I had the pleasure of sitting in the cockpit of the only full armed P-40N (the only armed WW2 Fighter in the world) today in Eugene Oregon. I have a video of it firing, but I don't see a way to upload it to Reddit
This was great today. i got to see the P-40N fire 3 of it's 6 guns. Great video, great memory
Steve
Caught these beauties flying over my home near SWF yesterday evening. Heard those 3350's coming frome over a mile away!
Did some work of a hurricane getting it ready to have a proper running Merlin installed. soon ....
B-25 "Mitchell" bomber, right?
I think it’s a JU-87, but I’m not sure. It’s a pic of my grandmas first husband while he was in the army
The first B-29s arrived at Piardoba Airfield in April 1944 and participated in the first US Bomber attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid on June 15, 1944.
By late 1944 it was concluded that staging B-29 operations against Japan out of bases in China and India was a logistical nightmare.
It was subsequently decided that the B-29s would be moved to bases on newly captured islands in the central Pacific and the 462nd was transferred to Tinian.
Photos by Bernard Hoffman
for LIFE Magazine.
In contrast the Belgian-built aircraft were fitted with two 13·2mm FN guns per wing. Only one of the Belgian-built examples was delivered before Belgium fell, however, and was allocated to the test centre at Evere, so it is unlikely it saw action.
The second image shows a Mitrailleuse d’Avion Browning FN Calibre 13,2mm. This was a refinement of the American Browning 0·5in/12·7mm-calibre AN/M2 machine-gun, improvements being its lighter weight and increased rate of fire. The Belgian company devised an anti-aircraft high-explosive shell for it, making it in essence a machine-gun/cannon hybrid.
Spotted over southern Los Angeles about 30 minutes ago
The XF6F-1 Hellcat prototype marked the beginning of one of the most successful carrier fighters in aviation history.
Our latest article explores the development of Grumman’s original prototype, its early Wright R-2600 engine, the transition to the mighty Pratt & Whitney R-2800, and the fascinating details that matter to scale modelers—including the differences in the rudder finish seen in period photographs.
Did the first XF6F-1 fly in natural metal? Why does the rudder appear gray in some images and red in others? The answers may surprise even experienced Hellcat enthusiasts.
Read the full story on GModel Art and share your thoughts below.
Pictured is B-17G "Liberty Belle" (NOT the first mission as in the title - just an example of a B-17)
CORRECTION: On July 4, 1942, the U.S. Eighth Air Force executed its first-ever bombing mission in Europe, launching an Independence Day strike on four German-occupied airfields in the Netherlands
My mistake
During the late 1930s, the RAF determined that a large number of rifle-calibre machine guns was adequate for arming their fighters, specifically early variants of the Spitfire and Hurricane. However, it's common knowledge that combat experience during the Battle of Britain proved that this wasn't the case, and both planes were hastily armed with cannons as a result. While the Hispano would eventually become a reliable and effective weapon and would be the main British fighter gun for the rest of the war, it initially had trouble, especially when mounted in the Spitfire. I must wonder, would it have been more practical during the desperate days of the fall of 1940 to simply shoehorn American .50 M2s on to fighters as an interim fix? While it may have been tricky on the Spit, the thick wing of the Hurricane could have probably fit the standard six M2s without trouble, and it likely would have been more effective against tougher targets like He111s. In addition, the Royal Navy was starting to receive M2 armed F4F-3s (Martlets) at this time, and they were fairly easy to obtain via lend-lease. While late-war Spitfire variants would use them in tandem with Hispanos, they weren't widely used by the British other than on lend-lease aircraft.