B-17s straffing & IJN Aoba, & UK POWs

-"Gordon" wrote
-For decades, we had a docent taking tickets at our front desk that
-kept a photo nearby of his "Black Cat" following a successful mission
-- they were hit on their run and a shell carried away one of their
-props, narrowly missing the cockpit as it careened on by with a roar.
-Already committed, the pilot got his bombs off and accounted for a
-troop ship with his single-engine Catalina. Just a little reminder
-that men that go to war in elegant, pedestrian seaplanes are just a
-little different than most.

I'm impressed that they patrolled for reported (MAGIC) enemy carriers,
trusting their lives to their ability to hide from the CAP in whatever
clouds they might find.

jsw

On Apr 6, 9:50*am, "Jim Wilkins" wrote:
-"Gordon" wrote
-For decades, we had a docent taking tickets at our front desk that
-kept a photo nearby of his "Black Cat" following a successful mission
-- they were hit on their run and a shell carried away one of their
-props, narrowly missing the cockpit as it careened on by with a roar.
-Already committed, the pilot got his bombs off and accounted for a
-troop ship with his single-engine Catalina. *Just a little reminder
-that men that go to war in elegant, pedestrian seaplanes are just a
-little different than most.

I'm impressed that they patrolled for reported (MAGIC) enemy carriers,
trusting their lives to their ability to hide from the CAP in whatever
clouds they might find.

"This is Strawberry Five. Have sighted enemy fleet. Please notify
next of kin."

almost as classic as, "Peccavi."

Gordon wrote in news:26c83642-7103-45c5-a0dc-
:

On Apr 6, 9:50*am, "Jim Wilkins" wrote:
-"Gordon" wrote
-For decades, we had a docent taking tickets at our front desk that
-kept a photo nearby of his "Black Cat" following a successful mission
-- they were hit on their run and a shell carried away one of their
-props, narrowly missing the cockpit as it careened on by with a roar.
-Already committed, the pilot got his bombs off and accounted for a
-troop ship with his single-engine Catalina. *Just a little reminder
-that men that go to war in elegant, pedestrian seaplanes are just a
-little different than most.

I'm impressed that they patrolled for reported (MAGIC) enemy carriers,
trusting their lives to their ability to hide from the CAP in whatever
clouds they might find.

"This is Strawberry Five. Have sighted enemy fleet. Please notify
next of kin."

almost as classic as, "Peccavi."

Which is apparently what a teenage girl thought Napier ought
to have said. Peccavi being a Latin announcemnet of the capture
of Sindh in what is now Pakistan. Translates as "I have sinned".

But I digress.

Leonard Birchall certainly had a Strawberry Five experience.

IBM

Il 06/04/2012 19:59, Gordon ha scritto:

I'm impressed that they patrolled for reported (MAGIC) enemy carriers,
trusting their lives to their ability to hide from the CAP in whatever
clouds they might find.

"This is Strawberry Five. Have sighted enemy fleet. Please notify
next of kin."

almost as classic as, "Peccavi."

well, in the Med was admitted the use (and sacrifice) of the air recon
for covering ULTRA, but OTOH, intel decrypt can't pinpoint an enemy
formation, and in many cases cant' notify in time, if even possible,
sudden changes in enemy plans; Med example again, in many case Italians
cancels or delay convoys, and I guess that from the Maltese logistics's
perspective is much better a recon a/c on empty sea than an torpedo
bomber squadron and fighter escort on empty sea...

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

[truly extraneous X-post removed with the utmost prejudice]

On Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:50:36 -0400, Jim Wilkins wrote:

-"Gordon" wrote -For decades, we had a docent
taking tickets at our front desk that -kept a photo nearby of his "Black
Cat" following a successful mission -- they were hit on their run and a
shell carried away one of their -props, narrowly missing the cockpit as
it careened on by with a roar. -Already committed, the pilot got his
bombs off and accounted for a -troop ship with his single-engine
Catalina. Just a little reminder -that men that go to war in elegant,
pedestrian seaplanes are just a -little different than most.

I'm impressed that they patrolled for reported (MAGIC) enemy carriers,
trusting their lives to their ability to hide from the CAP in whatever
clouds they might find.

The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.
It's a big airplane - it bulks out about the same as a B-17, with half
as many engines.
It kinda reminds me of a giant Aluminum seagull - optimized to get
the most distance out of a drop of fuel.

The guys that flew them were definitely a special breed - hours upon hours
of searching empty ocean, then instant adrenaline if/when they found something.

--
Pete Stickney
Failure is not an option
It comes bundled with the system

On 4/6/2012 10:24 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:
The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.


If you ever get the chance to go to Pensacola NAS the museum has a
cutaway Catalina fuselage. They may look big on the outside, but they
are crowded inside. Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter...09/4728119350/

If I wanted to make a comparison to B-17, it is cramped inside in
some places and open in other. To give you an idea stroll inside a B-17
from cockpit to aft crew door. The bracing for the bomb bay cat walk
makes one walk sideways even when bombs aren't present. I must admit I
had a bit of a belly last time I did that and it was a tight squeeze.
The waist, nose, cockpit and radio sections of B-17 are fairly roomy.
There are spaces and restrictions in the PBY. The engineer's feet block
the top foot or so of the cockpit door. If you want to open the blisters
you do so on your knees. Neither was built for luxury, but both had
character.

Plan on taking a full day at the museum if you go. The displays are
jammed together so photography can be a bit tricky.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

On Apr 6, 9:55*pm, Dan wrote:
On 4/6/2012 10:24 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:

The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.

* * If you ever get the chance to go to Pensacola NAS the museum has a
cutaway Catalina fuselage. They may look big on the outside, but they
are crowded inside. Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter...09/4728119350/


That makes me happy, actually. That cutaway fuselage used to be
integral to the base survival school -- I have photos of it internally
and externally when I was going through aircrew candidate school in
81. When the survival school was condemned (it was from the 40s and
was not in very good shape even when I was there) a few years back,
quite a few of us cried foul and ultimately the Cat was saved. Back
in the day, the interior was completely restored, with all the
original equipment (weapons, SAR gear, electronics, etc.) that a
wartime aircraft would be expected to carry. Beside it was a full
size diorama of a pilot in his life raft, with all his goodies laid
out on the inflated part. Several years later, we overflew LCDR JM
Twiss, down at sea after his A-7 stalled. I had a momentary smile
when I realized he had all of his gear laid out on his raft-edge, just
like at the survival school we had both attended.


* *If I wanted to make a comparison to B-17, it is cramped inside in
some places and open in other. To give you an idea stroll inside a B-17
from cockpit to aft crew door. The bracing for the bomb bay cat walk
makes one walk sideways even when bombs aren't present. I must admit I
had a bit of a belly last time I did that and it was a tight squeeze.
The waist, nose, cockpit and radio sections of B-17 are fairly roomy.
There are spaces and restrictions in the PBY. The engineer's feet block
the top foot or so of the cockpit door. If you want to open the blisters
you do so on your knees. Neither was built for luxury, but both had
character.

* *Plan on taking a full day at the museum if you go. The displays are
jammed together so photography can be a bit tricky.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

On 4/7/2012 11:27 AM, Gordon wrote:
On Apr 6, 9:55 pm, wrote:
On 4/6/2012 10:24 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:

The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.

If you ever get the chance to go to Pensacola NAS the museum has a
cutaway Catalina fuselage. They may look big on the outside, but they
are crowded inside. Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter...09/4728119350/


That makes me happy, actually. That cutaway fuselage used to be
integral to the base survival school -- I have photos of it internally
and externally when I was going through aircrew candidate school in
81. When the survival school was condemned (it was from the 40s and
was not in very good shape even when I was there) a few years back,
quite a few of us cried foul and ultimately the Cat was saved. Back
in the day, the interior was completely restored, with all the
original equipment (weapons, SAR gear, electronics, etc.) that a
wartime aircraft would be expected to carry. Beside it was a full
size diorama of a pilot in his life raft, with all his goodies laid
out on the inflated part. Several years later, we overflew LCDR JM
Twiss, down at sea after his A-7 stalled. I had a momentary smile
when I realized he had all of his gear laid out on his raft-edge, just
like at the survival school we had both attended.


Gordon, the Navy knows how to put on a good display when they want
to. The cutaway has mannequins dressed in period flying kit placed in
several crew positions. This gives a better sense of scale than one gets
just standing next to it. If you get a chance to visit the museum it is
worth the time.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

On Apr 7, 9:53*am, Dan wrote:
On 4/7/2012 11:27 AM, Gordon wrote:









On Apr 6, 9:55 pm, *wrote:
On 4/6/2012 10:24 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:

The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.

* * *If you ever get the chance to go to Pensacola NAS the museum has a
cutaway Catalina fuselage. They may look big on the outside, but they
are crowded inside. Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter...09/4728119350/

That makes me happy, actually. *That cutaway fuselage used to be
integral to the base survival school -- I have photos of it internally
and externally when I was going through aircrew candidate school in
81. *When the survival school was condemned (it was from the 40s and
was not in very good shape even when I was there) a few years back,
quite a few of us cried foul and ultimately the Cat was saved. *Back
in the day, the interior was completely restored, with all the
original equipment (weapons, SAR gear, electronics, etc.) that a
wartime aircraft would be expected to carry. *Beside it was a full
size diorama of a pilot in his life raft, with all his goodies laid
out on the inflated part. *Several years later, we overflew LCDR JM
Twiss, down at sea after his A-7 stalled. *I had a momentary smile
when I realized he had all of his gear laid out on his raft-edge, just
like at the survival school we had both attended.

* * Gordon, the Navy knows how to put on a good display when they want
to. The cutaway has mannequins dressed in period flying kit placed in
several crew positions. This gives a better sense of scale than one gets
just standing next to it. If you get a chance to visit the museum it is
worth the time.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

i haven't been to that museum since the very early 90s, but I work
with their staff probably on a monthly basis... time to arrange some
Space A travel to P'cola

On 4/7/2012 12:23 PM, Gordon wrote:
On Apr 7, 9:53 am, wrote:
On 4/7/2012 11:27 AM, Gordon wrote:









On Apr 6, 9:55 pm, wrote:
On 4/6/2012 10:24 PM, Peter Stickney wrote:

The PBY is an amazing beast - I've never been inside one, but I've seen
a couple of them fly.

If you ever get the chance to go to Pensacola NAS the museum has a
cutaway Catalina fuselage. They may look big on the outside, but they
are crowded inside. Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter...09/4728119350/

That makes me happy, actually. That cutaway fuselage used to be
integral to the base survival school -- I have photos of it internally
and externally when I was going through aircrew candidate school in
81. When the survival school was condemned (it was from the 40s and
was not in very good shape even when I was there) a few years back,
quite a few of us cried foul and ultimately the Cat was saved. Back
in the day, the interior was completely restored, with all the
original equipment (weapons, SAR gear, electronics, etc.) that a
wartime aircraft would be expected to carry. Beside it was a full
size diorama of a pilot in his life raft, with all his goodies laid
out on the inflated part. Several years later, we overflew LCDR JM
Twiss, down at sea after his A-7 stalled. I had a momentary smile
when I realized he had all of his gear laid out on his raft-edge, just
like at the survival school we had both attended.

Gordon, the Navy knows how to put on a good display when they want
to. The cutaway has mannequins dressed in period flying kit placed in
several crew positions. This gives a better sense of scale than one gets
just standing next to it. If you get a chance to visit the museum it is
worth the time.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

i haven't been to that museum since the very early 90s, but I work
with their staff probably on a monthly basis... time to arrange some
Space A travel to P'cola

They did a major rebuild a few years ago. I was last there in
December. They are still expanding.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired