Some amazing pics in here that I have never seen.
http://picasaweb.google.com/7thfigh...6oth&feat=email#slideshow/5299163150448181842
http://picasaweb.google.com/7thfigh...6oth&feat=email#slideshow/5299163150448181842
Airplane Thread: P51s of Iwo Jima
- Thread starter MNJason
- Start date
2112
Blue/white 06'
SteveA
GT Owner/B.O.D
I think Corsair's came to the Pacific in '44 as first a Marine ground attack/fighter then once they learned how to safely land them on a carrier they served with the Navy. They were a big player in the taking of Iwo Jima but didn't have the fuel capabilities to make the long round trip from Iwo to mainland Japan. The P51 served in the Army Air Corp as a bomber escort due to it's long range capabilities.
The B29 and Corsair both have a favorite place in my heart as my father flew 29's and god father flew Corsair's during the Korean war. If you ever have the chance to see and hear a Corsair do a fly by you will understand why the Japanese called them "whistling death", no other sound like it. It was always a fun time when someone would try and tell my god father the best fighter in WWII was the Mustang, boy oh boy would that rile him up!:willy
The B29 and Corsair both have a favorite place in my heart as my father flew 29's and god father flew Corsair's during the Korean war. If you ever have the chance to see and hear a Corsair do a fly by you will understand why the Japanese called them "whistling death", no other sound like it. It was always a fun time when someone would try and tell my god father the best fighter in WWII was the Mustang, boy oh boy would that rile him up!:willy
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Infantryman
GT Owner
It's not completely germain to the thread, but if you *ever* get the chance to fly one of these, don't pass it up. I got a chance to fly one (modded to a dual-control two-seater) for about 45 minutes. Even apart from the historical context, this plane is a real thrill to fly and do acrobatics in. There's no pilot's license required to fly from the rear seat. They have a couple dual-control P-51s in Orlando.
CH53Driver
Shelby GT500 owner
I'll add a few pictures to this thread. For everyones information, the main reason behind the Marine/Navy assault on Iwo Jima was the the US wanted/needed to capture this small island so that the US would have an airfield closer to Japan for returning damaged aircraft (most notably the B-29s). I don't remember the exact casualty numbers off the top of my head, but I believe the Marines and Navy lost over 5,000 taking Iwo Jima but by taking the island it saved over 20,000 US aircrewman returning from bombing runs over Japan that came back with severely damaged aircraft. Also, besides Naval aircraft operating in the Pacific you also had US Army Air Corps and our allies operating multiple types of aircraft in that theater of operations.
Here is a picture of my grandfather. He was an AD-2 (powerplants) mechanic in the Navy during the war. He is standing next to the venerable F4 Corsair. I have his F4U mechanics handbook which he gave me years back before he passed. Interesting bit of info in regards to the P-51/F4 debate. I have talked with several F4 pilots and they said they could out run and out climb a P-51 but the P-51 was more nimble. Of course, another area I would argue that was an advantage for the F4 was that it used a very powerful, rugged air cooled radial engine. The benefit to this type of engine was that it could sustain engine damage and still fly sometimes hundreds of miles to get back to the ship/base. The P-51 utilized an in-line liquid cooled engine which means the aircraft fuselage was designed to be more aerodynamic but any battle damage to a the coolant system or a whole punched in a coolant line meant that the engine would overheat and eventually seize, usually pretty rapidly. That is why the Navy and Marines all utilized aircraft that used air cooled engines for the powerplant source.
Here is a picture of my grandfather. He was an AD-2 (powerplants) mechanic in the Navy during the war. He is standing next to the venerable F4 Corsair. I have his F4U mechanics handbook which he gave me years back before he passed. Interesting bit of info in regards to the P-51/F4 debate. I have talked with several F4 pilots and they said they could out run and out climb a P-51 but the P-51 was more nimble. Of course, another area I would argue that was an advantage for the F4 was that it used a very powerful, rugged air cooled radial engine. The benefit to this type of engine was that it could sustain engine damage and still fly sometimes hundreds of miles to get back to the ship/base. The P-51 utilized an in-line liquid cooled engine which means the aircraft fuselage was designed to be more aerodynamic but any battle damage to a the coolant system or a whole punched in a coolant line meant that the engine would overheat and eventually seize, usually pretty rapidly. That is why the Navy and Marines all utilized aircraft that used air cooled engines for the powerplant source.
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CH53Driver
Shelby GT500 owner
Here's a couple pictures that I got from a retired Marine Gunny who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. These pictures were taken in Okinawa. The first is a squadron photo shot of VFTB-242 (which is now VMA-242). The aircraft is the TBF Avenger. The second photo is a night shot with F4 Corsairs clearly lit up by the tracer fire arcing overhead.
