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65th Anniversary of the Dambusters raid

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Thanks Steve.
NOTHING beats the sound of a V12 Merlin.
 
B-17 does it for me. One flew over my house a few years ago. I nearly tripped over myself to get outside to see it when I heard it coming.
 
Baz said:
Thanks Steve.
NOTHING beats the sound of a V12 Merlin.
Click to expand...

I'm with Barry! Many years ago, I was at a farm next to Halfpenny Green airfield near Wolverhampton, and there was an air show being held. A Spitfire came over the farm at rooftop height, un-bloody-forgettable!


Here's an example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OF0v1dwYC8

This one has been seen before but it still makes me laugh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cECmbme_UKs

Here's another one.....Spitfire and Hurricane!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOemXadFoxI&NR=1
 
Some friends of mine lived near the Geneseo, NY Warplane Museum - which has since moved - and one day we were up on the roof of their house looking at some storm damage. As we were standing there, there came an ENORMOUS roar and then the lights went out (it felt that way anyway!) and we all looked up into the belly of the museum's B17 as it went over our heads. In the moment if felt like I could have reached up and grabbed the landing gear, it seemed that close!
 
Peter - remember the scene in Empire of the Sun, where the kid (Christian Bale) races to the top of a tower to be near the P-51's attacking the field? He screams "P-51 - Cadillac of the Sky!!!", smells the exhaust and sees the pilot wave to him as the plane races by. Great movie.

p51.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=Bej9Pmx7U0c

Tom
 
The HSTRL Soggy Bottom Facility grounds are almost completely covered with trees. I was standing in the doorway of the Lab yesterday when I heard radials. I had a very good view of an Albatross fly over. I was standing in the only place, and the Albatross flew in the only direction, that would allow me to watch for a long period without tree interference. It was very cool.

My brother called this morning from Vancouver Island (he's there on a trip) to tell me that yesterday he saw two Martin Mars flying boats fly over and land in the lake. I thought that they had been taken out of firebombing service, but apparently they haven't!

Brothers thousands of miles apart have almost simultaneous radial-engined seaplane sightings. What are the odds?

Well, the Albatross is really an amphibian, but still...
 
John - tossing in a tiny bit of serendipity ... my mom designed much of the empennage for the original Mars back in the late 1930s. Huge plane - with four of those "interesting" Wright 3350 Cyclones.

avmars_5.jpg


https://www.vectorsite.net/avmars.html

T.
 
NutmegCT said:
Peter - remember the scene in Empire of the Sun, where the kid (Christian Bale) races to the top of a tower to be near the P-51's attacking the field? He screams "P-51 - Cadillac of the Sky!!!", smells the exhaust and sees the pilot wave to him as the plane races by. Great movie.
Click to expand...
One of my favorite movies of the era.
 
Radials are unmistakeable.

V-12 Merlins give me a... mmm.... well, they excite me. :devilgrin:
 
:yesnod:
 
DrEntropy said:
Radials are unmistakeable.

V-12 Merlins give me a... mmm.... well, they excite me. :devilgrin:
Click to expand...

Same thing used to happen to me when I had my Mark VII Jag and floored it on the interstate. Girlfriend thought she did it ...

:blush:

T.
 
Some gals just have big egos. :devilgrin:
 
Nothing beats the sound of a merlin.... Except 4 merlins on one plane!!. I went to the Geneseo airshow for several years in a row. Once sat out a squall in the bomb bay of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Lancaster.Man, that was the best airshow ever. One year they had 9 (NINE!!!!!) B17s there. Every possible war bird flying went to that show. Helldivers, Wildcats, P51s O' plenty. One evening they had a flight with 21 T6s.PBY. They landed (and flew off also )the MATS Constellation. A connie on a grass field. It was almost sensory overload for me. Too bad politics killed off that show. It used to be the high point of the year for me. On Fridays, all the participants flew in. We drove up from DC and went straight to the field, and watched until dark. You could walk around the aircraft, touch them, meet pilots... It was the best moving museum. I really enjoy meeting the Vets that flew these things in anger. You can tell they get transported back in time as they view the plans too. I have heard some great stories that way, and met some true heros.
 
Nothing beats the sound of a merlin.... Except 4 merlins on one plane!!. I went to the Geneseo airshow for several years in a row. Once sat out a squall in the bomb bay of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Lancaster.Man, that was the best airshow ever. One year they had 9 (NINE!!!!!) B17s there. Every possible war bird flying went to that show. Helldivers, Wildcats, P51s O' plenty. One evening they had a flight with 21 T6s.PBY. They landed (and flew off also )the MATS Constellation. A connie on a grass field. It was almost sensory overload for me. Too bad politics killed off that show. It used to be the high point of the year for me. On Fridays, all the participants flew in. We drove up from DC and went straight to the field, and watched until dark. You could walk around the aircraft, touch them, meet pilots... It was the best moving museum. I really enjoy meeting the Vets that flew these things in anger. You can tell they get transported back in time as they view the plans too. I have heard some great stories that way, and met some true heros.
 
As a kid one year we had a school trip to Ladybower dam (where they practised for the mission). On the same day there must have been some commemorative event as there was a flight over the dam - a Lancaster, a Spit and a Hurricane.

Quite memorable...
 
To get back on thread, the Dam Busters was about a whole lot more than engine sounds!! Squadron Leader Guy Gibson was a boyhood hero for me, and the development of the "bouncing-ball bomb" is a fascinating side-story that made the tactics for the whole mission possible, as was the development of the very simple but effective bomb-sight used on the dams!
 
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