re: WWII Thread: Lesser known aircraft that you like

Some later models of the B-25 packed some heavy firepower with a 75mm gun.

Another favorite of mine is the IL2

The B-24 is not a lesser known plane, but it is also not as famous as the B-17 or B-29My great uncle flew a B-24 on 22 bombing missions over Germany. On his 23rd mission, They got pretty shot up by flak over Berlin IIRC. They lost one engine left wing and the remaining engine on the left wing was shot to hell too.They also lost one most of one of the rear stabilizers and as he descriped it in his journal a hole that was wider than the gap in a british woman's teeth. He knew they couldn't make it back to base so they just pointed the liberator west and hoped they could make it to allied territory. When they thought the engine couldn't go any farther they bailed out. He and his co-pilot stayed in long enough for his crew to bail out over what they thought was Allied territory, but it wasn't. His crew got captured by the Germans, but because he and his co-pilot had stayed in the plane longer, and were able to hide before the germans got there. Luckily for his crew, the germans that caught them were not SS. They were some old men that were part of Hitlers homeguard. The Germans just took their money and cigarettes then left them. They all hid a small thicket for 3 days before a group of shermans came through. The shermans radioed in some jeeps, and they got shipped to Paris for some R&R. He said he had no idea how that plane stayed in the air as long as it, but that thing was down to one engine, leaking hydraulic fluid, and had most of one of the rear stabilizers blown off.





So the liberator will always hold a special place in my heart.

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Some of the ones I like...
Douglas TBD Devastator Torpedo Bomber

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VT-8's first and best-known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Flying the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastators, Commander John C. Waldron's 15 planes were all shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on Japanese aircraft carriers. The squadron did not destroy any enemy aircraft with their defensive rear .30-caliber machine guns, nor did they damage any of the Japanese carriers.

Only one member of VT-8 who flew from Hornet on that day survived in the action, Ensign George Gay. Ensign Gay was rescued the day following the battle. Torpedo 8 was afterwards awarded the American Presidential Unit Citation.

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Standing (L-R): Owens, Ensign Fayle {trasfered}; Waldron, R.A. Moore, J.M. Moore, Evans, Teats, Cambell.
Kneeling (L-R): Ellison, Kenyon, Gray, sole survivor Gay, Woodson, Creamer, Miles

A list of the fallen:
Lt. Commander John C. Waldron
Lt. Raymond A. Moore
Lt. James C. Owens, Jr.
Lt.(jg) George M. Campbell
Lt.(jg) John P. Gray
Lt.(jg) Jeff D. Woodson
Ens. William W. Abercrombie
Ens. William W. Creamer
Ens. Harold J. Ellison
Ens. William R. Evans
Ens. Henry R. Kenyon
Ens. Ulvert M. Moore
Ens. Grant W. Teats
Robert B. Miles, Aviation Pilot 1c
Horace F. Dobbs, Chief Radioman
Amelio Maffei, Radioman 1
Tom H. Pettry, Radioman 1
Otway D. Creasy, Jr. Radioman 2
Ross H. Bibb, Jr., Radioman 2
Darwin L. Clark, Radioman 2
Ronald J. Fisher, Radioman 2
Hollis Martin, Radioman 2
Bernerd P. Phelps Radioman 2
Aswell L. Picou, Seaman 2
Francis S. Polston, Seaman 2
Max A. Calkins, Radioman 3
George A. Field, Radioman 3
Robert K. Huntington, Radioman 3
William F. Sawhill, Radioman

RIP

(photos and text from VT-8 Wicki)

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(not sure if it was Paul Fournet or some other pilot).

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probably not since he was wheel chair bound, he did have a lease back Citation fitted for him to fly at one time, fitted being the operative word, he was a big man and that was is a small airplane

Flying simulators and mods for the past couple decades, especially IL2, I feel like I've just about flown everything in this thread.

An underrated fun fly is the P39 with the engine behind you.

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An underrated fun fly is the P39 with the engine behind you.

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Ah, the much maligned "Aracobra". We didn't really like it but the Russians loved it.

Damn, I'd love to have sat down with him for a while and just listen.

Deja vue:


The single biggest boondoggle in USAF history to date

Short synopsis: The new USAF wins a struggle with the USN over which service is dominant. The Air Force claims the B-36 made carriers obsolete. Truman backs the AF, cancels the USN's first supercarrier. This leads to the "Revolt of the Admirals".

Ironically, the B-36 never works. The engines used were designed to pull the aircraft forward. The B-36 mounts them in pusher configuration. As a result, the engines over heat, and fires were a constant issue. Also, the configuration caused a distinctive sound-wave that preceded the aircraft. Before the aircraft showed up, any potential enemy would have long been aware it was on the way.

Add to this, jet fighters were becoming common. The B-36 was helpless against them. The plane is never used in combat.

Fast forward to today, supercarriers are America's main weapon of choice...just as US Navy admirals predicted they would be.

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The inline 190 was even more bad arse. Thankfully Germany had few good pilots

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The Germans had some of the best fighter pilots of the war with kill totals dwarfing anything from all other countries on either side. Their problems were (1) fuel and (2) we had more of everything.

Like many, George Gay cut his time short at A&M to fight the enemy during WWII. Gig 'em.