Sad aircraft

Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:34 am

The Air Force only keeps a certain number of any aircraft in the fleet flying at any time. This number (last I heard) was somewhere between 75% & 80% of the fleet. The other 20-25% is either in depot level maintenance or in "active storage" at AMARC. The aircraft are rotated in and out of AMARC at regular intervals to ensure that the entire fleet gains hours fairly evenly, but it is much better to keep them at AMARC and in a partially preserved state so that it doesn't take much to bring them out when the time comes. The information I read said they un-preserve the planes every month, fuel them up, run the engines, and ensure everything is still working (and fix what isn't) then re-preserve the aircraft for another month. I think most planes are in on a 12-18 month cycle, so you can see how much it can save things to have the airplane preserved for all but a couple days a month during that time.

Wed Oct 01, 2008 3:10 pm

HEHE.................Uhhhh, negative Ghostrider.....the fourier is full....

http://images.forum-auto.com/mesimages/48474/cess.jpg

Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:10 pm

Whoa, never saw this picture before.

Anybody know what happened?

In case deeplinking is not allowed, it is a picture of a B-17 missing the fuselage from just forward of the cockpit, from flak, maybe? On page 82.

Babelfish translation from the source page:

Clearly that the damage is impressive, Ca feels the blow with the goal of Flak any Ca… as impressing to see as B-17 is always in line of flight, engines seeming to hum like so of nothing n' was. When with l' crew in the cockpit…

Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:51 pm

I've seen that one somewhere before...I think it's in "Flying Fortress" by Edward Jablonski.

That was a fairly direct hit by flak; I think everybody forward of the top turret bought it

.

Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:57 pm

Think you are right 05, I saw this photo back in the mid 70's...poor brave and I imagine terrified, souls.

Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:50 pm

I've seen that photo in various books and magazines, with captions ranging from "no survivors" to "some survivors" and even that it made it back to its base :shock:

. I tend to believe Jablonski's caption, which said that the plane only stayed level for a few seconds before falling... Has anyone ever ID'ed it?

Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:32 am

tail markings make it a 15th AAF MTO ship....

Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:17 am

cozmo wrote:Whoa, never saw this picture before.

Anybody know what happened?

It's a picture from B-17 42-32109 "Mizpah". Found this, and some more details, on another forum: http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?m=113179

Tillerman.

Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:10 am

That ship was in my Dad's BG, the 483rd. What's amazing is the pilots kept it flying for a few minutes.

Steve G

Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:25 am

Is there any possibility the P-47 wreckage could be this one ? http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p47registry/p47-427924.html

Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:42 am

bipe215 wrote:That ship was in my Dad's BG, the 483rd. What's amazing is the pilots kept it flying for a few minutes.

Steve G

wow..pilots still flying it? Almost looks like the cockpit is gone. What happened to the nav and bombadier? :cry:

Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:25 am

Question...was the damage to the aircraft caused by flak, or collision with an enemy fighter? Ah I found that it was caused by infamous flak

Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:39 am

Yep it was flak. 88 mm shell exploded in the nose causing it to peel up and over the cockpit just missing the tail. The back of the ship filled with smoke and five guys bailed out. Swanson and Berndt kept the airplane flying for about 10 minutes without instruments or windshield. Subzero temps and fear of stalling made it necessary for the remaining guys, the pilot, co-pilot and FE to bail out.
The ship just below and behind received damage from the parts flying off. In fact, they found a human thumb that had entered their aircraft through a hole in the plexi.
This info from the 483rd BG book.

Steve G