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70 Years Ago Today...


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Impossible? Not a chance, Doolittle and his Raiders took off heavily loaded bombers from a rolling and pitching carrier deck, something never done before. They also launched 600 miles early do a radio call from a Jap merchant ship knowing it would be unlikely they would make their in China. AMAZING men from another era.

 

Jimmy was presented a bottle of Napoleon cognac from the French that was nearly 100 years old. He saved it and it remains in a case at the Air force museum in Dayton (formally the AF academy in Colorado Springs. It will be opened when the last two Raiders remain and a toast will be drank to all of the Raiders.

 

Tail Winds and Blue Skies

 

:FlagAm: :FlagAm: :FlagAm:

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I have seen several of the B-25s fly over during the past few days, and went to Urbana on Monday to check them out, they also had a P-51, P-40, Japanese Zero and F4U Corsair on display. I wasn't aware there were any Zeroes still airworthy!

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Doc,

 

The "Zeros" were most likely AT-6 Texans that were modified to look like a Zero, There are number made for the movie Tora, Tora Tora, the CAF does have possession of a few as well as some private owner ship.

 

:FlagAm:

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Doc,

 

The "Zeros" were most likely AT-6 Texans that were modified to look like a Zero, There are number made for the movie Tora, Tora Tora, the CAF does have possession of a few as well as some private owner ship.

 

:FlagAm:

 

According to the news it was a true Zero. I've seen a few AT-6s, and didn't look like one. If I remember my planes correctly, the naval variants had the folding wingtips? It had the folding wingtips

 

http://www.urbanaohio.com/news/5/148/

 

I also watched 8 B-25s fly over my house about an hour ago. What a sight to see.

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According to this article there are 3 flyable zeros left.

Zero

 

There could also be other planes built using patterns from real zeros.

They would almost certainly have US built engines.

The article above says that only one of the 3 has an original engine.

 

Yes some navy version had folding wing tips.Nothing like US carrier planes.

 

But did you know that during WW II The jap army operated aircraft carriers?

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Want a good read, find "America's First Heroes" about the Dolittle Raiders.

Takes you from the planning, training, mission, and what happened to the crews after the bombs dropped.

 

Dutch

 

Who's Uncle was a navigator in the Ferry Command getting equipment to Europe.

Dad was a radio operator on an LCI in the Pacific.

Dad saw action in New Guinea, Philippeans, and was in line for the invasion of Japan when the bomb dropped.

Uncle Victor died when American Airlines flight 2 went down in the Mississippi. <never determined the cause - talk was sabotage>

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I must admit it has been a pretty cool few days watching the B-25s, especially yesterday as they flew over after having done the fly-by. I saw one earlier, gaining altitude, evidently homeward bound, and another just now, evidently flying back to Grimes Field. Still, I would have loved to have seen a couple of the fighters up and flying, especially the Corsair and the Zero.

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