Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Nikademus

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Place in history: In 1940, the United States Army Air Corps decided that larger fighters would be needed in the coming European war. Alexander Kartveli, Republic Aviation's chief designer, prepared a rough sketch of a new fighter with the most powerful Pratt & Whitney engine ever developed, along with eight .50-caliber machine guns and heavy armor. World War II pilots considered it to be "unbreakable;" its legendary toughness gave them confidence that they had a good chance of returning home safely even if their plane sustained damage in combat.

This aircraft: Manufactured by Republic Aviation in Evansville, Indiana, and delivered to the USAAF on June 27, 1945. It was placed in storage until March, 1948, when it was assigned to an Air National Guard squadron. FHC's Thunderbolt is painted in the colors of the "Tallahassee Lassie" and was flown by Seattle-born Colonel Ralph C. Jenkins. He led the 510th Fighter Squadron, initially in England and later all the way through Europe to Germany at the end of WWII. Colonel Jenkins may be the pilot who attacked the staff car of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, wounding the German commander.

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ORIGINAL: Terminus

I heard that quote attributed to an RAF pilot flying Thunderbolts in the CBI: "Evasive action in the Thunderbolt consisted of loosening the shoulder straps and running around inside the cockpit"...

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ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

Thanks for Sharing Nik


(what no shots of the GF mounted on the engine of one of the planes ?)

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ORIGINAL: Nikademus

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Place in history: Late in the war, several piloted V-1s were built. The plan was that a pilot would guide the missile into position close to its target and bail out at the last moment. It was essentially a suicide mission, as it would have been very difficult to open the canopy against the wind resistance and in the unlikely event that the pilot was able to climb out he would have undoubtedly have been sucked into the intake of the engine. This manned missile was tested several times, killing every pilot on landing. All of the Reichenbergs were air-launched from planes, unlike the unmanned V-1s that were mostly fired from ground-based catapult ramps. The war ended before Germany could use the Reichenberg in combat.


These missiles: The Soviet Army occupied the Nordhausen area and in 1948 they demolished the entrances to the underground missile factories. Almost half a century later, a new entrance was found into the caves and these missiles were discovered there.



talk about COLD [WAR] STORAGE. amazing.

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ORIGINAL: Nikademus

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

Thanks for Sharing Nik


(what no shots of the GF mounted on the engine of one of the planes ?)

The mechanics and volunteer guides would have frowned rather severely on us had we done that. As it was, the GF glared at me for touching the propellor of the Dora 13.