933, which made a flight of over 9 minutes to an altitude of 15-feet. This exceeded d'Ascanio's modest flight duration record of the time. Yet, Florine's designs suffered many setbacks, and work was discontinued into the pre-World War 2 years. His machines were ultimately destroyed during the war. Tags: Nicolas Florine helicopter pioneer tandem rotor aviation history

User: Bomberguy

Last flight of "Redhead" Gordon Israel and the Redhead Gordon Israel had gained a great deal of racing experience while helping Benny Howard design and build his stable of winning racing aircraft. Utilizing this experience, Gordon decided to create his own aircraft which, like the majority of the smaller racers, would be powered by a supercharged Menasco C6S of 544 cubic inches. The Menascos could be temperamental engines but they had an extremely low frontal area and could be "tweaked" to pump out a lot more horsepower - albeit with a downturn in reliability. Gordon's comments on the Redhead: "Neither Benny nor myself had any formal college training, I graduated from high school but Benny did not. I took some advanced math courses at Washington University night school. A lot of times I've regretted not taking more, because every once in a while you run into a problem where if you had some smarts you could work it out. It comes harder without having a formal education but if I can't finally grind it out I have some friends that can." "There was a theoretical background for airplane design in those days and we ran a pretty thorough stress analysis on PETE, the first little airplane we built. It was a 9g limit airplane. You just didn't worry about the structure when you were flying it, and the same thing was true of the REDHEAD with the 6 cylinder Menasco. I've still got the original hand written stress calculations I made on it, and although we didn't have full facilities, those, airplanes weren't built by guess and by God. The structures at that time were simple to analyze, welded steel truss fuselages, and using a graphic method you could run a complete stress analysis in very little time. "The biggest problem I had, in stress analysis on the REDHEAD was the fancy butterfly shaped wing with varying spar depths, where figuring the bending moments was a chore. There was an English gal named Barbara Goff, who was a highly theoretical type on stress analysis, and she had developed this graphical method for resolution of shears and moments in tapered spars. I don't know how many sheets of paper I wound up wasting before I finally got the scale on it down to keep me from going, not only off the board, but complete out of the room."' "There were a lot of airplanes in that era that came unglued structurally but the last thing we had to worry about in our planes was the structure." "You've seen so many people hurt beyond a doctor's repair due to structural failures and there were a lot of them in the thirties. People would find an angel, go out and buy a lot of stuff and start building an airplane, with very little consideration for the structure. It backfired on a lot of guys. Poor old Lee Miles, was one. An excellent pilot, he had his plane just come apart on him." "I'll tell you when you had a six cylinder supercharged Menasco in your plane you had enough problems keeping it going without having to worry about the structure." Redhead Construction The fuselage was built from welded steel tubing to give an exceptionally strong and fairly light structure. Around the basic tube fuselage, Gordon added wooden stringers and formers to give the unit its desired shape. The aircraft's large turtledeck was constructed from molded plywood and it also served to cover a small rollover structure located directly behind the pilot's head. The top portion of the fuselage in front and around the cockpit was covered in formed aluminum sheet as was the fuselage tail cone. From the firewall forward, the Menasco was fitted to a tubular engine mount and then wrapped in a tight-fitting aluminum cowl with extensive louvering on the left side while the six exhaust ports protruded from the lower right cowl. Cooling air was supplied via a duct in the hammered aluminum nose bowl. The Menasco was connected to a fixed-pitch metal two-blade propeller. Oddly, there was a lack of a streamlining spinner over the blunt propeller hub. The completed fuselage was 18.5 feet long. The wings also were of standard construction and were built up around sturdy laminated spruce spars with wood ribs. The entire unit was then covered in plywood, sanded down, and then covered in fabric. This undoubtedly created a very strong unit but the designer must have wanted a bit more safety because he added two sets of bracing wires, the top wires were anchored in the fuselage while the lower wires connected to the landing gear. From the landing gear, a single bracing wire extended into the cowl and was fixed to the motor mount. The completed wing spanned 21.5 feet. His best pylon speed was 173.98 mph. However, the mechanics worked wonders on the Menasco and Gordon was able to place third in the Shell Speed Dash at 221.746 mph. In 1934 at Omaha Gordon won the 50 mile free-for-all but damaged the Redhead on landing. It never raced again. Tags: Gordon Israel Redhead Air Race aviation history

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20