After the August 18th incident where American airmen were actually killed, the Japanese were required to remove the propellers from all their aircraft to prevent more incidents from their hotheads.
Posted on 12/27/2017 12:19:33 PM PST by oh8eleven
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, plunging the United States into World War II, Jerry Yellin was a teenager living with his family in Hillside, N.J.
Having been intrigued by flight since he was a youngster — he constructed planes modeled on World War I aircraft — he joined the Army Air Corps in February 1942, on his 18th birthday, and became a fighter pilot.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They built B-32’s in case the B-29 didn’t work out. General Kenney wanted to get his hands on some B-29’s for his bomber groups, but they were all earmarked for the 8th and 20th Air Forces. In typical fashion, Kenney got his hands on anything available, which in this case was a bunch of B-32’s. Kenney was the right man for the Southwest Pacific because he could scrounge and finagle the necessary equipment like no other general.
Many strange happenings at the end of the war.
Thanks oh8eleven, and thanks for your service. Welcome home.
After the August 18th incident where American airmen were actually killed, the Japanese were required to remove the propellers from all their aircraft to prevent more incidents from their hotheads.
So how long does it take to become a “fighter pilot”?
Compared to today vs. in the middle of WWII?
Depends on the period in the war, the US was the only power that actually extended training as the war went on.
Brits cut their training to 200 hours until 42’ when they started getting enough fuel then it increased to 340 hours.
American Army Air Force in 42’ were 270 hours, raised in 43’ to 320 then 360 in 1944.
Navy pilots took longer.
“Navy pilots took longer.”
It takes some time to get up the courage to land on a boat.
They didn’t realize their rightful place was under French who owned them, and actually wanted their independence. Very arrogant of the Vietnamese.
Fighter pilots at 19 years old. I had no idea. Interesting that he flew P51 Mustangs. An ex wife’s uncle was a P51 instructor during WWII outside Waco, Texas.
Over a hundred carrier aircraft ended up on the bottom of Lake Michigan as Navy pilots were trained to land on the converted training carriers Sable and Wolverine.
Some have been recovered and been restored.
There were Colonels leading air groups who hadn't even turned 25...
US Navy pilots were also trained to become the world’s experts on deflection shooting. Nobody else even came close.
Only the Finns and the US Navy training in deflection shooting.
I visited the Museum Of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola and saw one such restoration in process. The restorers were old guys, volunteers, but also a sizeable group of Navy aircraft mechanics from the base.
Our guide that sent us over to the building where the restoration was in process learned carrier landings on submarine free Lake Michigan. The Lake Michigan waters are clear and cold and sort of preserved the aircraft
For his 80th birthday, he got to fly one of the re built wildcats. Quite a Story.....quite a man
“...Every time one of them passes, I hear this passage. My dad was one of those men. How I miss him....”
Yes sir....truth to that. You’re not alone. Mine was also one of those guys; a young PFC in the USMC, BAR rifleman on the invasion of Okinawa. He was just a kid and lived thru it to come home to my mother. He passed two years ago and, like you, I miss him so much.
Interesting. Even the models of planes built in the tens of thousands were largely scrapped within a few years. Sez here (wiki-wacky) only 118 of the B-32s were built.
Consolidated B-32 Dominator (1945)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfH2Id83lY4
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xfH2Id83lY4/hqdefault.jpg
http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=sbd-2_dauntless
That Pensacola museum has the only survivor from the Battle of Midway, an SBD-2 that was pulled out of Lake Michigan.
All the other aircraft and ships have long ago been scrapped.
I met Jerry two years ago on a one day tour of Iwo Jima. My father fought and was wounded there, which makes me a descendant. He fit well in his WWII uniform and looked like he could climb into a cockpit.
He and I were on the same flight returning to the States and he charmed all the ladies.
RIP Jerry
Heck of a tail on that plane.
Something about that period with Consolidated aircraft, huge tails.
When they made the B-24 into the PB4Y Privateer for the Navy, they removed the twin tails for the huge single one and extended the forward fuselage to make room for a much needed flight engineer station.
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