The Great, Constantly Changing Picture Gallery, Troisième partie: la vengeance!

[Llarry]

Yes, just to correct my inaccurate info, the photo is of a Marine FG-1D that tangled with Genda's 343rd Air Group over Kyushu. The pilot was a lucky man to make it home with his life!

In 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy's had the best IJN fighter of the war -- the Kawanishi N1K2-J -- and their pick of the best pilots as well.

 

[Llarry]

The Japanese Army Air Force had an excellent late-war aircraft as well: The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Allied Frank) had excellent handling and performance and by that time the Japanese had figured out that .30 caliber ammunition was not going to cut it. But Japan was being strangled by B-29s, submarines and carrier task forces and high-octane aviation fuel was virtually unavailable. Not to mention that experienced combat pilots were very few by 1945 -- Genda's 343rd Air Group managed to corral most of the remaining effective Navy pilots.

After the war, the U.S. tested Japanese aircraft using high-quality high-octane U.S. fuels and the engine performance of many of the Japanese aircraft was transformed.

 

[Llarry]

I've never personally witnessed a B-1 night takeoff, but geez, what a sight!

 

[Llarry]

The hangar deck of USS Langley (CV 1) probably in the 1920s. The VF-2 aircraft appear to be Vought VE-7s. The larger aircraft right foreground is probably a Douglas DT. Not much protection from the weather!

 

[GroundPounder]

I've never personally witnessed a B-1 night takeoff, but geez, what a sight!

View attachment 42298

The three loudest things I've ever heard in my life:

1. Vulcan Bomber fly past at airshow.
2. B1 in afterburner flying over while on an FTX at Pinion Canyon Maneuver site.
3. Firing 2 M72 LAW rockets, at once. One on each shoulder. Extra credit for having no hearing protection. I actually though I was going to puke, it hurt so bad.

 

[hlg6016]

1. Watching a squadron of Tomcats take off from the side of the runway.
2. Hearing the SR 71 taking off from Kadena.
3. 5th row seats at a Black Sabbath concert 1980.

 

[GroundPounder]

3. 5th row seats at a Black Sabbath concert 1980.

1. Your 3 is better than mine.
2. I was in 8th grade in 1980. Now we both feel old.

 

[Llarry]

Yes, just to correct my inaccurate info, the photo is of a Marine FG-1D that tangled with Genda's 343rd Air Group over Kyushu. The pilot was a lucky man to make it home with his life!

In 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy's had the best IJN fighter of the war -- the Kawanishi N1K2-J -- and their pick of the best pilots as well.


View attachment 42193

To further correct my correction (;-}) I now have seen some info that indicates that mangled Marine FG-1D was NOT the victim of Japanese fighters but was involved in a ground/taxi accident. So never mind... (probably)

 

[Llarry]

To make up for my bad gouge on the "F4U damaged by the Japanese", here's a photo of an A3D-1 of VAH-1 coming aboard USS Forrestal (CVA 59) circa 1956.

 

[Llarry]

In 1964, when I was a high school senior, our family moved to Sangley Point, Philippines. Vietnam was heating up during my time there and Sangley was the hub of VP ops in the S. China Sea. There was a squadron of SP-5B Marlin flying boats, one of SP-2H Neptunes and one of P-3A Orions. As a aviation geek, I enjoyed watching the P-5s enter the waters of Manila Bay and get hauled ashore on the seaplane ramp. At the same time, elsewhere in the world there were Boeing twin-turbojet 737s entering airline service. Who could have imagined how all that would shake out in the decades to come?

 

[Llarry]

June of 1945, the first MEDEVAC by helo in a combat zone in the Philippines. The Sikorsky R-4B had a useful load of 200 pounds.