WWII Planes

[David Wilson]

I just got back from the local airport and thought some of you might enjoy these pics. A friend of mine ows a company that restores and builds WWII airplanes. The first photo is a Japanise Zero that they just completed. Waiting on paper work to fly. The second is a P51D being built from the ground up. The third is a P51A also being built from the ground up. The last pic is a B25 that will someday be restored.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8038&stc=1http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8039&stc=1http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8041&stc=1

[David Wilson]

Sorry, I got # 3 & 4 reversed. I like to go there when I am having problems with my woodworking projects. Sort of puts things in perspective.

[Chris Padilla]

Do I spy bullet-holes in that B-25?? :eek:

[Keith Outten]

I have collected about 75 pictures of Bomber Nose-Art if you like war planes. Some of the pictures are a bit to racy for the Creek though :rolleyes:

[Chuck Wintle]

David,
These planes are very cool! Where did they get the plans for the P51 Mustang? These are new right? How hard is it to find engines for them?

[Bruce Page]

Very cool pic's - thanks!

[David Wilson]

No bullet holes. The B25 was in service until the 50's and used as a radar training plane. The nose is a radome and not standard during WWII. He has an origional nose section which is mostly plexiglass. Where the bombadier sat. Also has machine gun turret. This plane has been donated to the Fargo Air Museum and will be restored in the future.As far as plans for the P51's, I don't know. Engines and landing gear are available.

[Dennis Peacock]

This is just way to cool!!!! I'm a airplane buff and really like seeing this kind of stuff. thanks for posting.

[David Wilson]

If interested, check out www.fargoairmuseum.org.

[Ray Thompson]

Nothing like the sound of a P-51 in the morning. I used to produce AirShows back in the 80's and got to where I could identify the plane by the sound of the engines. The Hawker Hurricane has the most distinctive sound of any, kind of a crackling sound. It has to do with the exhaust stacks somehow. I had the great opportunity to fly in the nose of a B-25 back then. From that position you cannot see anything but the wing tips. You sit with your back to a bulkhead on a small seat with your feet on a plank that sticks out from the bulkhead a short way. Surrounded by the Plexi nose the feelling was one of great vulnerablity. I had new respect for the guys who did that with bullets and flak coming at them during WWII. Very surreal and hard to explain. Ray

[David Wilson]

If anyone is wondering about the color of the Zero, this plans is the origional factory color. I was told that the paint origionally used was so poor that it oxidised and turned gray after about 1 week in the sun.

[Dave Richards]

Cool shots David.

I haven't heard a Merlin or an Allison for quite awhile. I have a little time behind a radial though not as big as the ones on that B-25. Cool sound.

[Ian Barley]

I have just finished listening to "The Wild Blue" on audiobook - Stephen Ambrose's history of the era that these planes come from. While the planes he follows were B-24s the story is just as effecting. I recommend the book to anybody interested in the history of that period.

We will shortly have the Farnborough Air Show which takes place pretty much at the end of my garden. The highlight for me is the moment when the WWII flypast comes over. A Lancaster Bomber flanked by a Spitfire and a Hurricane. Never fails to bring a lump to my throat and really does the job of making you stop and think about some of the debts we owe to prior generations.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Dave Richards]

Oh boy! A Lanc. Four Merlin's side by side. :D

[Carl Eyman]

Keith: What kind of a plane is that? If a WWII plane why is "US Air Force" painted on it instead of "US Army Air Corps"?

[Keith Outten]

Carl,

The picture is of a B29, I checked all of the nose art pictures I have and most of the planes are painted "US Air Force". Wasn't the Army Air Corps WWI?

[Dave Richards]

Carl, I believe that's a B-29 Super Fortress. That one was in use after the Air Force was created. Maybe during the Korean Conflict.

Keith, I found this:

1907 - Aeronautical Section of the Signal Corps.
1914 - Aviation Section (Signal Corps).
1918 - United States Army Air Service
1926 - United States Army Air Corps
1941 - United States Army Air Forces
1947 - United States Air Force

[James Carmichael]

I have just finished listening to "The Wild Blue" on audiobook - Stephen Ambrose's history of the era that these planes come from. While the planes he follows were B-24s the story is just as effecting. I recommend the book to anybody interested in the history of that period.

We will shortly have the Farnborough Air Show which takes place pretty much at the end of my garden. The highlight for me is the moment when the WWII flypast comes over. A Lancaster Bomber flanked by a Spitfire and a Hurricane. Never fails to bring a lump to my throat and really does the job of making you stop and think about some of the debts we owe to prior generations.

Thanks for sharing the pics.


I'll have to look for that one, Ian. Stephen Ambrose is my favorite author and I drive an hour each way to work. My 21-month-old son is named Ian, also.

I am still steamed at LOML along with my brother and his wife for voting against a visit to the D-Day museum during our one afternoon in New Orleans last summer. That was Ambrose's great project.

The next time you are all shopping for automobiles, you might bear in mind that the Zero was also known as the Mitsubishi A6M2, but I'm sure I don't have to tell Carl that.

[Carl Eyman]

Hey, another reason not to like that car. Thanks