Posted on 10/26/2002 12:02:43 AM PDT by Snow Bunny
HEY Military personnel, past and present, and your families AND our Canadian allies - GOOD MORNING!!!! Mid Missouri Patriots love you all. Hang in there, we will win.
May God bless them and keep them safe.
State Seal
On the shield of our state seal are a steamboat, a plow, a beehive and a sheaf of wheat, symbols of Arkansas' industrial and agricultural wealth. The Angel of Mercy, the Sword of Justice and the Goddess of Liberty surround a bald eagle. The eagle holds in its beak a scroll inscribed with the Latin phrase "Regnat Populus", our state motto, which means "The People Rule". The seal was adopted in its basic form in 1864, and in its present form in 1907.
State Flower
The apple blossom was adopted as the Arkansas State Flower by the General Assembly of 1901. Apple blossoms have pink and white petals and green leaves. At one time Arkansas was a major apple-producing state. The town of Lincoln in Washington County hosts the annual Arkansas Apple Festival.
State Mammal
The white-tail deer was adopted as the Arkansas State Mammal by the General Assembly of 1993. The deer raises the white underside of its tail when frightened. Young white-tail deer have a white-spotted red coat which changes to brownish-gray before the end of its first year.
State Tree
The pine was adopted as the Arkansas State Tree by the General Assembly of 1939. The loblolly and short-leaf pine are varieties of southern yellow pine found in Arkansas. Both may grow to be 100 feet tall and can be found in the Ouachita National Forest and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest
The OA-10 is the Army Air Forces version of the PBY series seaplanes and amphibians flown extensively by the Navy during WW II. It is a twin-engine, parasol-mounted monoplane equipped with a flying boat hull, retractable tricycle landing gear and retractable wing-tip floats. The OA-10 was used primarily for air-sea rescue work ("DUMBO" missions) with the AAF's Emergency Rescue Squadrons throughout WW II and for several years thereafter. During the war, OA-10 crews rescued hundreds of downed fliers.
The prototype Catalina first flew on March 28, 1935. It was produced by Consolidated Aircraft Corp. in both seaplane and amphibian versions. Catalinas were also produced by Canadian Vickers, Ltd. and the Naval Aircraft Factory. Eventually, nearly 2,500 Catalina derivatives were built for the Navy. Approximately 380 were transferred to the AAF as OA-10s, OA-10As, OA-10Bs or, in some cases, with their original Navy designations. Catalinas also were flown by a number of allied nations during and after WW II.
This aircraft was operated extensively by the Brazilian Air Force until 1981 in a variety of humanitarian roles in the Amazon Basin. The Catalina was flown to the Museum in 1984 and has been restored and painted as an OA-10A assigned to the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron which served in the Pacific Theater during WW II.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 104 ft.
Length: 63 ft. 10 in.
Height: 20 ft. 1 in.
Weight: 36,400 lbs. loaded
Armament: Two .50-cal. machine guns in the waist and two .30-cal. machine guns--one in the bow and another in a rear tunnel--plus 8,000 lbs. of bombs
Engines: Two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92s of 1,200 hp ea.
Cost: $50,000
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 184 mph.
Cruising speed: 120 mph.
Range: 2,325 miles
Service Ceiling: 22,400 ft.
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