Photo of the week
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A bit of a puzzle this week ???
I cannot find any details about this P-38, pilot, squadron etc???????????
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The P51 is just a beauty, isn't she? I must use her more. I love the schemes for her, too, as there's such a range.
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I think that might be the only time a Fortress nose has ever looked ugly... and then, only because it's on a B-24!
Hadn't seen that first angle before; it threw me off for a second-I suppose that's what a high-winged B-17 would look like...
I forget the story with this one, and how it turned out- if I remember right, the test crew loved the roomy nose, but it slowed the Lib down, and made it nose-heavy... is that right Jim?
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Gad, what a hideous Chimera! An interesting shot though, thanks Duggy.
Here's a thread with more info on the "B-24 Weight Reduction Program".
http://www.unrealaircraft.com/hybrid/B17G.php -
Jaypack44
I think that might be the only time a Fortress nose has ever looked ugly... and then, only because it's on a B-24! Hadn't seen that first angle before; it threw me off for a second-I suppose that's what a high-winged B-17 would look like...
I forget the story with this one, and how it turned out- if I remember right, the test crew loved the roomy nose, but it slowed the Lib down, and made it nose-heavy... is that right Jim?
No amount of cosmetic surgery can make a B-24 as pretty as a B-17.
Right on about the roomy nose and performance.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only time something like this was attempted. There was also The Reed Project, which sought to correct weaknesses in the firepower and layout of the B-17E. The plane used for this project was 41-9112, taken from the 92nd BG in England and modified by Major Robert Reed at Bovington. Consolidated power turrets were grafted onto the nose and tail and the radio room gun installation was altered as well (2 guns instead of one, power assisted, plus a wider field of fire). Due to the nose reconfiguration, the bombardier position was moved to a tunnel under the chin. The bomb-bay doors were also split, so they did not extend as far into the slipstream. It was later returned to the States and did not, as far as I am aware, fly any combat missions in this configuration.
The plane was given the name "The Dreamboat". Talk about mis-naming a plane!
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Spooky! I love the B-29, it has such a unique place in history and to the six-year-kid within it conjures up the first eerie images of the 'Cold War' and a different type type of war and politics (I was a strange kid).
