by captjeff | Aug 23, 2020 | Plane Tales
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There are many things that one might want to be remembered for. A fine physician, a pioneer aviator, a renown aeronautical researcher, an inspired inventor but perhaps not as the greatest charlatan ever to see his name associated with an airplane, even though his scout fighter the Christmas Bullet had a perfect kill record… it killed everyone who ever tried to fly it!
The AEA Redwing
One of Christmas’s Patents
The Christmas Bullet
The Christmas Bullet
The Liberty 6 Engine
Dr Christmas
Images under creative commons licence with thanks to the Library of Congress, US Gov, US Patent Office and the USAF.
by captjeff | Aug 17, 2020 | Plane Tales
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Back in 1997, on a sliver of land wedged between a gas station and a car park, a lone C130 Hercules could be found. It was mounted there near the entrance to the National Security Agency at Fort Mead in Maryland for a good reason. Not the original aircraft, as that crashed on foreign soil, it had been painted with the tail number 60528 to represent it.
The memorial to the crew of 60528
The C130 airborne
The plot of 60528 and the track of the intercepting fighters.
A Mig 17
Gun camera film from the attacking Mig17s
Gun camera film from an attacking Mig 17 showing the C130 in flames
The crash site of 60528
A USN Neptune
A Mig15
An LA11
An RAF Lincoln
The U2 spy plane
Gary Powers
The memorial to the crew of the C130
Arlington Cemetery
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the NSA, Soviet Defence Archives, 1Lt Kucharyaev, Soviet Air Force, Kirill Pisman, Adam Jones, Garry Goebel, RIA Novosti archive and IP Singh.
by captjeff | Aug 7, 2020 | Plane Tales
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If you are anything like the usual aviation enthusiast you’ll have a list of famous names in your head that you can quote at parties to bore your friends like, Wilbur and Orville, Bleriot, Richthofen, Lindbergh, Sikorsky, Whittle, Yeager and such but I wonder if you can place some of the others who deserve recognition.
Charlie Taylor
Hans Von Ohain
Ohain’s HeS8 jet engine
The He178
The He280
Gloster E-28
Olive-Ann and TravelAir
The Staggerwing
Doolittle and the Mystery Ship
Louise Thaden
Bessie Coleman
Mae Jemison
Houdini
Colin Defries
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, the Air Force Research Lab, Embryriddle, RAF/IWM, SDASM, Flugkerl2, BAC, NASA, Museums Victoria,
by captjeff | Aug 1, 2020 | Plane Tales
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He is dead now but you’ll find no stone to mark his grave since he has neither grave nor marker, which is a little odd for a much decorated American hero who fought for his country with outstanding bravery… but it was his wish and his family accepted that.
Boeing B-17D
The 509th
Project Alberta
The Trinity Test tower
The world’s first atomic bomb just prior to the Trinity Test
The Trinity Test fireball
Little Boy
The mission map
Detonation
Hiroshima just after detonation
The Hiroshima Damage estimation map
Enola Gay returns
Tibbits in Enola Gay
Tibbits is decorated by Gen Spaatz
Enola Gay in the Udvar Hazy
Paul W Tibbits
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF, US Gov, Project Alberta, Mr98, Berlyn Brixner, US Gov DOD, Jack W Aeby, United States Department of Energy, George R Caron, U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Armen Shamlian and elliottwolf.
by captjeff | Jul 22, 2020 | Plane Tales
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In 1941 the German Navy commissioned its latest submarine, the U-134 and as it slid out of harbour to join the 5th U boat flotilla, Captain-Lieutenant Rudolf Schendel keenly anticipated the mission ahead. You may be wondering why this Type 7C U Boat should feature in a Plane Tale but bear with me as I introduce the K-74. Built a year after the U-134, the K 74 came from a company with an interesting origin, the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation. This is their intriguing story.
The Type VIIc U-Boat
One of the few U Boats to survive the war.
Zeppelins over London
A British recruitment poster
The Goodyear Zeppelin Airdock
The Airdock interior
The Goodyear K Class blimp
K-Class blimp arrives in Gibraltar
The U-134’s last patrol
The U-134 survives an attack
A K-Class on patrol
Attack report of the engagement between K-74 and U134
A K-Class is loaded with Depth Charges
The K-Class crew man their gun
HMS Rother finally sinks U-134 with all hands
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to NSA, UK National Archives, Darkone, US Library of Congress, the Goodyear Zeppelin company, USN, Grossnick Roy A, Royal Navy and the US Naval Institute.
by captjeff | Jul 18, 2020 | Plane Tales
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The ejector seat is still a subject of fascination for a lot of pilots, mainly those who have never been strapped to one. It’s often the opinion of folk not part of the small fast jet community that an ejection is a simple matter, you just pull the handle and ‘boom’ you’re safe.
The B58 Hustler
An ejector seat from the B-58 Hustler
Smarter than the average bear!
North American Aviation test pilot George Smith.
The F100
Vought A-7E-5-CV Corsair II
The USS Constellation during her 1964–1965 WESTPAC cruise
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to J Clear, USAF, USAF National Air Museum, US Navy archives, US Gov, Hanna–Barbera and Robert L. Lawson.
