I wonder if he was a real person. Let me Google... nope.
Cool American military planes.
- Thread starter Ds2000
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LT. Colonel Dan Kiley, loosley based on a real character, but the entire movie was so inaccurate that Eisenhower publicly denounced it as a farce.I remember that Henry Fonda flew in a Grasshopper during the "Battle of the Bulge" flick. I forgot what role he was playing.
Having all the guns in the centerline was a huge advantage. British Mosquito pilots like that layout, too.
A great aircraft - "der Gabelschwanz Teufel" – the Fork-tailed Devil according to German pilots who faced them.
Also one of the few American fighters to use a 20mm canon and four .50 cal's.
I remember reading about the USAAF in-field mechanics fitting 20mm cannons, even 75mm cannons, into modified B-25s. A devastating anti-shipping strafer.
There's a good book about the South Pacific B25 unit, the Air Apaches.
I've seen one at our air show , it's said the recoil of the 75mm gives resistance to forward flight when fired ,we are talking about a twin engine bomber though.
Most American WWII fighters were only outfitted with 6 or 8 .50 Browning machine guns , while the BF109's and the A6M's had machine guns and canon.
While Mustangs and Spitfires get most of the glory the Thunder bolts were first laughed at then feared by Nazi pilots with 8 Brownings and tough as a tank to shoot down , in the hands of a good pilot Jugs were devastating fighters , same engine as the Corsair and Hellcat.
My father told me many times that he watched P-47's taking off from an airfield near his house just across the water from NYC. They were being ferried to England by WASP's (Women Airforce Service Pilots). He said they were so heavy with all the extra fuel tanks attached that they could barely get up in the air before they ran out of runway.
WASP: Women Airforce Service Pilots
During the war, nearly 1,100 highly trained women tested, flew, and ferried 12,650 aircraft over 60 million miles as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
The P47 is a beast in real life. Like the Navy's Hellcat. I mean, the pilot is WAY up there.
P47s shot down a lot of German planes. About 75% of the Mustang's total (3752 vs 4950). Including strafing, the P47 vs the P51 (7000 versus 9500).
Of course, it was in England, before the P51. In January 1943, the first operational groups. The first USAAF Mustangs were operational later in October 1943.
The 56FG flew only Thunderbolts and was second only to the 354FG (Mustangs) in air kills. 665 1/2 to 701. Many more than the 354FG in ground strafing KOs (332).
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We have Dorothy Scott International Airport here in Oroville, Washington, one of two airports in the U.S. named after a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). Unfortunately, Dorothy died during WWII at 22. I knew her twin, Ed, who often came by my newspaper office to talk about his sister. The author of the book below, Sarah Byrn Rickman, also stopped in several times to discuss Dorothy and is well-versed in the WASPs and has written several books on its members.
It is a small municipal airport, but due to our location just a few miles south of the Canadian border, there is a Customs Shack where a call to the U.S. Port of Entry brings an officer with Customs and Border Protection to check in people who have crossed into the U.S. Dorothy Scott Airport - Wikipedia
It is a small municipal airport, but due to our location just a few miles south of the Canadian border, there is a Customs Shack where a call to the U.S. Port of Entry brings an officer with Customs and Border Protection to check in people who have crossed into the U.S. Dorothy Scott Airport - Wikipedia
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