Posted on 08/21/2019 11:50:19 AM PDT by fugazi
1918: When enemy fighters shoot down Ensign George M. Ludlow’s Machhi M.5 seaplane (featured image) off the Austria-Hungary coast, Charles H. Hammann lands beside him and rescues the downed aviator. Hamman’s fighter is also damaged, and the winds high and seas choppy, but he manages to take off with Ludlow holding the struts behind him (the plane wasn’t designed to carry two pilots) and flies 65 miles across the Adriatic Sea to the air station at Porto Cassini, Italy. The plane sinks from the weight of the extra passenger after landing but both aviators are safe.
Hammann, an enlisted pilot at the time, becomes the first Naval aviator awarded the Medal of Honor and is commissioned as an ensign after his daring flight.
1942: On Guadalcanal, around 900 soldiers of Japan’s 17th Army slam into about 2,500 Marines manning positions along Alligator Creek. Wave after wave of Japanese soldiers are cut down by the Marines, killing well over 700 attackers – including the Japanese commander – while inflicting nearly 100 percent casualties.
1944: The F8F-1 Bearcat – Grumman’s last piston-powered fighter – makes its first flight. The warplane can fly faster and climb more quickly than the venerable Hellcat, but enters service too late to see action in World War II. The Blue Angels will begin using the Bearcat for their demonstrations, and many Navy and Marine aviators – including Neil Armstrong – consider the agile warplane as their favorite.
(Excerpt) Read more at victoryinstitute.net ...
And apparently the Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat was quite a beast as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGKaB_W3nxI
Military History, National Security and Baseball...
Glad it was done when soldiers were soldiers. Today he would have gotten an Article 15 for losing the plane.
It’s fun watching those old birds. Every time I see one it reminds me of the Skyraiders flying over so heavily loaded they looked like bumble bees.
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