More airshow stuff, because I'm still basking in the glow. Here's a nifty C-47.
I had my lunch on my folding chair in front of this nifty plane. Italian sausage and peppers. Yum! But if I wasn't keen on supporting the museum, I wouldn't have paid $8.00 for it.
Then it was a blast from the past with the "Japanese" contingent--the planes from "Tora, Tora, Tora!" Here we have a Japanese Val Dive Bomber and two Zeroes...sort of.
These aircraft were some of those made for the epic movie Tora, Tora, Tora!. Back then, there were no real Jap warbirds left flying so several were built from T-6 Texans and BT-13 and BT-15 trainers, which were cheap and plentiful back then. (Sigh...) After the movie was finished, they were sold off to collectors, some flying in other movies and TV shows. Several still fly today on the airshow circuits. Here are three.
And fly they did.
Are we at Lakefront Airport, or Hickam Field?
But sure as art imitates life, just like in 1945, the Japanese aircraft all went away, and the hero of the day arrived overhead.
Back then there were thousands of B-29s. Now there's one. (Soon to be two...oh, Joy!)
And then, after FiFi landed, we got a surprise addition to the airshow--an unscripted visit from the Louisiana Air Guard--maybe some of Juvat's pals.
Hey look! F-15s!
They flew over a couple of times, and then jumped in the pattern and shot three approaches, each time coming in gear down then pulling it back up and flying the length of the runway fast and low before pulling back up again.
Look--an F-15 flying cover for a B-29. How many times you ever going to see THAT?
Now he's just showing off. And yeah, I was impressed.
I talked to the airshow narrator afterwards. He had no idea they would be there. He said they just showed up and contacted the tower for clearance, which they got.
Too bad they didn't arrive on scene five minutes earlier. Could have been like that great scene from The Final Countdown.
I got to KNEW this morning right when they opened. Had to get there early to get my pics before all the people who have been put n this earth specifically to get in front of whatever I want to take pictures of could show up.
Here's a nifty C-47.
And a T-6 Texan.
Bell P-63 King Cobra, one of just four left.
A P-40.
A Goodyear FG-1D. (WANT!!!)
A General Motors-built version of the Grumman F4F Wildcat known as an FM-2.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk9.
Can't have an airshow without a P-51 Mustang or three. (There were two here.)
Grumman TBM Avenger.
The B-17 that has been taunting me the last two days.
And Fifi, the B-29.
Yeah, this was gonna be a good day. No power in the 'verse could mess this day up. And these are just a prelude of pics to come.
On August 6th, 1945, this Boeing B-29 sent a message to Japan, loud and clear.
The message was simple: "It stops now. You're done."
On this day, seventy years ago, a people whose leaders had started more trouble than the eastern world had ever seen before and who had ignored several warnings to surrender now and call it a day wound up reaping the whirlwind courtesy of this one bomber.
That plane was flown by these men:
(back row, left to right) Major Ferebee, Captain Van Kirk, Colonel Tibbets, Captain Lewis (front row) Staff Sgt. Caron, Sgt. Stiborik, Staff Sgt. Duzenbury, Pvt. 1st Class Nelson, Sgt. Shumard
The call then went out to them again to surrender and put an end to the war this very day, seventy years ago. But sadly for the people of Nagasaki, that overture was rebuffed.
Three days later, this aircraft sent them another message:
This time, they got it. The war ended and people stopped killing and dying.
The second crew.
(back row, left to right) Captain Beahan, Captain Van Pelt, Jr., First Lt. Albury, Second Lt. Olivi, Major Sweeney (front row) Staff Sgt. Buckley, Master Sgt. Kuharek, Sgt. Gallagher, Staff Sgt. DeHart, Sgt. Spitzer
This week-end, I was blessed to have a good friend, Tom, and his young son Damien come to visit. And on Sunday, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex at Dulles to see some vintage military veterans.
This Cessna O-1A "Bird Dog" did just about everything that a light plane could do in the skies over both Korea and Vietnam.
And this Hawker Hurricane once kicked German ass in the skies over Britain.
Old NFO told us about how he used to fly on these Sikorsky H-34s.
He also had some great stories about his time on these Lockeed Super Constellations.
I'm pretty sure that he logged some hours on this Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny", too (snicker).
And what visit to this museum would be complete without a minute to reflect on one of the two Boeing B-29s that ended the Second World War seventy years ago?
A great day with great people surrounded by great planes. Who could ask for more?
