Warbird Information Exchange

Sounds serious.

http://footstepsresearch.org/2018/12/wh ... f-the-air/

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[Thread title is ridiculous btw]

Absolutely waiting and looking for to this series. Have read "Masters of the Air" more than once, watched both of the previous two series that Hanks and Spielberg did and was fortunate enough to have known a ball turret gunner from the Bloody Hundredth. If I remember correctly, he was on his 31st mission on December 31, 1944. Sat in for the tail gunner. Told me he remembered looking up at the plane just above his as they approached the target when a blinding flash came from above. The B-17 he was in was cut in two by the explosion of the plane above his. He was caught in the tail section, pinned in by centrifugal force as it whirled around and down. Told me he somehow got out, pulled his ripcord and had no sooner got a full parachute than he came down in a shallow pond. Short time later, an elderly gentleman with an ancient looking rifle came to him and ordered him back to his farm where the Germans picked him up so he could spend the rest of the war in a POW camp. Either the bombardier or navigator was blown through the nose of his plane and the two of them were the only survivors. Rollie was a volunteer at the Grissom Air Museum, telling stories to anyone who stopped for a few minutes to listen. Fantastic human being! He died two years ago. I am certain he would have loved to have seen this series when it comes out. I feel so honored to have known him.

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Earn my respect and never lose it.
Demand my respect and never gain it. -Me

...just another plane dreamer.

I’ve often found interest in a little known fact of WWII that more members of the 8th Air Force were KIA than Marines. Who’d a thunk it? Looking forward to this series.

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Cheers,

Craig

Facebook Groups:

U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky HRS / CH-19 Helicopter Database
U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky HO4S / HH-19 Helicopter Database

...Another little known fact, during WW2 the US Army had the largest waterborne fleet in the world. Yup, looking forward to the series!

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

The USMC had just under 19K casualties in WWII, the AAF had just under 15K in stateside training, before any combat.




Until the big realignment in 1962, the Army had the bulk of amphibious responsibility. The Marines may have made the hardest landings, but the Army made the mostest

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

Humm - I think they should stop in a little known place for the training scenes - since Wendover has about 100 original buildings and hangars. . . . YES I am tooting my own horn

Tom P.

I suspect the other services were much larger than the Marines. What percentage of Marines were KIA compared to those of the other services?

The project has moved to Apple ...

https://deadline.com/2019/10/apple-masters-of-the-air-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-gary-goetzman-wwii-limited-series-don-miller-1202757249/

No it's not