Last flying B-29 Super Fortress

[mynikonf2]

He wouldn't understand why, though I wish I could; he passed away last August.

It took my whole lifetime to collect most of his 'war stories', which came out in bits and pieces. We'd be doing something together and out of the blue, he'd smile and shake his head and tell me one about a famous "guest" mission leader who became unhinged over the radio when they entered the bomb run. Or, how a 2000lb bomb hung on its shackles (yes, they comically tried to get it out of the open bomb bay) and it had to ride all the way home, only to come loose the moment the tires kissed the runway, tearing off the bay doors and tumbling alongside the plane at 100 mph on rollout, somehow missing the plane, entirely. Crazy, random stuff. I don't know how anyone survived WWII.

I found these pictures in a box of this things. He said that they scattered a few cameras around the plane every mission to have the crew take pictures of anything of interest or significant. I *think* it was a Fairchild K-20, but I'm not sure. The size would be right for contact prints of the above. I think they added the imprint data during printing.

- Charlie

Sorry to hear that he has passed away.
I do know what you mean about hearing your Dad's story in bits & pieces. My Dad has been doing the same thing with me & more so now that Mom is gone. It's almost like he has decided that he can now tell me things that he could not with Mom still around. During the A & later H bomb testing, that took place after the end of the war, he was a flight engineer on a Navy Martin PBM Mariner. Their duty before the detonation would be to ferry the locals out of the test area & so the plane would be full of them and their chickens, goats, pigs, you name it. The plane's bilge would also be full of the excited animals "stuff" 😱😡 with a smell that would linger for weeks afterwards. He said that as they would be taking off, sometimes having to use JATO to lift out of smaller lagoons, the roar of the rockets would almost be matched by the screams of islanders & the animals. After what seemed like an eternity, the plane would lift out of the water trailing smoke & tons of feathers that would pour out of every open hatch or window. After the test their duty was to fly through the airspace over the test site & collect fallout samples with a screened basket device mounted under both wings. Upon their return they would be examined with Geiger counters, they'd turn in the dose badges and then shower. Basically the same thing would be happening to the plane, but with one major exception. When the plane finally became too "hot" it was sunk in the lagoon and they'd have a new plane. 😀

 

[bigeye]

They sure did get those engines sorted out. The old Argus, in service from 1957 to 1982, was powered by 4 of those Wright R3350s. They were a new definition of the word "loud" for me.

Bob

Maritime Patrol Squadron?

Sorry to hear that he has passed away.
I do know what you mean about hearing your Dad's story in bits & pieces. My Dad has been doing the same thing with me & more so now that Mom is gone. It's almost like he has decided that he can now tell me things that he could not with Mom still around. During the A & later H bomb testing, that took place after the end of the war, he was a flight engineer on a Navy Martin PBM Mariner.

Dad's high school buddy was a flight engineer in a PBM, too. He patrolled the Caribbean, which must have been a nice place to spend the war, but he was later sent to Saipan (VPB-216) and that was less so.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Maritime Patrol Squadron?

No, just an invited DDH sailor on a night A/S exercise in an Argus from VP 404. Left a lasting impression.

Bob

 

[mynikonf2]

Kool stuff here... 🙂

 

[Calzone]

Interesting stories indeed! The Wildcat is a plane I have a real soft spot for. I have to take some exception to your comment about it being a "dog" compared to the Mitsubishi. To be sure, it was perhaps a little slower than the Zero (A6M), and not as well armed -- but it was almost as manoeuverable and much more rugged. I'd say it was pretty close to an even match with the Zero, all things being equal (i.e. the pilots).

I worked at Grumman for 17 years with many veterans from that era. The Wildcat was substanially heavier than the Zero because it featured armour to protect the pilot, and this armour slowed its rate of climb, and its ability to manuver. Physics provides a serious limit to agility as far as weight is concerned, and agility in a fighter aircraft is what is needed for air superiority. Its all about power to weight ratio in dog fights and street fights.

Early in WWII it was basically the U.S.'s ability of mass production and the bravery of American pilots going against more experienced enemy in the Pacific. After Pearl Harbor the U.S. was kinda outguned until the battle of Midway. The Japanese Zero was the better fighter and had more experienced pilots.

The ability of U.S. manufacturing to adapt quickly led to the developement of the Hellcat at Grumman. It was very heavily armoured and featured 6 machine guns for more firepower. The engine was oversized so it could outclimb a Zero to get out of harms way if a Zero ever got on its tail. The Hellcat's kill ratio was 20:1; meaning 20 Zero's were shot down for every Hellcat that got shot down. The Zero's lack of armour became its vulnerability.

Cal

 

[KoNickon]

Right, the Hellcat went from prototype to production in an extremely short time -- I recall that the Navy ordered full production even before the prototype had flown. I think the Zero could still outmanoeuver it, but the Hellcat enabled pilots to simply avoid a turning battle with a Zero. (And by the time the Hellcat came into service, American pilots were better trained than Japanese pilots.)

 

[bigeye]

I worked at Grumman for 17 years with many veterans from that era.
Cal

Another HS classmate of Dad's, "Eddie C", started the war as a Marine fighter pilot and was assigned as a test pilot to the Iron Works. He stayed the rest of his working career from the Hellcat through Tomcat. He's sharp as a tack and still wants to hop rides, just to get in the air. I know no better person.

They kept building the Wildcats through the war. They were smaller and easy to fly and perfect for the little 'jeep' aircraft carriers used to escort convoys on anti-sub duty. The British used quite a few, and called it the Martlet. It's the only aircraft I've heard of that doesn't have a 'redline' (max) speed limitation, which built on the "Iron Works" reputation.

 

[Calzone]

Right, the Hellcat went from prototype to production in an extremely short time -- I recall that the Navy ordered full production even before the prototype had flown. I think the Zero could still outmanoeuver it, but the Hellcat enabled pilots to simply avoid a turning battle with a Zero. (And by the time the Hellcat came into service, American pilots were better trained than Japanese pilots.)

The Zero remained more agile, but did not do so well against the six guns of the Hellcat; and the armour, although impeding agility was countered by shear horsepower that enabled a very fast rate of climb.

If you get the opportunity try to read the book "The Grumman Story." I think you would really enjoy it. Wish I didn't sell my copy. Prior to WWII Grumman was a tiny-tiny company. Really adds an exclamation point to Admiral Yamamoto's famous quote, "We have just awoke a sleeping giant."

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Another HS classmate of Dad's, "Eddie C", started the war as a Marine fighter pilot and was assigned as a test pilot to the Iron Works. He stayed the rest of his working career from the Hellcat through Tomcat. He's sharp as a tack and still wants to hop rides, just to get in the air. I know no better person.

They kept building the Wildcats through the war. They were smaller and easy to fly and perfect for the little 'jeep' aircraft carriers used to escort convoys on anti-sub duty. The British used quite a few, and called it the Martlet. It's the only aircraft I've heard of that doesn't have a 'redline' (max) speed limitation, which built on the "Iron Works" reputation.

Perhaps I saw Eddie C out in Calverton Long Island. I was out there for some training and watched a EF-111 take off. The plane was barely off the runway when it banked sharply and it seemed like a wing would scrape the runway. Then I saw the plane fly sideways inbetween the air traffic control tower and a water tower just to scare the air traffic controller. LOL.

Cal

 

[bigeye]

Perhaps I saw Eddie C out in Calverton Long Island.

Cal

Yes, that was where he worked.