brickhistory

A Surprise Squadron A few minutes after take-off from Land’s End in Great Britain, 1Lt Jack Illfrey felt a bump underneath his Lockheed P-38G Lightning. His wingman’s note, held up to preserve radio silence, let Illfrey know he was going to have a bad day. “One belly tank” meant that the bump Illfrey felt was his other tank dropping off. Illfrey needed every drop of gas if he had any chance of making Oran, Algeria, 1,500 miles from his start. With the loss of his tank, his options just narrowed to turn back or make for the British base at Gibraltar. He chose the latter and pressed on. After several more hours, Illfrey realized that he wouldn’t make it even to Gibraltar. His new options now being ditch or land in Portugal, he chose the latter. Portugal, however, was a neutral country. As such, they were obligated to intern the aircraft and pilot. After his landing, Illfrey was instructing Portuguese pilot Costa Macedo in operating the Lightning so that Macedo could ferry the aircraft from the civil Lisbon airport to a nearby Portuguese Army field. Macedo knelt on the wing while Illfrey explained the by now refueled P-38’s systems. Recognizing an opportunity after he had cranked the P-38’s engines, Illfrey slammed the cockpit hood shut and gunned the might Allison liquid-cooled engines, blowing Macedo off. Illfrey took off and although he created an international incident by doing so, made it to Algeria and the combat duty he desired. The Portuguese learned from this experience and impounded every belligerent airplane that touched down from then on. Since the Allies sent hundreds of aircraft from Britain to the North African Theater on the same route that Illfrey pioneered, many other aircraft landed in Portugal. Many of these aircraft included the Bell P-39 Airacobras. In this way, the impoverished Iberian country expanded its tiny Air Force and soon had a squadron of P-39s as well another P-38 and even a couple of B-24s. This story concentrates on the more numerous P-39s. During December 1942 and February 1943, 19 Airacobras from the 81st and 350th Fighter Groups made emergency landings on Portuguese soil. Portuguese Army pilot 2d Lieutenant Bras Oliveira witnessed the arrival of the humming P-39s. Sailing with a friend on the Tagus River outside Lisbon, he ducked when a flight of five P-39s buzzed his boat while on final to the brand new airfield at Portela. Forced to fly antiquated Potez XXV and Vickers Valparaiso biplanes since leaving flight school, Oliveira laughed and said to his friend, “Well, at least our guys will have some God damn modern fighters after all!” Little did he realize he’d find himself stuffed into one of those low-flying P-39s in a few months. One of the last P-39s to land caused a local stir when on February 8, 1943, a 350th Fighter Group bird, trying to drop in on a tiny Portuguese naval air service emergency strip, jettisoned his belly tank prior to landing. The local citizens scrambled for cover believing that a much feared bombing campaign by either side had begun. Portugal was now the proud owner of five P-39Ls and 14 P-400s. The main difference between the two was the –39 carried the original 37mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and the P-400s, originally destined for export use, fired a 20mm cannon instead.* Since Britain, Portugal’s primary arms dealer, had been dragging its feet on delivering promised modern equipment like Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes, the Portuguese were thrilled with the unexpected aircraft (for the rest of this story both models will be referred to as “P-39s”). Approaching the American Embassy with a proposal to buy the interned aircraft, the Portuguese traded on the Allies’ desire to use Portugal’s strategically placed Azores Islands as an anti-submarine base when phrasing the purchase request. By international law, interned weapons are only supposed to be seized during hostilities and returned at the end of combat. The Americans recognized a good bargain and sold all the interned aircraft to Portugal on an “as is” basis and for the return of all interned airmen. So for $700,000 US dollars, Portugal bought the 19 P-39s, the P-38, and the B-24 Liberators. In late April, 1943, 1Lt. Rogério Oliveira Seixas, formerly a Gloster Gladiator biplane pilot, received orders to establish the “Esquadrilha Airacobra” at Ota’s Air Base No.2, the newest and best Portuguese military airfield, commissioned in 1940. The P-39s/P-400s would operate alongside previously purchased Curtiss P-36 Mohawks IV. At Ota, the Airacobras were serialed as “300 – 318,” had the Portuguese ‘Cross of Christ’ roundels applied, and then sat while the Portuguese tried to figure out how to operate the complex aircraft. The previously mentioned Costa Macedo, by this time an Army major, and Lt Seixas journeyed to the United States for a brief training course on P-39 and P-38 maintenance and operations. By July of 1943, they knew enough to begin flying the Airacobras regularly. Four of the P-39s were sent to Air Base No. 1 at Sintra and were flown by some of the instructors of the Escola Militar de Aeronautica (Portuguese Military Aeronautics School). In August, Lt Seixas led a ten ship formation on a training mission with 2Lts. Oliveria and Rogriques, his most experienced pilots, acting as element leads. All went well until landing. Although the P-39 had a tricycle landing gear and should have been easier to land than the more conventional tail draggers the Portuguese usually flew, the pilots inexperience in handling the new mounts resulted in three slightly damaged aircraft, nos. 305, 310, and 314, while the young, inexperienced pilot of ship 309 landed long and completely overshot the runway, damaging his mount beyond repair. Two weeks later, on August 16th, 1st Sergeant Alves Ferreira, an experienced Gloster Gladiator pilot, took aircraft 304 up for some aerobatic training. He crashed over the airfield in full view of his squadronmates and perished in the ensuing fire. Another fortnight passed and another P-39 plummeted from the sky. In this case, Lt Oliveira survived a crash landing on the beach of a resort south of Lisbon, but the rising tide claimed the wreck before it could be salvaged. Soon after, Lt Oliveira was posted to a long-awaited Hurricane unit just forming from British deliveries of both Hurricanes and Spitfire Mk Vbs. With the lack of spare parts to keep the P-39s flying – remember the Americans had sold them “as is” – and the new British equipment, the Airacobras soon fell by the wayside. They lay dormant, basking in the warm Iberian sun while Portugal conducted its largest ever military exercise on a great plain on the banks of the Tagus River. More than 40,000 men conducted maneuvers and combined arms practice with the new Hurris’ and Spits. The P-39s didn’t fly in this exercise, but would eventually take to the air again, but this time as a concerted effort on the part of the Portuguese and American governments. In December 1943, an eleven man delegation of US Army Air Force pilots and mechanics arrived in Lisbon. After requests by Portugal for more P-39s and training in their care and use, US Major Willard Wilson brought many spare parts for the P-39s, the sole P-38 and the B-24s. His mission was to bring to operational status as many of the Portuguese aircraft as his team could and train the Portuguese in properly servicing those aircraft. Starting work in January 1944, within two weeks the P-39s were flyable again. US pilots Capt William Thompson and Lt Richard Heddens were test flying the machines and delivering them back to the Portuguese. They also conducted flying training with a new group of Portuguese pilots. Regarding the Portuguese maintenance practices, Major Wilson had this to say in his official report: Unlike any modern air force, the Portuguese fail to realize the importance of organized maintenance training. A mechanic becomes a mechanic through year of watchful waiting. He waits his turn for promotion to corporal and when that time comes it is assumed that he is able to take up the duties of a mechanic. There is no mechanics school of any kind. On top of it all, the officers and enlisted men are terribly rank conscious. Among the enlisted it is perhaps worse than the officers……no officer or enlisted man will perform a menial or physical task if a man of lesser rank is available….. Each mechanic has two helpers who are of little value except perhaps for the muscle they provide. These mechanics will not allow their helpers to perform any actual mechanical work so the process…..is a slow and painful one. A Lt Solano de Almeida, one of the few English speaking Portuguese pilots, assumed command of the rejuvenated P-39 squadron, but was chagrined to have to report to the visiting Americans that one of the squadron’s young pilots had taxied too fast and collided with three other recently repaired P-39s and the just-repaired P-38. This was February 4th, 1944, the day prior to Wilson’s scheduled progress report to the Portuguese commanders. A week later, Corporal Lopes lost an engine on take off and crashed. He survived the accident but the ‘Cobra did not. By late February, the Portuguese reorganized their squadron designators and the P-39 squadron picked up the British-style side codes of ‘OK.’ Obviously, the squadron also picked up an instant unit nickname with this designation. Under the command of Captain Albuquerque Freitas, Lt Solano de Alameida as his second, the ten OK squadron pilots, mostly non-commissioned pilots, flew 2-3 sorties per week. In May, Esquadrilha OK flew in a massive (by Portuguese standards) aeronautical parade under the watchful eyes of President of the Republic, General and Doctor Salazar. Salazar wanted this parade to demonstrate to the increasingly desperate Germans not to think of attacking Portugal. By the second half of 1944, tight fuel supplies dramatically reduced the flying time for OK Squadron. It is not until December 4th that a few flights sortied, all the while the P-39s declining in operational numbers. OK Squadron is disbanded and the remaining half-dozen Airacobras are assigned to Fighter Squadron 4. For the next several years, they are flown only sporadically until late 1946; a Lt Rosa Rodrigues is the sole P-39 pilot trying to fly the machines. The squadron by this time consisted of an eclectic mix of P-39s, Gladiators, Spitfire I and Vbs. In early 1947, the now remaining three P-39s, nos. 305, 306, 315, are assigned to Fighter squadron 3, where now-Captain Rodrigues flew them “just for maintenance purposes.” Finally, mercifully, the Portuguese command issued a Service Order, dated June 8, 1948 to strike off charge the P-39, number 305, the last of the “Cross of Christ” ‘Cobras. (The author is grateful for the help and advice of Dr. Jose Correia for information and photos about the Portuguese Air Force.) *Popular joke at the time about the P-400’s designator asked, “What’s a P-400? Why, that’s a P-39 with a Japanese Zero on its tail!”

I caught a news article where the last known survivor of Stalag Luft III died the other day. It reminded me of some great books about what became known as "The Great Escape." Some books on topic: "The Great Escape," by Paul Brickhill. GREAT read and what the great movie by the same name is based on. 33 Months as a POW in Stalag Luft III," by Albert Clark, a USAAF pilot shot down on his first mission in theater. He was flying with the Brits in a Spitfire. "The Longest Tunnel," by Alan Burgess.

Ok so far. To me, still ok. An investigation is just that, not a determination of guilt. If the investigation had come up dry, by putting this into the promotion process, it's guilty without proof. And the USAF would never do that, right? Fail although if the PRF cut-off had passed, then it's a gut check as this was not an official part of the record.

Another about my WWII favorite, the Bristol Beaufighter. From the now defunct magazine "Wings." Pity it folded, it was a great magazine. 20 YEARS OF SERVICE The Amazing Career of the Beaufighter The Bristol Beaufighter was everything it was designed to be and more. Blunt, tenacious, versatile, it would perform more types of missions than its designers ever imagined. Conceived in the outset of the Second World War, it would still be soldiering on long into the jet age. In 1938, the Bristol Aircraft Company submitted a proposal to meet the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) need for a cannon-armed fighter. In the rush to rearm prior to the war, the RAF saw that cannons were needed to knock down the new breed of bombers that Nazi Germany was fielding. Bristol proposed a variation of its successful Beaufort torpedo bomber as just the thing the RAF needed. Bristol originally envisioned using most of the main components of the Beaufort, thus saving both design and development costs associated with the introduction of a new aircraft. By using the same wings, rear fuselage and tail unit, Bristol sought to use the same tooling jigs already producing the Beaufort. The RAF expressed reservations about the size of the proposed fighter; a twin-engined, two-place was thought to be rather large for a fighter, but since Bristol planned to put at least four 20mm cannon in the new fighter, the RAF gave the go-ahead for production in 1939. Design Changes As the design progressed from proposal to bending metal, the need for many changes became obvious. For example, the decision to use more powerful Hercules VI radial engines than the originally suggested Hercules II made the use of a larger propeller mandatory. To ensure proper ground clearance for the new larger props, the engine nacelles were moved from underneath the wing to a mid-wing mount. The repositioned nacelles required the gear oleo legs be lengthened. Even though the RAF was primarily interested in getting a cannon-armed fighter into squadron service in the least amount of time possible, a secondary armament of eight .303 Browning machine guns was always considered a necessity. The machine guns could add additional weight of firepower when going against bombers, but could also be useful for ground attacks against troops. In that scenario, the punch of the 20mm’s wasn’t as effective as the ability to spray lots of lead over a large area. Originally, Bristol planned to put the eight guns in a protruding belly blister. The RAF’s Air Ministry thought this protrubance would add to drag and slow down the big fighter more than desired. Instead, the Air Ministry asked Bristol to place the machine guns in the wings. Bristol, however, protested the change since they were well into the construction of the prototype. Incorporating four machine guns in the port wing would mean a delay since the gun placement meant repositioning the large landing light. Instead, Bristol asked to only place two guns in this wing and the requested four in the starboard wing. In order to keep development on track, the Air Ministry agreed, thus the Beaufighter would pack a powerful, if asymmetrical punch of four 20mms in the nose and six .303 machine guns in the wings. This was the most powerful standard armament of any Allied fighter aircraft of the war. All of these changes substantially altered the original design proposal, subsequently very few parts of the Beaufort were interchangeable with the new fighter, so it acquired its own name, the Beaufighter in May, 1939. Mission Changes After the prototype first flew in October 1939, the RAF’s concerns about the feasibility of a big, twin-engined aircraft successfully competing in the fighter arena solidified. A maximum speed of 335 mph at 16,800 was short of the desired goal of 350 mph. Although the Beaufighter handled reasonably well according to Bristol’s chief test pilot, C.F. Uwins, it suffered from longitudinal instability and was not maneuverable enough to serve as a day fighter. The instability mentioned would plague the Beau throughout its career, giving it a reputation for being a handling handful during take-offs and landings. Quoting from a 1940 Air Fighting Development Unit pilot report, the Beaufighter “was found to handle as described in the handbook, but the stall is not so vicious as stated. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that the aircraft is a heavily loaded one and care must be taken when near the ground to maintain full flying speed or the aircraft will drop out of your hands. The take-off is straightforward, although there is a slight tendency for the aircraft to swing to starboard; this is easily corrected by use of the rudder.” As 1939 turned into 1940, the RAF realized that it was woefully unprepared for night fighting, particularly in defensive operations. Air Marshall Dowding and other RAF leaders realized that the magnificent Chain Home radar stations that would play a crucial role in the forthcoming Battle of Britain. They also knew that if they were successful in thwarting the Germans from attacking Britain during the day, then the Germans would surely turn to night bombing where the frontline fighters of Spitfires and Hurricanes would be nearly useless. The rudimentary airborne radars then under development required a fairly large aircraft to accommodate the bulky equipment, aerials and additional operator. The Beaufighter was a fairly large aircraft in need of a new mission and thus was born a match made, if not in heaven, then certainly fortuitous. During the first several prototypes testing regime, the RAF adapted the Beau as a nightfigher and urged Bristol to speed both testing and production to equip newly forming frontline night fighter squadrons. By late fall of 1940, the first Beaus, designated MK IF, were flying night patrols. On the night of 19/20 November, a 604 Squadron Beaufighter piloted by Flight Lieutenant John Cunningham and radar operator (R/O) Sergeant John Phillipson achieved the first radar-assisted Beau kill. This form of electronic warfare became known as airborne interception (AI). The Beau would go on to be the primary nightfighter for the RAF until the introduction of the De Havilland Mosquito in late 1943. Even after the ‘Mossie’ came into service, the Beau soldiered on in its first combat role until nearly the end of the war. Even while Bristol scrambled to fill the orders for MK IF nightfighters, the RAF realized the Beau was a marvelous platform for a variety of other attack missions. Coastal Command, responsible for patrolling the sea lanes so vital for the very survival of Britain, became the next user. In the MK IC model, Coastal Command squadrons began patrolling the vast expanse of the Bay of Biscay, searching for German Kreigsmarine U-boats. Besides searching out the menacing U-boats, Beaufighters still wound up being pressed into service as fighters while serving in Coastal Command. German Ju-88s were plentiful, seeking out Allied merchant convoys to bomb and strafe. Many times, Beaus found themselves the only protection a convoy had from a harassing enemy strike aircraft. The Beaus generally acquitted themselves well in these aerial combats. As the war progressed, the Beaufighter expanded its offensive capabilities. The striking power of the heavy armament was impressive especially once rockets were added. These 60lb. armor piercing and high explosive projectiles added a substantial punch. Devastatingly effective against both ground and maritime targets, the rockets inspired confidence in its crews and dread in the enemy. Also, by 1944, the Beau began carrying torpedoes to further increase the damage it could inflict. Following the war, most Beaufighters were either scrapped or turned into target tugs. A few soldiered on in smaller nation’s air forces, but the vast majority faded away. Variants As mentioned above, the first models were the MK IF nightfighter and MK IC Coastal Command strike aircraft. The MK I can be easily distinguished by its flat tailplanes. These 0 degree of incidence horizontal stabilizers contributed to the Beau’s squirreliness in the pitch axis. Much work went into trying to correct this fault. The MK II was a Merlin-engined version. At the outset of production, Bristol and the RAF feared that the Hercules engines would not be available in sufficient numbers to equip all the new Beaufighter units, so the legendary Merlin of Spitfire, Hurricane, P-51 Mustang and Lancaster fame was adapted to the Beau’s frame. In a rare instance of not really improving the design, the MK II had an even worse reputation for handling than did the Hercules-powered versions. With powerful engines and large propellers providing thrust at the extreme front and the rest of the large aircraft trailing aft, the gyroscopic effect was tremendous and contributed greatly to the Beaus reputation for difficult handling. The MK II’s Merlin nacelles were even longer than the radial Hercules’ so the handling was commensurately worse. The MK IIs saw only limited front line service before being relegated to training roles. MK III and IV were proposed ‘slim’ fuselage developments but were never actually built. The MK V was an aberration that assuaged the RAF’s love affair with putting turrets on fighters. Like the earlier Boulton-Paul Defiant single-engine fighter, the single turreted Beau was not successful and only two were built. The MK VI was the first mark to get most of the Beau’s faults corrected. Most noticeable is the 12 dihedral of the tailplanes. This simple modification went a long way to minimize the pitch sensitivity of Bristol’s big fighter. Many of the earlier MK I and IIs were retrofitted with the angled horizontal stabilizers. Later versions of the MK VI had increase range but at the expense of firepower. Long range tanks were fitted into the wing machine gun bays. Using a cruise speed of 243 mph, these MK VIs had a range of 1,810 miles compared to 1,480 in earlier marks. The MK VII was a one-off turbo supercharged Hercules powered version with four bladed props. MKs VIII and IX were reserved for Australian production but the designations were never used. MK X Beaufighters at first differed from their siblings by the fitting of a more powerful Hercules XVII engine modified for low altitude operations. In addition to carrying a torpedo or a 500 lb bomb on the centerline, two 250 lb bombs could be carried under the wings. Later MK Xs had a dorsal fin extension fitted. This additional longitudinal structure helped improve the Beau’s handling even more once larger weapons loads of 1,000 lb bombs on each wing. The last Beaufighter built on September 21, 1945 was a MK X. The MK 21 was an Australian-built version of the Beaufighter and was essentially the same as a MK X with the exception of a noticeable ‘bump’ on the nose that housed a Sperry autopilot. Well over 5,000 Beaufighters were built from 1939-1945 with Australia producing 364 of those under license Operators In addition to the RAF, Beaufighters served in the air forces of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the Portuguese Navy, Turkey, Israel (IAF) and the Dominican Republic. The British forces, including the RCAF, RNZAF and RAAF, saw combat with all versions in every theater of the war. The USAAF equipped four nightfighter squadrons in the Mediterranean and eventually European theater. Turkey acquired nine RAF machines during the war and purchased an additional 23 in 1946. Very little is known of how the Turkish Air Force operated these machines or for how long. 10 Beau MK Xs saw service under Dominican Republic colors. They saw action at least once. On June 20, 1949, some of the Republics Beaus, flying in concert with Fuerza Aerea Dominicana (FAD) Mosqitoes attacked a Guatelamlan invasion force. Strafing a PBY, the strike helped to repulse the invasion. The last FAD Beaus were retired in 1954. Israel smuggled four Beaufighter MK Xs into Israel in the summer of 1948. After numerous ground attack sorties, including one remarkable incident when ex-RAF pilot Len Fitchett out maneuvered an Egyptian Sea Fury single engine fighter at low level. Fitchett’s adroit handling of the Beau caused the Fury to stall while lining up for a shot. The Egyptian pilot stalled and crashed into the Red Sea off the coast of Israel. Sadly, Fitchett was killed shortly thereafter while conducting another ground attack mission. By November of 1948, the IAF’s Beaus were no longer logistically maintainable and were struck off charge. In 1994, the remains of Fitchett’s Beaufighter was discovered during construction work in southern Israel. The scattered bits and pieces are now on display at the IAF Museum at Hazterim, Israel. The Portuguese Navy received 16 MK Xs during March, 1945. They flew them on maritime patrol and long-range fighter missions. One crashed in October of that year, killing its pilot, 1Lt Felix Lobo and two other crewmembers. In 1946, Portugal bought a replacement for the destroyed Beau. By 1949, a lack of spares and qualified pilots grounded the Portuguese Beaus. One of them was given back to the RAF and is on display in the RAF’s Museum at Hendon, England. Another was traded to South Africa for a Spitfire for Portugal’s Air Museum. The rest were scrapped. The Crews’Comment American pilot George “Ghost” Aubill recalls that the Beaufighter had “wonderful visibility, everything was easy to see including the plate-sized marine compass. It was a lot of fun on the deck, but since it didn’t have superchargers, it was underpowered at altitude.” Three kill pilot Dr. Harold Augspurger says the aircraft “wouldn’t stay trimmed up no matter what you did. You had to work the throttles and brakes carefully once the tail dropped on landing. Likewise, the rudder wasn’t really effective until the tail came up, but once you were out of those situations, the Beau flew just fine. It wasn’t heavy on any axis and had very good visibility.” Portuguese Naval pilot 2Lt Manuel Beja once had an engine pack up while on a long cross-country flight. The other engine was spewing oil at an alarming rate and the engine temperature rose drastically. Thinking he wouldn’t be able to recover at his base, he ordered his radio operator to bail out. Beja skillfully recovered the smoking Beaufighter at the naval station at Portela, Portugal. As soon as he landed and shut down, he egressed the aircraft, thinking that the oil-starved engine might still burst into flames. As he got to the hatch, Beja tripped over his radio operator! The terrified crewman had been too frightened to jump and had huddled by the hatch until Beja found him. He scooped up the hapless operator and beat feet away from the oil-covered, smoldering Beau. Peter Weston, an RAF navigator flew in some of the last Beaufighter combat missions. While ferrying new Bristol Brigand strike aircraft out to Malaya to deal with a communist insurgency in 1950, he flew almost a dozen missions in the Beaufighter’s rear cockpit familiarizing himself with the terrain and operations in the theater. Once he saw how best to conduct operations against the Malayan rebels, he then trained the former Beau crews in the new Bristol aircraft. He recalls, “The Beau would overhear in a hurry if you dawdled on the ground for any length of time. In the hot, humid climate of Malaya, we didn’t mess about once we started engines.” The last Beaufighters to fly were based at RAF Selatar, Singapore in May 1960. Selatar had a reputation for seeing off many famous aircraft – the Spitfire, the Mosquito and the Short Sunderland flying boat all flew their last flight at this station. Two Beaus trundled about serving as target tugs until at last the Beaus’ time had come. On May 16, 1960, a last hurrah of a formation flight around the area showed the Beau in its element for the final time. After landing, they were immediately scrapped. Thus, the Beaufighter served a full military career of 20 years more than justifying the RAF’s belief in the big fighter project. Sidebar – Sleeve Valve Radial Engines Unlike a conventional radial engine with its valves mounted on the top of each cylinder, a sleeve valve radial contains the valves in a sleeve mounted between the piston and the cylinder. Using a smaller crank that turned at half the speed of the crankshaft, the sleeve moved in an elliptical path, lining up ports on the sleeve with the cylinder that allowed fuel and air to enter the cylinder and expelled the exhaust at the completion of the power stroke. The advantage of the sleeve valve is improved volumetric efficiency because the sleeve’s larger ports improved gas flow into and out of the cylinder and created a higher compression ratio. Aerodynamically, the sleeve valve radial presented a smaller frontal area and thus created less drag for the aircraft to overcome. On the negative side, however, sleeve valved engines used more oil, cost more to manufacture and were a nightmare to maintain in the field and the design rapidly fell out of favor following World War II. Chart - Beaufighter Mk VIF specifications Wingspan 57ft 10in Length 41ft 4in Height 15ft 10in Weight empty 14,069lbs Weight-max 20,800lbs Max speed 333mph Service ceiling 26,500ft Range 1,480 miles Powerplants 2 x Hercules VI or XVII Max horsepower 1670bhp @7500rpm AI (radar) Mk IV (US - SCR-540) or Mk VII (US - SCR-720) Armament 4 x 20mm, 6 x .303

As requested: Finally found some .44 special - 240grain Winchester cowboy action loads and CORBON 165grain JHP rounds. Also found a nice range this morning, albeit with some mallcop type employees, but I digress. Revolver: Charter Arms Bulldog Pug .44 special weight: 22 oz barrel: 2.5 inches length: muzzle to aft-most part of grip, 7.3/4 inches width: 1.5 inches The last revolver I owned was a very nice Colt Anaconda .44 magnum. Cool gun, but really just a handcannon and impractical. I regret selling it however. I found this Bulldog in a small gun shop, bought it on impulse for $425. My thought process was I wanted to have a revolver for my first floor gun instead of the Bersa .45ACP I'd been using. Also would use the .44 as my car carry gun instead of the Bersa. Nothing wrong with the Bersa, I really, really like it, but the minor concern of having a clip fail on my after leaving one compressed due to a full load and/or having to remember to rotate clips made me re-think my revolver choice. As was noted above, any situation likely requiring the use of a self-protection gun is likely to wind up with that gun being gone for a long time if not permanently. While neither the Bersa or this Bulldog Pug are a concern in that matter, toting my family heirloom 1911 is (deceased father was USAF rifle/pistol team back in the day. It's a nice gun, trust me). I'm a fairly big guy so I like larger pistols - just a better feeling of control than trying to delicately handle a .380 or the like. Even thoough this Bulldog Pug is a "small" revolver, it's still actually pretty fair-sized if considering using it carrying concealed on your person. I'm sure there are those who can justify/like a type of holster/carry system for it, it is just too bulky width-wise as compared to a similiar .45 or 9mm auto. It also appears to be more liable to catching on clothing with the hammer, wider cylinder, etc. For an under the seat gun or in the nightstand, I'm liking it. So on to shooting it: The standard grooved rubber grip was long enough, but after a box of 50 rounds, I found myself wishing for a wider girth (sts). Pachmyer makes some, I believe. This is a manly gun to fire. It's a big round being projected from not that big a frame. Certainly shootable, it is not something I'd want to fire all day. The sights are a fixed front sight with the rear also being fixed and cast as part of the rear frame. It's never going to be an Olympic class gun, but for its purpose, it'll do fine. At 7 1/2 yards, I was putting all five rounds into a 3" group, consistently in the 9 ring at about 7 o'clock. Adjusting the hold point moved them into the 10 ring. At 15 yards, the dispersal was more, but all center mass within the 8 ring. Most likely, this was operator error, but with only 2 1/2 inches of barrel, there is that to consider. 25 yards was a waste of time for me, but then it really wasn't designed for that range either. After shooting the .44, I put 50 rounds of .45 ACP through the Bersa and it was a much smoother ride. It's a lot less "bang" than the .44 and quicker to reacquire the sight picture. Less tiring as well. PROS: -Good value for money -Reliability CONS: -Reloading. Although I believe if I'm ever in a situation requiring more than a total of 2-3 rounds being fired by everybody involved, I'm probably going to have a bad day, reloading an auto pistol is so much faster than a revolver, even with a speed loader. For me, anyway. I'm not slamming those who swear by a six gun, just my preference. I'll have an extra set of bullets ready at hand with the weapon, but it's going to take time. -Wider, more 'catchy' on clothing, getting out of a jacket pocket, than an auto. Again for me. It's also really pretty big for a 'back-up' gun for those who carry two. I like it, will use it for home/self-defense, and practice with it more. But won't be heartbroken if it's ever confiscated after use because the hole and energy imparted to the other guy will be worth losing it to "the man." It's a solid gun. Reading some other professional reviews, it seems that old Charter Arms guns were pretty good as are the new ones like mine. There was a period when it seems they weren't that good.

Jeezuz Kerist, what happened to all the ammunition in this coutnry? I can't find a box of .44 special to save my life.

This thread shows in an opposite way why posers draw such heat. Here we have two guys in WWII who both won Silver Stars the ultimate hard way. Outstanding work from everyone to dig up this information.

Mkopeck, Silver Star? Respect. FAFTS, it's always interesting to know what you find out if you ever post the entire story here.

Try the National Archives and Records Administration. Word of warning however, a lot, I mean a lot, of WWII individual records were lost during a massive fire at the St Louis facility in the early 1970s. Following that, there are loads of WWII sites Army Air Forces as but one good one.

In that case, may I recommend: South Carolina Driver's Manual Bazinga...

"Wings on my Sleeve," by Eric "Winkle" Brown. Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm) pilot and famous test pilot. Flew a gazillion different types including many German ones during and immediately after WWII. One included the Me-163, not something for the faint of heart. He did a lot of other firsts - first jet carrier landing, a bizarre experiment the Brits tried with having a rubber flight deck and a jet with no landing gear (how'd that work out?!) The original is kinda old now, but it's in reprint as well.

And now for something completely different in a concealed weapon. For me anyway. Charter Arms Bulldog Pug, .44 special. Decent price, impulse buy.

Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are...

Jumping off the mocking train for a second, anyone detecting the growing trend in Big Blue never mind the rest of the DoD? MQ1/9/MQ-X/RQ-4/Cyber Command, etc, etc. Clock's ticking...

In twenty plus years, I missed that one. Except by some clueless member of the media, air traffic control was never mentioned when describing or referring to weapons controllers/ABMs. Well done.

Following Vietnam, the Pentagon decided to never again go to war with only part of its forces and only part of the pain being tied down to draftees/active duty. They made a concious sp?) decision to put combat, combat support, and other capabilities needed to fight a war in the Reserves (not as much) and the Guard (a lot). That way, if the bell rang, and Uncle sent us off to war again, everybody would know it - the sudden disappearance of those ARC folks would help ensure that the political will for a war was there as well as the hardware. Come the post-Cold War drawdown and the never anticipated use of our forces for such a protracted period witout the plus up in forces needed to adequately fight these wars, you see the pendulem swinging again to get assets back into the AD since the being activated thing repeatedly doesn't play well politically. You can't fight a war on the cheap. Either you buy enough AD to prosecute it or you use up the ARC to make up for it. Either way, the bill's gotta be paid somehow.

Selective noting, but whatever.

And my money is on the Guard every time. The good senators and congressmen are very jealous of their perogative and guard it zealously. The JSTARS example used earlier is perfect for my point. Big blue decided it wanted to move hardware without consulting with the states and senators involved. The blended wing was the bone thrown to keep Georgia's political help in line. It sure wasn't because ACC wanted to do it. Big Blue took one on the chin for their lack of S/A. Sure, stuff may get moved and the particular mission may change because of it, but the state will keep its Guard forces alive. At the cost of funds from the federal treasury and USAF's budget. Money maybe better spent elsewhere, but it will go to keep Senator ME happy. Every time. USAF as a whole is not in the same political league.

13 years AD, 10 years Reserves. Glad I did both. Was an IMA for a couple of years and glad I had a job because being a 'bum' is a tough way of life to earn enough to feed the family. Being an AGR was the sh1t - best of both worlds. Reserves are so much more like AD the last couple of years that the line is getting very fuzzy to see why doing it was worth the pain. edited to add: Can't address your question about airframe as I wasn't a pilot.

I got to do five sorties back in the day (VAW-114 Hormel Hawgs)on a boondoggle. E-3 guys went aboard the Kitty Hawk, E-2 bubbas got to get off the boat for a few weeks. Egress training was standard but sobering. Two pilots sitting side by side had to hunchback down and aft from the flight deck and do the WW II-era B-17 leap out of the hatch on the left (if looking forward) hatch. Three mission crew sat fore and aft for take off and landings (although worked the scopes facing sideways). Same duck crawl forward while waiting for the guy in front to move it to find the hatch and jump. Not a lot of room to get in and out in a hurry and wearing a 'chute. Stats then for all five getting out weren't great. RIP.

Damn, that William Parkar guy can write! He's effin' brilliant with words...

Hi, I'm Brick and I was a dumbass. But with some therapy and more photos like the bookworm above, I can recover.

Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are...

Well played.

I don't believe the Navy would accept the publicity (although I'm surprised by the lack of it) of relieving a female O-6 over a little butt hurt. While the media most likely didn't/doesn't have all of it, there's something to this or she wouldn't have been canned. Besides, that, "time outs" and the like is not what I'd wanna see in a wing commander or ship's captain. You just don't do that to your subordinates in public.