"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
dakotatelephone...
Brian Thorn wrote:
On Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:00:16 -0500, Pat Flannery
wrote:

My main complaint is the selection of "Great Planes". I really
wouldn't consider the F-100, A-7, or A-26 "great".

I guess after a while you run out of the obvious ones, and end up with
choices like that.
All three of those aircraft had fairly long and successful operational
histories, and the program on the A-26 was interesting to watch, as it's not
that well known, and they did cover the A-20 Havoc in the same episode. I had
a Monogram model of a Invader as a kid, and frankly didn't have a clue as to
what is was or where it came from...it sure didn't look like a Marauder of
some sort:
http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com...-p6invader.JPG
Which leaves a good question - why exactly was it later given a "B-26"
designation after it had already been used by the Marauder?
My favorite "Wings" episode was the one where the B-17 was credited with
carrying ten _50 mm_ machine guns, which should have made any German fighter
very hesitant about attacking it.


My dad flew over 70 missions in a B-24, and got a share of exactly one Jap
fighter
in all that time. I'd rather be in a fighter, a 20mm cannon has a much longer
range
and destructive power than a fifty.

I always wondered how he flew so many missions when I thought 25 was
the requirement. Then I paged through his log book, most missions read
something like....couldn't find the target....clouds over the target....got lost
.....mechanical trouble....too much flak, too many fighters....it took that many
to get in 25 'completed' missions.

And looking at the pictures of the mud covered runways they had to use
in the Pacific theatre, it's a wonder he made it throught 70 take-offs
and landings. Let alone missions.




Pat