Posted on 08/05/2013 8:20:47 AM PDT by DFG
When there is a wall of flame and thick billowing smoke at an air show it is sadly the sign of a tragedy.
But for spectators at a display in America it was the chance to cheer and remember one of the most important days in their history.
As a P-40 Kittyhawk fighter flew low at low level it was the start of a spectacular re-enactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Navy in 1941.
The skies above Oshkosh in Wisconsin were filled with dueling fighter planes as the aerial battles from the Day of Infamy were created for a crowd of over 100,000 people.
Japanese Zero fighters took on the Kittyhawks which over 70 years ago were one of the few defences for the Naval Air station that came under attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I was up there until early Saturday and had a very good time at my first visit to EAA or Wisconsin for that matter.
I was there Friday and Saturday. Saw the show twice. The Pearl Harbor reenactment was very well done. There were eight “Japanese” aircraft (all modified T-6s used for Tora Tora Tora), and they flew in an impressive formation.
PING
The only flying B-29, Fifi, was at Dayton, and they were going to do a re-enactment of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, before the PC weenies started whining. But they decided that would be insensitive, so the Wall of Fire was scheduled to not coincide with the B-29 flyover.
The day I attended there was an accident early on, and the rest of the show was cancelled. Fortunately, we got to see Fifi arriving as we drove up.
As a Cheesehead I thank you for your visit. I live 50 miles south of Oshkosh and enjoy watching the amazing things flying overhead during EAA week.
I split my time between EAA and seeing other parts of the state.
One of the pieces of advice the dorm front desk that I took was a drive to Green Bay to see Lambeau field. I don’t care about football or sports at all but I like history. The tour was really good and I learned a fair amount.
The railway museum was also very enjoyable.
Selfridge used to put on a great show with aircraft from the Confederate Air Force(Harlingen TX), lots of static displays, reenactments. Only El Toro had more.
...of course I've never been to Oshkosh...something I always wanted to do.
I remember the lump in my throat, and thought how those men must have felt as those real planes strafed and bombed. It was a very good illustration of what the original must have looked like, albeit in a very much smaller scale.
BTW, I believe there is only one or two of the original Japanese airplanes that actually flew during that time period of Pearl Harbor attack (Dec 7th,1942) left in existence.
B5N2 (bombers)-none
D3A (Dive Bombers -2; none "flyable"
A6M5- (Fighters) -3, maybe just one with original engine. Many (see Wikipedia) exist in museums, only one "flyable"
Conversely, there are several examples still around of the Allied aircraft used in that period.
Go figure....
Glad you found it interesting.
From 2010
http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/07/green-bay-packers-season-tickets.html
There are currently 83,881 names on the Green Bay Packers Season Ticket Waiting List, an increase of nearly 3,000 names since last year. The Packers ticket office is estimating that fans placing their names on the waiting list this year can expect to be called, beamed, lasered, or telepathicly informed in 2050 for the right to buy Packers season tickets.
Thanks for the laugh.
The guide got hit with season ticket questions and his responses weren’t too different from yours.
I can believe having to wait a lifetime or two.
I was impressed with the overall cleanliness (too many Monk episodes) of the facility I saw and the cabling runs I saw in the lower sections.
The lady guide even took a picture of me with my camera just to show the people that know me that I actually went.
I was impressed at how easy navigating around the area was. The roundabouts were a new thing to me.
An EAA judge in my city told me about it when I visited a B25 displayed at the local airport. I don’t think I had ever heard of it before.
I am glad I went and will go back another year. I don’t see it becoming a yearly thing for me. Maybe 2 or 3.
The road trip from SC to WI and back was pretty uneventful. The only hiccups I had were on the return getting caught up in Milwaukee traffic tie ups and no traffic flow near downtown Chicago. This was on a nice Saturday.
WoW! I haven’t been to an EAA Fly-in since 1973. I was fortunate enough to meet Ken Rand, Burt Rutan, and Paul Poberzney.
Welcome to Wisconsin. Both Lambeau Field and the EAA are spectacular. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit.
Grrrr. Most of us hate the round abouts. My husband and I (with the help of some neighbors) sucessfully stopped a proposed round about in our neighborhood. We’re not Luddites. We just don’t like the round abouts in snow and ice. And the infrastructure for stop lights was already inn for the intersection.
The state has a policy (instituted before Walker) that all intersection improvements have to be considered for round abouts first. I think it’s just an engineering make-work project. They are putting one in near here that is completely blocking a popular gas station during construction. I think that it will still interfere with business after it is done because it is too small and tight. The poor gas station is dying. We went there yesterday just to give them some business, and they gave us free coffee and milk on sale 2 gal. for $4.
My kids always say that it would be easy to come to Wisconsin if you didn't have to go through Chicago! LOL.
I have a lot more video and photos to sort through but here is one basic thing I threw together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbZ1qDIKi60
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