Photo of the week
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Thanks, but I just dig them up .
Weekend Bonus
An unidentified US pilot stands up in the cockpit of his plane on the tarmac on Midway Naval Base Midway Islands 1942.
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Mid-week bonus.
31 March 1945: Messerschmitt AG test pilot and technical inspector Hans Fay (1888?1959) defected to the Allies at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany. He brought with him a brand new Me 262 A-1 twin-engine jet fighter.
Fay had been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to bring a Me 262 to the Americans, but feared reprisals against his parents. When he learned that the U.S. Army controlled their town, he felt safe to go ahead with his plan. On 31 March, Fay was ordered to fly one of twenty-two new fighters from Schwabisch-Hall to a safer location at Neuburg an der Donau, as they were in danger of being captured. He was the fourth to take off, but instead of heading to Neuburg he flew to Frankfurt, arriving at the airfield there at 1345 hours. His airplane was unpainted other than standard markings.
Hans Fay?s Me 262, WNr. 111711, was lost during flight testing in August 1946. The test pilot safely bailed out.
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Two this week from here - https://flyvehistorie.wordpress.com/
A fantastic Danish site.
Post war the Danes flew 3 Spit PR-XI's
Talk about stained
Just wonderful -
Mid week bonus
de Havilland 103 Hornet F1 PX225,note the test pilots attire, also these early versions having no fillet.
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This week a wonderful close up of P-47D 42-76516 B2-H, Lt Colonel Harold Holt?s ?Magic Carpet? of the 390th Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force.
On January 1, 1945, green pilot Bob Brulle flew his bosses ride off the primitive runway Y-29 near Asche, Belgium, when the Luftwaffe descended. Operation Bodenplatte, a daring (and foolhardy) plan to disrupt Allied air superiority during the Battle of the Bulge, was underway. Brulle bagged a FW190.
It is very distinctive due to its olive drab fuselage and natural metal wings and cowling. The wings had been fitted following a crash landing due to battle damage. It flew 175 missions without an abort and was still flying missions right up to VE day.
Also note the "Spitty" mirror.
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Mid week bonus.
Below taken somewhere in the Pacific.
And below "A Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" in flames after being shot down by the PB4Y-1 Liberator "Porter's Posse" of Patrol Bombing Squadron (VPB) 106 off the coast of Biak Island."
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One this week.
A P-51D Mustang (G4-P, serial number 44-14245) nicknamed "Floogie II" of the 357th Fighter Group escorts a damaged B-17 Flying Fortress of the 96th Bomb Group, flown by "Woody" Woodson during a mission.
"Woody" Woodson states that his ship had lost an engine and a second was beginning to fail, leaving his aircraft alone behind the formation over enemy territory. 'Floogie' responded to their call for help and provided escort. The image was taken by the waist gunner aboard Woodson's B-17 who coaxed the P-51 closer in order to take the image.
Woodson stated:
'We were hit by flak on the bomb run and lost an engine. A second engine was giving trouble and would not keep up with the formation. We suddenly felt very alone in the skies over Germany. Called the fighter channel on the radio and miraculously a lovely P-51 showed up on our wing in a surprisingly short time. We knew his wing man was above flying cover so we began to relax. A waist gunner had a 35mm camera with color film- a WWII rarity. We coaxed the P-51 closer and closer and this is the picture that resulted. It still brings a lump to my throat when I look at it.' -
Mid week bonus.
P-51D Mustang serial number 44-14966 "Luscious Lu"(named it after a high school sweetheart), coded OS-S of 357th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group and assigned to Lieutenant Robert H Garlich.
He was credited with 6 ground victories, one of which was a rare distinction - a rocket powered Me163. Post war served with the Missouri Air National Guard and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1972. -
Three this week.
Of an early Hurricane MkI P2627, of No. 274 Squadron RAF based at Amriya, Egypt.
