DuckSouth.com

Winner of the 1949 Cleveland Air Races.

Hard to believe that thing was designed in the late 30's, early 40's.

http://www.tunicaairraces.com

I saw an interesting documentary one time on that plane. The gull wings allow for a very large prop that helps it get those speeds. It was very hard to land on a carrier because of the wings.

Yes, the gull wings were so they gear wouldn't have to be so long to accomodate for that 14 foot prop. As a result, the plane had a terrible tendency to stall left wing first at slow speeds...many pilots found this out as they were about to land on the carrier.

Do you know why the Japanese called it "Whistling Death"?

Didn't it have something to do with the way the air went through the oil cooler? I didn't realize that more zeros feel to Hellcats than any other plane in the Pacific. Kinda of surprised me. I would have thought the P-38 and the Corsair would have had more kills.

if i remember correctly, weren't the hellcats faster and/or more maneuverable than the f4u's or p-38's, maybe even the zeros themselves?

Those interested in WWII aviation might be like to know that the person who led the sortie that shot down Admiral Yamamoto was from Tallahatchie County Mississippi. His name was John W. Mitchell, and he was from Enid (where my dad is from). My dad had me research it in the internet a few years ago when Mitchell was recommended for a Congressional Medal of Honor (2nd time).

It is a pretty incredible story, as I recall Mitchell designed the mission, and then led 16 P-38s on a 6 leg, 400 mile mission...flown 50ft off the water and out of sight of land. His only navigation tools were a naval compass, his airspeed indicator, and a wristwatch. They intercepted Yamamoto, who was being transported in a Betty bomber to one of the Pacific Islands. Mitchell was very modest, and did not try to get much recognition out ot the deal, but there are others who argue to this day about who actually shot down Yamamoto's plane. The whole affair had to be kept low-key until after the war, otherwise it would have revealed that the U.S. had cracked the Japanese radio code.

I'll see if I can find some of the links and post them later.

h2o_dog wrote:Those interested in WWII aviation might be like to know that the person who led the sortie that shot down Admiral Yamamoto was from Tallahatchie County Mississippi. His name was John W. Mitchell.

As in "Tojo" Yamamoto ? I thought "Handsome" Jimmy or Dutch Mantell took him down.

No, this was Yamamoto as in "the mastermind of the Dec 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor"

h2o_dog wrote:No, this was Yamamoto as in "the mastermind of the Dec 7, 1941 attach on Pearl Harbor"

10-4.

Here's a link to one account of the story. You can google some of the other pilots involved and get their versions as well. No one disputes Mitchell's leadership or navigation skills as being key.

http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_mitchell.html

I didn't know Mitchell was from the Free State. There is much controversy who actually got the kill, but it was a decisive victory for the allies.

The Zero was one of the most maneuverable planes out there...mainly due to it's wooden construction. It was much lighter than the all-metal construction of the later American fighters, but it was also less durable. A couple of hits from a .50 API (armor piercing incendiary) round and she went up in flames. The Zero didn't have self-sealing fuel tanks and one hit caused an instant leak, where most American fighters had self-sealing tanks that would close up (much like fix-a-flat) when punctured.

American pilots learned to use boom-and-zoom tactics on Zekes, diving from altitude, making a slashing attacking and then diving at high speeds below, basically outrunning the Zeros as they passed them. They would then zoom back up to altitude and strike again. Getting into a turning fight with a Zero was suicide, because the Zero's were much more agile and could easily outturn the heavier American fighters. The fights you saw on the tv show, Black Sheep Squadron, were not what it was like in real life.

If you've never read BAA BAA BLACK SHEEPor BLACK SHEEP ONE about Pappy Boyington, you ought to check them out.

Some P-38 pilots learned to work their engines independently and aid in turning. Charles Lindbergh even went out to the Pacific to teach Lightning pilots how to better conserve their fuel through engine management. After all, Lucky Lindy was most famous for his flight across the Atlantic. He got them trained to fly at cruise settings for maximum fuel efficiency on the long flights to and from the target. I think I read somewhere that he gained them something like 2 more hours flying time with his techniques. The Germans called the P-38 "Der Gabelschwanz Teufel" ... The Fork-Tailed Devil.

My grandfather was at D-day, the Bulge and the Ardennes in a Sherman Tank. He said the Lightning pilots had a routine of attacking German AAA guns. One plane would swoop down from above, drawing the anti-aircraft fire, and the rest of the planes would zero in on the flashes and work them over. Must've been something to see.

ACES by William Yenne, LUFTWAFFE FIGHTER ACES by Mike Spick and FIGHTER COMBAT Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw are very good reads on fighter tactics and the techniques of the world's top fighter pilots.

Erich Hartmann, the world's leading ace with 352 confirmed kills, never engaged in prolonged combat. His motto was "See, decide, attack, reverse." He would attack from above, fire only when the target completely filled his windshield and then escape in the opposite direction, avoiding the dogfight at all costs.

And you are right, seymore, the air rushing through the oil cooler vents (in the wing roots) made a whistling sound. Japanese ground troops could hear the noise and learned to dread the "whistling death" from above. I guess it had much the same psychological effects as the dive sirens on German Stukas. The Germans actually put the small little propellor under the belly to make that noise on purpose. It was a mind game.

I can't say off the top of my head which American fighter was fastest, but I know the P-51 was close to the top at 438 MPH. Just think, the same time they were making Farmall M tractors with 2 row equipment, they were making 440 mile-an-hour aircraft.

If there was any plane I could go see fly, it would be this one, the Black Widow. They were specifically designed as night fighters, using radar to track down aircraft at night and shoot them down with 4, 20mm cannon on top and 4, .50 cal on bottom. These suckers would sneak up on Japanese Betty's at night, ease up on their tail and pour lead up their rear.



I think the last 2 kills of the war were by Widows chasing Japanese bombers into the ground at night without ever firing a shot.

Hey Rob -

What 'cha posting pics of the Black Widow for? It might have been fast, and the Mustang might have had the distance, but my favorite - the P-47 Jug - was the baddest mama in the air over Europe! I guess you know that Max Jucheim still lives in Grenada? I've got a 16x22 color photo of him, climbing into his P-47C, that he has signed for me. It's a beautiful photo!

Scott

Ahhh...there will be a D model Jug at Tunica.

It was by far the toughest thing in the air...reports of pilots flying back home with connecting rods going up and down out the top of the cowling after the cylinder had been shot off.

Nothing could out dive a Jug. Never heard of Mr. Jucheim...I'd like to know more.

Pace plane for the Unlimited race will be the P-51, Speedball Alice:


Among the racers of the Unlimited class will be the highly modified, P-51 Mustang with counter-rotating propellers, Precious Metal:


and one of several Hawker Sea Fury's, this one is September Pops: