The B-29 FiFi is the LAST "Flying Fortress B-29" in the world. We're kinda proud of her here in Midland.
Posted on 01/27/2016 6:22:00 AM PST by Olog-hai
One of Mitsubishi's legendary Zero fighter planes took to the skies over Japan on Wednesday for the first time since World War II.
The restored plane made a brief flight to and from a naval base in southern Japan. Decorated former U.S. Air Force pilot Skip Holm flew the aircraft.
Zero fighters were considered one of the most capable fighter planes in World War II, rivaling the British Spitfire. Their long range allowed them to play a prominent role in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Only a few are still in operating condition. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...
We arm chair generals perhaps should try on a WW2 flight helmet and listen to our thoughts OF THE TIME ....The P51 Mustang came near the end of the war and without it, Germany was nanoseconds away from jet fighters and the Zero WAS superior in a lot of areas
A PILOT, a flight afficionado ... wants to FLY .... and he'll fly anything he's capable of handling and willing to at least try something he's not
WW2 WarBirds have a special place in the hearts of the aviator/historian
and if you'll pursue the subject, a LOT of what we enjoy today had it's start, or maturation because of WW2 endeavors
The B-29 FiFi is the LAST "Flying Fortress B-29" in the world. We're kinda proud of her here in Midland.
To quote ‘Cheech’ Marin...
“Honorable General, sir!
You outta-you-f**king-mind!”
He lived in Dallas at the time, near Love Field. This was late 90s- early 2000s. He died in 2008.
Just .... WOW !
Parts are hard to find.
Form what I have read on the subject, the restorers have taken every part they could find, had it scanned on computer 3-D coordinate measuring machines and duplicated using modern technology. They have even gone to old battle sites and dug up crashed ones in the jungles of Borneo and South Pacific islands to retrieve parts suitable for copying. ..................
Zero fighter, aka conservative.
I believe that many American fighters get a bad rap from WWII for being sub optimal dogfighters. E.G. The P-40 should be compared to the Hawker Hurricane not the Spitfire. American fighters tended to be bigger and more heavily armed (and armored) that those they fought against. The size and weight works against turning radius, but allows much larger fuel tanks (increasing range). The Allison Engine used in the P-40, P-38, and P-39 had equal or better performance than the Merlin at med to low elevation, but the Merlin was much better over 20,000 FT.
The Japanese got very impressive performance out of the Zero, but only by removing all possible weight.
You mean ki-43's which kind of look the same as the A-6m zero.
Television was perfected during the war and didn't change much until the flat screen .. etc.
It was a thrill but when the pilot made a two-wheel landing to save wear & tear on the tail wheel, I did not know this and nearly crapped my pants!
Still a lovely memory... 
from some 44 odd years ago--
http://www.hrvg.org/img/targets/Y/YDGD-APWA_1.jpg
Mitsubishi made the A6M “Zeke” (Zero).
Fast little bugger. No armor, though.
Meant to finish the “Mitsubishi” thought train with “and now they make cars...”
So the Japanese are finally rearming. China had better watch out now.
I did not read much further in to this post, but in case no one answered you, you can find the info about posting pictures here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2894808/posts
Chennault said the P-40 was inferior to the Zero in climb rate and maneuverability. He developed tactics of diving on the Zeros. Then the P-40 could out-dive the Zero and get outta Dodge.
Ironically, the last three ships sunk at the battle of Midway were on June 6, exactly six months from the attack on Pearl Harbor. One of them was the Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma, sunk by American carrier based bombers. The other two were the disabled American carrier Yorktown, and escorting destroyer Hammann sunk by the Japanese Submarine I-168, which had managed to slip through the destroyer cordon with other debris from the battle. The Yorktown managed to stay afloat until the following morning when it was abandoned after further salvage efforts were deemed hopeless and slipped beneath the waves at 0500 hours, almost the very hour that the first Japanese carrier based planes had taken off for the attack on Pearl Harbor exactly six month earlier.
Yamamoto's words could not have been any more prophetic. And, of course, Yamamoto himself was also gone shortly after the Guadalcanal campaign ended.
Ummm...those of us in Midland use the moniker “Confederate Air Force” as simple tongue-in-cheek.
We acknowledge the
^Commemorative Air Force^ as proper; it’s a West Texas thing.
And, where is your GIF of Bendy dropping bricks?
Gotta get on HULU and start watching “Black Sheep Squadron”
I’m a “Yuuge” fan of Bob Conrad.
I just finished watching WWW series.
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