B-29 & P-51

[StealthBird]

I believe this actually was the P-51 two-seater "Gunfighter".

We were there because of our friend (WWII vet) was going up in "Fifi", but to our shock, when we arrived at the airfield, he said we were going up too! He knows we are huge warbird fans, so this was not something trivial for us. We make a pilgrimage to the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH every year (coincide with the Trans Am Nationals), and my friend is a walking encyclopedia of warbird knowledge. He's also a scale model builder and historian. I was a little concerned about one other gentleman in our group, as he had trouble walking. He told me later that he hasn't climbed a ladder in 20 years, and he was scared of having to climb a ladder to get into the B-29. But when the time came, his excitement and adrenaline overwhelmed him, and he made it.

They also had a SB2C Helldiver, which would have been a really wild flight sitting in the rear gunner position with the canopy open!

Another photo of the top turret (Central Fire) position. Wasn't easy pulling yourself up into that turret either.

Mike

[earntaz]

There is only one word that describes these old warbirds -- AWESOME!!!

[SS427]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: StealthBird</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I believe this actually was the P-51 two-seater &quot;Gunfighter&quot;.

</div></div>

Neat that you were able to share the day with men who actually were there. I had done that myself many years ago and was overwhelmed just being in the same conversation with these heros.

Gunfighter has U CY on the fuselage and it looks like this one was U CT but maybe it was distorted due to me blowing it up. Gunfighter is local to that show and is part of the CAF so it only makes sense that it would have been there. The other part that confused me was Gunfighter has a conventional 2 seater D model canopy whereas the one in the photo has one like used on the TF-51's.

[StealthBird]

Yes, it's always interesting to hear from vets! Our friend said he went up on hundreds of B-29 flights, but never just &quot;rode&quot; in one. He was always in the nose doing adjustments and calibrations on the bombsight and/or navigation equipment. As a side note, one of the men on our flight was a B-52 mechanic back in the 1960's.

During the flight, there was a side hatch open, located about 45 degrees up on the fuselage. Interesting having a 200+ mph wind rushing by. It was also cool to see the &quot;tube&quot; that allowed the forward compartment access to the rear compartment. The B-29 was pressurized for high altitude bombing. That tunnel was the only access to the rear of the craft, where the side gunners, top turret, and tail gunner were located. I can't imagine crawling through that tube while the plane was buffeting around, perhaps while you were in a combat situation.

When we touched down, you could smell the rubber from the tires when they screeched on the runway. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

The B-29's bomb bay doors are gravity operated when they open, they are powered when they close. A flight crew member said that if they opened the bomb bay on the ground, and you were standing next to it, it would knock you off your feet. In flight, with the added negative air pressure under the fuselage, he said the doors snap open extremely fast.

Here's a shot of the &quot;tunnel&quot; that allows access to the front/rear of the aircraft.

They have a B-29 fuselage on display at the USAF museum that you can walk through. It's cool to see, but not representative of how the plane operated. You walk into the cockpit area through the nosewheel via steps (this is primped and fluffed for museum guests), and the cockpit and radio operator positions are behind plexiglass, so the aisle is very narrow. You can see the &quot;tunnel&quot;, but in the museum display, you walk through the bomb bay, and exit at the rear.

Seeing a real B-29 interior, like that of &quot;Fifi&quot;, gave me a totally different perspective on how the aircraft really was.

Second photo is of the Helldiver. The Helldiver went up just after we got back in the B-29. It was cool seeing the Helldiver's wings extend. They do one wing at a time.

Mike

[earntaz]

As a prior Air Force (462 Weapons Troop), I had the opportunity to talk to Paul Tibbets and Dutch Van Kirk at Chanute in the 80’s. We got into a discussion about the nuke carried by the Enola Gay -- they indicated it was not fully assembled or “armed” until after takeoff. The reason was fear of crashing on takeoff and taking out half of Tinian. After takeoff, two Navy weapons troops crawled back into the bomb bay and assembled the bomb. Basically, the Little Boy was a “gun-type” weapon and they loaded the explosive (cordite I think) into the breech – a few wires were swapped around and the bomb was armed. They did all of this before the 29’ climbed to altitude. TAZ [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/flag.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif[/img]

[Donnie]

Thanks for the additional pics. looks like you had great weather for your flight.

[parkbrau]

Thanks for posting the pics! I went down to the Bodensee last month and The Louisiana Kid was there flying for about a 1/2 hour airshow. Awesome AC!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Musta...09099162506411

[StealthBird]

You're welcome! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

The USAF Museum has a B-29 on static display (&quot;Bockscar&quot;, the plane that dropped the second bomb on Japan) as well as a B-50. Their walk through of the fuselage of a B-29 (&quot;Command Decision&quot is fascinating, but as I mentioned above, it doesn't compare to seeing how the fuselage really looked because the walk-through was designed as a more touristy thing (but cool nonetheless).

This is Paul, the gentleman that was a B-29 bombsight technician back in 1945. He was thrilled to be close to a B-29 again, but was very quiet and seemed to be in deep thought. I would image there was a flood of emotions and memories that came back to him during the flight. The sounds, the smells, the overall experience.

Notice all the oil spattered under the engines. There was a lot of it, typical of what these engines dripped while idling and/or parked (or in flight!). The Helldiver had similar oil leakage. It sounds weird, but I thought it was cool to see the fresh oil on the tarmac under their engines. It shows that these aren't museum pieces, they are flying warbirds.

Mike

[SS427]

I was always told especially on radial engines that if you do not see oil dripping out of them you have a problem.

Must have been a thrill to spend the day and a flight with Paul.

[earntaz]

[quote=SS427]I was always told especially on radial engines that if you do not see oil dripping out of them you have a problem.

yep -- it was out of oil. An old Pratt joke was the engine did NOT leak oil ... it was just marking it's spot. TAZ

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