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re: OT-History buff, Watched the Windtalkers. Were they that important?
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:54 am to Darth_Vader
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:54 am to Darth_Vader
quote:
So are you a fan of the Swiss or the BF-109 in general?
Both. The 109 is one of my favorite aircraft and my family lineage has strong Swiss ties. That the Swiss actually engaged in air to air combat with both the Allies and Axis powers during WWII is a little known tidbit for most (not you I'm sure
). 
2
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:57 am to ChewyDante
quote:
That the Swiss actually engaged in air to air combat with both the Allies and Axis powers during WWII is a little known tidbit for most
(Supposedly true) story goes like this - a damaged U.S. bomber (in the story it is a B-17 short an engine or two) - drifts over Swiss airspace in 1944. They're greeted by the Swiss air force and escorted down to land. The Swiss confiscate the plane and repatriate the crew. One of the crewmembers is quoted as saying, "I thought it was strange for the Red Cross to have an air force."
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:01 am to Darth_Vader
Obligatory "go frick yourself, Darth" because I'm a man of my word.
I cannot argue with the WWI mentality. The Bushido mindset of the Japanese kind of screwed them from the get-go. Yeah, they took countless lives and made tiny islands like Iwo or Peleliu literally hell on Earth...But there is no way you can win with a set number of troops on a surrounded island when every one of them has accepted the fact they will die. Not the best course of action
I cannot argue with the WWI mentality. The Bushido mindset of the Japanese kind of screwed them from the get-go. Yeah, they took countless lives and made tiny islands like Iwo or Peleliu literally hell on Earth...But there is no way you can win with a set number of troops on a surrounded island when every one of them has accepted the fact they will die. Not the best course of action
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:03 am to ChewyDante
quote:
Both. The 109 is one of my favorite aircraft and my family lineage has strong Swiss ties. That the Swiss actually engaged in air to air combat with both the Allies and Axis powers during WWII is a little known tidbit for most (not you I'm sure ).
Well they pride themselves in strict neutrality so to them it did not matter if it was an Allied aircraft or Axis aircraft over their airspace, they were going to engage them.
I've always liked the 109 myself. The E model has always been my favorite. One of the best models I've built was an E version almost identical to this....
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:08 am to TexasTiger90
quote:
Obligatory "go frick yourself, Darth" because I'm a man of my word.
(OK, went back and now I see what you're saying) 
quote:
I cannot argue with the WWI mentality. The Bushido mindset of the Japanese kind of screwed them from the get-go. Yeah, they took countless lives and made tiny islands like Iwo or Peleliu literally hell on Earth...But there is no way you can win with a set number of troops on a surrounded island when every one of them has accepted the fact they will die. Not the best course of action
True. I've always wondered how the Pacific campaign would have gone if instead of having a army built for a WWI style battle, the Japanese trained and structured their army more like the Germans, Americans, or Soviets with true combined arms capability. I think we'd have still eventually won, but I also think the war in the Pacific would have been far more bloody and lasted months or even a year longer.
This post was edited on 3/16/16 at 10:09 am
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:13 am to Darth_Vader
quote:
I've always liked the 109 myself. The E model has always been my favorite. One of the best models I've built was an E version almost identical to this....
I didn't have the patience or skills to make good models, so I prefer to buy preassembled.
A video of E model you may find kind of cool:
LINK
Those landing gear make for pretty unfriendly takeoff and landings but it's a damn streamlined airframe outside of that.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:17 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
(Supposedly true) story goes like this - a damaged U.S. bomber (in the story it is a B-17 short an engine or two) - drifts over Swiss airspace in 1944. They're greeted by the Swiss air force and escorted down to land. The Swiss confiscate the plane and repatriate the crew. One of the crewmembers is quoted as saying, "I thought it was strange for the Red Cross to have an air force."
Must just be a joke because they definitely didn't repatriate aircrew to my knowledge.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:20 am to ChewyDante
quote:
I didn't have the patience or skills to make good models, so I prefer to buy preassembled.
A video of E model you may find kind of cool:
LINK
Those landing gear make for pretty unfriendly takeoff and landings but it's a damn streamlined airframe outside of that.
Awesome video.
As for the landing gear, it did deal pilots fits, especially new pilots. I believe this fact is one of the main reasons the Germans's went with a much wider, and thus more forgiving, landing gear on the FW-190.
Here's a pretty cool video of it BTW...
LINK
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:25 am to ChewyDante
quote:
Must just be a joke because they definitely didn't repatriate aircrew to my knowledge.
I think they held on to all aircrew until after the war was over. I know the Allies had quite a few aircraft stray over Swiss airspace. And some of them did so on purpose when their aircraft were damaged and they knew they'd never make it back to friendly airspace. Their logic was it was preferable to be interned by the Swiss rather than taken prisoner by the Germans.
The Germans on the other hand had a series of pretty substantial air battles early in the war against the Swiss that could have escalated into full blown war.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:33 am to Darth_Vader
quote:
The Germans on the other hand had a series of pretty substantial air battles early in the war against the Swiss that could have escalated into full blown war.
I believe it was Goering who specifically lobbied some pretty stern complaints towards the Swiss which eventually prompted an apology and a change in doctrine.
The Swiss then went to a pretty hands off approach until Allied aircraft started consistently entering Swiss airspace and even mistakenly bombing Swiss targets. Maintaining true neutrality while being positioned geographically smack dab in the middle of the greatest war in history was not as easy as most suspect.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:36 am to Darth_Vader
There's an FW-190 being restored in a hangar at BTR. I saw it take off and land one day and briefly met with the pilot, who they fly in from Germany to conduct the test flights.
This is her: LINK
Pretty unexpected thing to stumble on at the BR airport.
This is her: LINK
Pretty unexpected thing to stumble on at the BR airport.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:42 am to ChewyDante
quote:
I believe it was Goering who specifically lobbied some pretty stern complaints towards the Swiss which eventually prompted an apology and a change in doctrine.
The Swiss then went to a pretty hands off approach until Allied aircraft started consistently entering Swiss airspace and even mistakenly bombing Swiss targets. Maintaining true neutrality while being positioned geographically smack dab in the middle of the greatest war in history was not as easy as most suspect.
Yeah, they were literally surrounded by the war on all sides.
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