August 6, 1945

64 years. Enough said.

Sentimental Journey

This afternoon, after work, I cleaned myself up and tok the cameras and went to see a B-17 that is at the airport right now. This B-17G has been touring the West for at least two decades. I remember being a kid in the 1980s and standing underneath this behemoth of the air. Four R-1820s proppel her through the air, one of which dripped some oil on me (not the first time, I had a B-24J ruin one of my favorite shirts about a decade ago. I actually found the oil this evening before I let it get in the wash...so this shirt will survive.). I wish I could afford the $425 to go for a flight on her.

Here am I standing in front. Some people like to get their photos taken with celebrities, or in front of the Grand Canyon...I prefer planes.

This is one of the turbosuperchargers, which used engine exhaust gasses to compress air for the carbueretors. This is what allowed them to fly so high.

She heads to Tillamook, Oregon on the 7th.

You cn find out if she will touring near your hometown, here: Arizona Wing of the CAF

All those fifties up front would make me wary of attacking her headon...how about you?

A close up ofthe R-1820.

Welcome Home Mr. Speicher, Still Looking For #41-38253!

Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher is home. Shot down during combat, Captain Speicher's remains have been identified. He was among the first wave of the Desert Storm Air War, shot down on January 17, 1991. You can find the article here: http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47359

It is good that we never give up the search. So many never came home. Which brings me to the P-39 that disappeared on December 9, 1942 and has never been found.

On Decemeber 9, 1942, 2nd Lieutenant Lewis M. Russel taxied his P-39D, #41-38253, out to the main runway and gunned his engine. He took off into the low overcast for a local training mission. At 1000 feet he would have entered the overcast. He had two (2) hours of fuel. He was a member of the 77th Fighter Squadron of the 20th fighter group, assigned to Paine Field, Washington. He never checked back in.

EVER.

Patrols and search parties were sent out over the next few weeks. As of the 28th of December, the weather had restricted the search. On December 30, the search was abandoned.

No one has reported finding his aircraft or his remains. The P-39D had a maximum speed of 360 MPH at 15000 feet. The accident report states that he had 2 hours of fuel. One wonders whether this was two hours at full throttle (Doubtful) or at some other specified regime of fuel management. Since it seems unlikely the pilot held it at full speed, one must search closer than 720 miles from Paine Field. The range on the 145 gallon internal fuel was 1100 miles at 196 MPH. One suspects the "Two hour" supply is not the best measurement of fuel on board. Still, 2 hours at 196MPH is just under 400 miles.

Neither 720, nor 400 miles seems likely. Paine Field is just North of Seattle and lies just a few feet above sea level. On one side is the Puget Sound, on the other is a range of mountains called the Cascades. Peaks of 5000 feet lie within 20 miles. With the overcast sitting at 1000 feet, the most likely course of events seems to be 2nd LT. Russel took off for a local flight and when he broke into the overcast lost his way. It seems completely possible that he lost his bearings and perhaps was so disoriented his aircraft fell out of the sky in a stall. If he came down in the Sound...well, we will have to wait for Mr. Robert Ballard to look for him with his mini-subs. On the other hand, given its wintery loss, it could remain in the hills and mountains near Paine Field.

Where is P-39D #41-38253? We may never know, but we can hope 2nd LT. Russel one day finds his way home.

NOTE:
February 6, 2010:  I recently got an e-mail that indicates that this aircraft has indeed been located.  One assumes Lt. Russel eventually found his way home.  It appears it was located as early as 1957.  

Marine M-60 MBT on Display

**UPDATE** August 1, 2010:  I have a correction to make.  I was recently informed that this is an M-103 Heavy Tank.  The M-103 carried a 120mm gun.  The turret is correspondingly larger to deal with the extra size of the gun.  The M-60 carried a 90mm main gun.  You can get some more info here, here, and here.  Many thanks to Mr. Rains for calling this error to my attention!  **UPDATE**

Yesterday, I took the time to visit the 4th Tank Battalion, Bravo Company HQ in Yakima, Washington. I was there to take photos of the Ex-Iraqi T-72 MBT. I managed to convince my marine escort to let me walk the extra 20 yards and take pictures of the M-60 on display nearby. Which got me thinking...

The cities of Yakima and Union Gap have between them, three M-60 tanks on display (I will be posting photos of the other two soon) and one T-72. This is not a big idea in itself, it is the fact that this knowledge is not widely known.

For other types of equipment, information is widely available: you can Google any type of military airplane and locate where one is that is on display. You can use Google to discover which Naval ships remain, and where they are, and which ones are open to the public. There appears to be no such ability for military armor.

If you think about it a little, I am sure you can list a handfull of canons, tanks, or other military vehicles on display in your town or towns near you. So, I am contemplating putting together a site with a list of Tanks and Armor on display. I cannot do all of it myself, obviously, so I will be relying on others to submit information concerning those pieces of equipment near them. All the new site would be is a gathering place for this information. I would post pictures of the tank or vehicle, its location, and its type. I think it would be possible to organize it according to state, city, and type. So, here is my question, would those of you who visit this site be interested in this new site? Would it be a useful tool? PLEASE comment or give me an e-mail.

The location of this tank is on 16th Ave. not far from Washington Ave. (and the airport) in Yakima, Washington.

The M-60 was based on the M-48 Patton. Production began in 1960 and did not end until 1983. During that time 15000 of them were built. About 200 were used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. They were about 60 tons, 32 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 12 feet high.

you can find more informtion about the M-60 here.

Tri-City Water Follies

The B-25 Pacific Prowler was on hand for the Tri-City Water Follies this year. I had the good fortune to be able to walk out and look at her. This B-25J has had a long and varied career. From being used to drop bombs to filming Disney movies, she is now on the airshow circuit. I saw her last year at the McChord Airshow, which incidentally, does not seem to be happening again, despiote last years HUGE numbers..

Here is a Soviet job, Yak-11. I am, sadly, not much of a fan of Soviet WWII technology.

Below is Val-Halla, a P-51. It made a flight with an F-16 on its wing. Heritage Flights are the rage, apparently. She appears to be dressed in Air Defense Force colors of the late 40s and early 50s. The Buzz Number is what seems to give it away. They were painted large so if pilots got the idea to fly too low, ground observers could ID the plane and the pilot would get into trouble...at least that is the story I have read on Buzz Numbers.

These aircraft are actually on the old Pasco NAS. I managed to bump into a very nice lady who has done some research of her own on the Pasco NAS. She was able to tell me a few things about the first commander that I would not have otherwise found out.

Here are a couple of the WWII era hangars still in use. I will post more later.

Tranquility Base Here!

40 years!

40 years.

Forty years ago, three men were on their voyage to the Moon. They travelled as far as men ever have been from their planet. The Saturn V was huge! Their journey began on July 16, 1969, when they blasted off and into history.

On July 20, two of these men landed upon the Moon and left several experiments and took samples. Take a few minutes this week and think about what these men did. But, also remember there were hundreds of thousands of men and women behind this venture. People working in factories all over the US built parts of these craft. Hundreds monitored their progress and health. Millions watched them on TV, or listened to the radio as they made the first steps man has ever made on a another world.

Why haven't we returned!?