Friday, April 16, 2010

Fullbore Friday

Get a cup of coffee and block out 30 minutes.

Hat tip Master Gunner.

28 comments:

Master AssClown said...

Just an AWESOME video.

The "Greatest Gerneration" is a fitting and accurate name and I humbly salute them all.

An old school goat.

xformed said...

How many combat aviators of the modern era could possibly imagine what it meant for this man to fly, 60 some years later, not having to worry about being shot at.  It was from a time when the enemy could actually mount a credible threat to those with their hands on the stick.

I love this video.  It is about many things, past, and present and extending lessons into the future through sharing a cross the generations, something I think our society has devalued in the last few decades.

Byron said...

If you can watch this video without a tear in your eye, well, you just don't have a soul.

surfcaster said...

Speechless. Thank you Jim Brooks and those that came with you, before you, and since.

Thomas Paine said...

<p><span>You just described the Anti-American parasitic moocher progressive liberals who attempt to rewrite history and discredit the real genuine heroes. The “Greatest Generation’s” legacy speaks for itself and stands alone without needing much narrative. The “Worst Generation of Anti-American Parasitic Moocher Progressive Liberals” is just pathetic and disgraceful. </span></p>

Combat NFO said...

Great story, thanks for sharing.

cdrsalamander said...

None contextual rant:  Strike 1.
General mindless, non-linked quote that is insulting to the host/Byron: Strike 2.

Combat NFO said...

TP,
Good Morning Sunshine, sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays.  Try to smile some, it was a touching video.

Grandpa Bluewater said...

Classy and very touching.

Classy guy. Classy plane.

Thanks.

Thomas Paine said...

Cdr, its only mindless if you have no soul or clue and it insults no one except the ones who can get into its glass slipper. Maybe you just need a drink and some fresh air?

Thomas Paine said...

Combat NFO,

I think some words were misunderstood. It was truly an awesome video and a real time capsule of the "Greatest Generation". How do you think people will refer to the current generation? The "Greatest Generation" are genuine leadership by example. The current crop of so called leaders, well, everyone can have their own opinion on this bunch. Again, it is an AWESOME video in every way.

Master AssClown said...

The P-51 was a solid fighter. The Navy's top WWII fighter was the F6 Hellcat. I wonder how similar they were in the capability and characteristics areas? I think that they both had approx. 2,000 HP engines.

Any Hellcat fans out there?

Thomas Paine said...

Cdr, no insult intended towards you or any veteran and freedom loving citizens. Maybe comments were misunderstood or maybe not but it does not matter. I apologize for any perceived insult.

TP

Grey said...

A great story!

UltimaRatioRegis said...

MAC,

There was a nearly 70mph speed advantage for the Mustang (D model), as well as superior roll rate.  The Hellcat was about 33% heavier, due to the robust construction needed for arrested landings.  The F6F had a slightly faster climb rate, and slightly lower wing loading.  The Mustang had a significantly higher service ceiling, above 41k feet (I think), but the Hellcat's radial engine was famous for continuing to turn with some cylinders shot away.  Not something an inline engine with a radiator is particularly known for. 

For their respective opponents, both were perfect.  And so were their contemporary partners, the F4U, and the P-47.

Master AssClown said...

URR,

Both seem pretty impressive. Wow, 70 mph advantage is a lot considering the relative speed. I think that the Hellcat was a big improvement over the Wildcat, especially against the nimble Zeros. I seem to recall that the P-38 was a good aircraft but the P-51 just had so many advantages. I think that the P-38 was considered a heavy fighter.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

MAC,

Both the F6F and P-51 were engineering marvels.  The Hellcat was a two-generation improvement over the F4F, which was nearly obsolete by the time war came.  I am using top speeds at service altitudes of 378 for the Hellcat and 445 for the Mustang.  There are other numbers for each out there, but those are from Janes. 

The P-38 actually did quite well for such a heavy aircraft, certainly Dick Bong's crew handled them well.  But you are right, the P-51 is in many ways the most satisfactory design of a piston engined fighter ever produced.  Some soldiered on into the 1980s, and faced each other during the Sl Salvador/Guatemal dustup in 1970.

MasterAssCllown said...

URR,

I remember when the AF was talking about scraping the A-10 then Kuwait and the success of the A-10 with tank busting kept it around much longer. I love the sound of that tank buster. My dad lived near an AF base in IN that used to have A-10 squadrons and seeing and hearing those flying low was just an awesome sight. I hAve had the pleasure to see the Confederate AF flying some of their vintage aircraft, it is really a great sight and sound.

MAC

ewok40k said...

for naval P-51 equivalent F8F Bearcat would be probably more accurate match...

ron snyder said...

That is the darned truth Byron.

xformed said...

MAC;

The USAF fought to never even buy the A-10 in the first place.  Congress made them do it.  Now that I think about all the bad juju I have showed upon Congress in the blogsphere, I need to say it was a great decision.

Later, when they were trying to ditch it, the Army offered to take it.  USAF said:  Fixed wing with bite not in your "PD."

Unintended consequences, in a good way, huh?

Anonymous said...

TP,
There weren't many words that related to the video at all.  I don't know why we get all caught up with the superlatives of "The Greatest" everything in contemporary times.  The subject of the video is the antithesis to that, the quiet courage and dignity stand alone without the need to be called "the greatest" anything.  The current leadership is what it is, let history judge whether it's great or not.  Don't get nasty about politics during a simple tribute to a man and an aircraft, it's not appropriate and says more about you than it says about the object of your complaints.

Anonymous said...

I bet whole lotta countries in the Russia perifery would love to get some A-10s just in case all those rusting T-72s are used again Georgia-style.
And both in Iraq and AFG if there is one fixed-wing plane that is best suited for CAS, it is A-10.
Now can we have a naval equivalent instead of LCS?

ewok40k said...

last one was from me, operating from temporary comp due to moving in rl

ewok40k said...

the greatest generation also had its share of guys who thought Hitler just gonna go away or Japan cant build decent fighter planes... just right guys eventually have proven in the majority

Thomas Paine said...

I somewhat understand and concur with your observations. I suppose that the rub point is that while the "Greatest Generation" earned that title fittingly, the contemporary leadership by actions are showing a propensity for seeking the path of least resistance and promoting Anti-Americanism from the very place it must be preserved, from the top down. History is a good teacher but it is shortlived in the minds of some and disregarded totally by those with an agenda strange and foreign to America's perception of liberty and freedom from tyranny. Leadership by example is a simple approach and time proven but inept and evil leadership will produce many failures. Reagan insightfully noted that freedom is not acquired by proxy and is one generation from extinction. All rhetoric aside, the video is awesome and the life lived by that man seems most honorable based on his relative's heartfelt and genuine observations.   

Casey Tompkins said...

Howsabout F8F vs. P60? Or FW-190 vs. F8F? Or even F6F vs. Bf-109?

A couple of folks have mentioned the P-38 Lightning in this thread. A magnificent plane, to be sure.  What most folks don't know is that the the Mustang was chosen as the flagship fighter of the USAAF because it was cheaper to build, and cheaper to maintain than the Lightning. This in many ways parallels the decision to continue with the F/A-18 over the F-14, in that the latter had much higher maintenance requirements.

As for the ultimate superiority of the Mustang, let me note that very nearly every widely-successful design after that was based on a radial engine, including the P-47, F6F, F7F, F8F, Hawker Typhoon, Hawker Tempest, and P-47.

The Mustang was a beautiful design (along with the Spitfire), but the future lay with the radial designs, before the advance of the jet engine.

ewok40k said...

well, engine availability was a question... it was better to use all production facilities for multiple fighter designs, as did Germans with paralell Me-109/FW-190, Russians with Yak/La series and US with Mustang/Thunderbolt
Naval fighters though were almost universally radial, from Zero to F8F, probably due to easier maintenance and greater reliability...