tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post4833182637663006542..comments2024-03-28T23:57:50.103-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: A momentous aviation anniversaryPeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-34409621869813947022016-12-31T01:16:30.218-06:002016-12-31T01:16:30.218-06:00It amazes me how industry designed, built and mass...It amazes me how industry designed, built and mass produced the airplanes of WW2, using nothing more than paper, drafting tables and slide rules.<br /><br />I know technology has come a long way...but taking years to make modern military planes "good enough" is ridiculous. LCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03146393047895889252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-37308352242857663062016-12-29T18:31:31.920-06:002016-12-29T18:31:31.920-06:00Actor James Stewart flew one during the war.Actor James Stewart flew one during the war.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780834197167716549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-11631462244170336352016-12-29T16:52:22.117-06:002016-12-29T16:52:22.117-06:00It was also featured in the book 81 Days Below Zer...It was also featured in the book 81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness Paperback – March 1, 2016 <br />Just FYI.<br />A good read.<br />DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-4703431786637689242016-12-29T15:24:12.139-06:002016-12-29T15:24:12.139-06:00Standing in front of a B-24 is interesting. It ha...Standing in front of a B-24 is interesting. It has a glass nose (metal from with many plexiglass sections) from which several machine guns protrude, and then there's a cockpit a bit up and further back, behind which there's a turret with another pair of machine guns. It simply looks menacing, even when you're staring at an inert museum specimen of one. <br /><br />Not all of the bombers have that same feel. A B-17 carries even more guns and looks lethal, but is sleeker and less menacing. The B-29 simply looks sleek. I'm not sure exactly how to put it.TheOtherSeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07141473483312725136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-65979934774109781312016-12-29T14:11:42.547-06:002016-12-29T14:11:42.547-06:00My wife's grandfather was a B-24 Pilot Trainer...My wife's grandfather was a B-24 Pilot Trainer in the Army Air Core during WWII. They flew training runs to Cuba and back. He says some of the other officers used to bring back tires, ladies stockings, and other items effected by the rationing cards on their return flights. He was shipped over to California in early '45 in anticipation of being deployed in the Pacific theater, but the two atomic bombs ended the war and, thankfully, he was never deployed.Topher_Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00010167523883034739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-60260265438817453922016-12-29T10:36:06.268-06:002016-12-29T10:36:06.268-06:00The B-24 saw heavy use in the Pacific because, as ...The B-24 saw heavy use in the Pacific because, as one staff officer put it, "Range is King." The B-17 carried much of the load in Europe, particularly in the 8th Air Force, because it was a far more robust aircraft. Ironically, the examples of the Fort still flying were built by Douglas who normally built Civil aircraft, and so applied corrosion resistant treatments to the craft, where Boeing didn't.<br /><br />At the end of WW2, B-24s were pretty much abandoned where they sat, where the 17s were mostly brought back to the states. The 24 could not maintain close formation because it's handling was not as stable as the fort, and the dangerous missions it handled, Ploesti being the most famous, were given to B-24 groups because of the distance to the target from the bases.Quartermasternoreply@blogger.com