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It looks like it was a planned ditching, perhaps a survival test so that crews might have an idea of what to look out for in real conditions? All those camera views and the lifting derricks in place at the impact site. Empty fuel tanks would be an aid to flotation, then again it might have been filled with ping pong balls for the test. Notice the captions where they claim the fuselage was steel - I think not.
I liked the shot where the crew members climb out of the floating craft, and the first thing one guy does is start combing his hair.
P-51 d "Glamorous Gal" clearing the cylinder's after a failed startup . The man standing on the wing in the picture is pilot Dale Snodgrass . Retired navy pilot . He was in charge of the entire F-14 tomcat fleet when in operation . He is an amazing pilot can fly anything .He was trying to get the government to allow him 10 retired tomcats for airshow demos . But was turned down . I took this shot at republic airport .Farmingdale N.Y. Home of the P-47 Thunderbolt
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LEFT ENGINE OUT OF A F-14 "GENERAL ELECTRIC G-400 " ENGINE WAS BEING PULLED TO MOTHBALL THE F-14 FOR DISPLAY. DAYS AFTER THE FLEET WAS RETIRED
Kawasaki sent out about 3,000 of these Ki-61 fighters, with a V-12 licensed from Daimler.
Meanwhile, a series of high speed trials was ended by an engine fire with this prototype -the Kawasaki Ki-64 actually had both a front engine and a rear engine, driving contra rotating props.
Mitsubishi, while pumping out those Zeros was aiming for something better with this ki-73, a 466 mph fighter with a 24 cylinder H engine at 2,600 hp. The war ended before engine development could be finalized.
Also, Japan had an agreement to build their own copy of the Me-262 Jet but the U-boat carrying the plans to Japan was lost to the Allies. Using incomplete plans and recollections of what they had seen in German factories, an altered version was produced, named the Nakajima J9Y Kikka Orange Blossom. Japanese jet development was not as advanced as German, British or American designs in this field, and it wasn't faster than the best prop fighters. Again, too late in the war to help them.
If the Russians indeed test flew the FW ta 183, they must have finished building them first because there were no flyable versions completed by April 1945 when the British overran the Focke-Wulf factory that was working on the prototypes. Of course the Soviets did capture plans and had those to work with. Saab also is claimed to have used the design for their own Saab 29 Tunnan, and it was successful enough to keep in service into the middle 1960s.
By the way, Kurt Tank, the original designer at FW, carried on similar designs to build a jet fighter for Juan Peron in Argentina. A handful of prototypes were built but Peron was having economic problems and the plane got cancelled. This is one of the prototypes, the Pulqui 2:
By the time of the last prototype, 1959, the plane was getting obsolete and so they instead bought surplus F-86 Sabres from the US Government at bargain prices.
That shot of Collings' Foundation B24 "Witchcraft" above with the bombs coming out of it was us out here. I was onboard manning a camera inside the ball turret on an earlier flight filming the bombs coming out of the bomb bay. Great fun!
One of my favorite photos. Flying from Houston to Las Vegas on United Airlines, the pilot got permission from the FAA for a once and a lifetime photo op for his passengers. At least for me and the missus it was. One of the space shuttles getting piggybacked over West Texas. Taken in 2012.
THESE ARE HERITAGE FLIGHTS,THERE FLOWN AT AIRSHOWS TO PAY RESPECT TO THE MEN AND MACHINES THAT HELPED SECURE THE FREEDOMS WE HAVE TODAY. AND TO THOSE WHO PAID THE HIGHEST PRICE. GOD BLESS THEM ALL.