Warbird Information Exchange

Guess you could say before there was the CAF's "FIFI" there was this one that started it all off.
Washington, D.C. Nov. 29, 1944. Washington National Airport first public showing of the Army's B-29 Superfortress.
(According to what these photos state)
Source, Library of Congress photo archives.

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Zero Surprise!!...

Interesting display in the first few photos. Be cool to see that type of display at an airshow today.

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Zero Surprise!!...

Love the photos Mark The public must have been in awe of this behemoth of an aircraft.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

What is that light colored antennalike item on the spine of the O.D. Bamboo Bomber over by the tower?

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Is there any more close-ups of the display items? Looks like possibly a cannon on a table, and wheel/tires on the ground. Very interesting!

ADF football, I would assume.

-Tim

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Keep 'em Flying.

THNX-hard for me to enlarge it on the monitor without it getting really fuzzy

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

You could not have a display like that today. Look at the oil it's dripping on the ramp.
( a healthy sign for a radial engine by the way, sort of like a dog's cold, wet nose).

My guess is the aircraft wing shown in photo 5 is a B-26?
The aircraft next to the UC-78 looks to be a Howard, with an Interstate (?) across from it (it's too big for a Cub/Taylorcraft/Aeronca and the tail shape is wrong for a Stinson 10).

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

I thought the wing was a Lockheed from the flap track. Looks like maybe a gullwing Stinson beside the bamboo bomber and the little guy across the ramp from them is a pre-war Aeronca Chief.

I kind of chuckled when I saw the Lockheed wing, I figured there's someone out there in WIX land who can tell you exactly what model of Hudson/Lodestar/Harpoon it is and someone else probably knows the exact serial number and ultimate fate of it.

-Tim

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Keep 'em Flying.

Anyone know why they nixed the (20mm?) cannon in the tail turret?

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Taylor Stevenson

The small aircraft looks like an Aeronca K.


Mark Fidler

The 20mm shell had a different trajectory than the .50's complicating the fire control execution. A decent page on the B-29 tailgun position...
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ny330bg/tailgunner.htm

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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

They were prone to jamming and there was no way to access them from inside to try and clear the jam. The biggest thing was that the difference in firing speed of the .50 and 20mm messed with the gunnery computer.

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Brad

Wow, I forgot about the Aeronca Chief, it sure isn't a tandem seat.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.