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**Jack Linthicum**

On Oct 1, 8:32 pm, (Eugene Griessel) wrote:
"TMOliver" wrote:
The awful truth....

Them dannable Tscherman N*zis and the Hirohito's aggressive pursuit of the
East Asian Coprosperity Sphere sealed the doom of the flying boat and sea
plane by causing we Merkins to pave or at worst lay steel mat over the
majority of the Western World's (and some Eastern's too) long flat places.
When there were runways everywhere, planes that floated were relegated to
niche market status, quaint curiosites in the midst of a dynamic world.

Slightly off-topic. When my brother-in-law (then to be) immigrated
out here in 1952 it was a 5 day odyssey aboard a flying boat which
stopped at all sorts of interesting places along the way. They landed
on Lake Victoria in the late afternoon and had to leave very early in
the morning because the heat would rob the engines of the required
power to lift off. They finally ended up on the Vaal dam just south
of Johannesburg. Must have been close to the swansong of the Empire
flying boat service. In-flight movie was sliding back your window and
watching the herds of animals as you flew over them at a couple of
thousand feet.

Way back in 1960 I was privileged to watch a French squadron, 27F
Flotille, using Martin Marlin flyingboats operating out of the lagoon
next to my home. They had flown from Dakar to Langebaan non-stop some
3600 nautical miles which was considered excellent for that time. On
their return they used JATO - the first time it was ever used in South
Africa - to get airborne. Also doing so at first light and using an
enormous run of 5 to 6km run to get airborne. One of the boats
suffered a JATO bottle explosion which ripped a substantial hole in
her side. It was slipped at Langebaan using the gear from the
Sunderland squadron that used to operate there (and which was still in
storage there) and a borrowed tractor to get her up the slipway.

Eugene L Griessel

Old age is when you find yourself using one bend-over
to pick up two things.

- I usually post only from Sci.Military.Naval -

My college roommate was from South Africa and his description of his
flight on a Comet in 1954 or so read like a comedy routine. Up in the
air, down to refuel; up in the, air down to refuel, etc.