7thsfsniper

Funny you mention that. We had a remote site that we manned two weeks at a time. At the end we were picked up in the morning. the first time is when my buddy filled his helmet with used waffles. The second, when the s**thook came to get us, we were all lined up with duffels and weapons ready to go. Chopper landed, and as soon as the rotors started to slow, smoke comes rolling out the back and side doors, oil is pouring out the back, crew chief steps out. Unplugs his com and says to us, "better find some shade boys, its gonna be awhile". After another chopper shows up with parts and a precarious offload, eleven hours later we get back to base. The crew chief said the most important thing was getting all the oil cleaned up due to fire hazzard. Thats what took the longest. A bunch of us pitched in and used about 100 rolls of paper towels sopping up hydro out of every nook and cranny. What a day. All because of about a six inch long peice of braided hose.

__________________
"Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men."- General George S. Patton, Jr

GAU-8

dave lukins

I sweated and strained over Chanook Manuals for hours to be told:

Ahhhhhhhh

Albany Rifles

I learned to my chagrin on a dark night in 1977 at Camp Dawson, WV about how slick hydro fluid can be. Slipped in a puddle of fluid as I was heading towards the back of the Chinook...with a 90mm RR across my shoulders. I was sore for days.

__________________
"Always with the negative waves Moriarty, always with the negative waves." TSGT Oddball, Tank Commander

Albany Rifles

Well it WAS aircraft related!

7thsfsniper

If no one objects, I'll pose a question. The great raid as its known, was a rescue mission mounted by US Army Rangers to liberate POWs from the Cabanatuan prison camp, the Phillipines, on jan 30 1945. A single aircraft provided a diversion to make the mission a success.

What was the aircraft and what was its other unique feature that was a first for american planes during that period, that made it perfectly suited for that mission?

dave lukins

I have dug up this nugget of information on this wondrous piece of flying:


Alamo Scouts and Air Force. The pilots (Capt. Kenneth R. Schrieber and Lt. Bonnie B. Rucks) of the plane that flew so low over the camp were incredibly brave men. About 45 minutes before the attack, Capt Schrieber cut the left engine at 1,500 feet (450 m) over the camp. He restarted it, creating a loud backfire, and repeated the procedure twice more, losing altitude to 200 feet (60 m). Pretending to be a crippled plane, Schrieber headed toward low hills, clearing them by a mere 30 feet (10 m). To the Japanese observers, it seemed the plane had crashed and they watched, waiting for a fiery explosion. It created a much-needed diversion for the Rangers inching their way toward the camp on their bellies.


Forgot to add: Radar equipped P-61 Black Widow.

Big K

quess what is that plane

http://http://www.nuridemirag.com/tfa.html

__________________
I'm not willing to remain silent even there will be no effect when i say.

7thsfsniper

Outstanding Dave! and quick! Your ? Sir.

dave lukins

In what year where US Pilots required to undertake a Medical to determine "fitness for duty"

RustyBattleship

1917:

My step-father had applied for Naval Aviation school but while still serving aboard ship (Naval Overseas Transport Service) a German U-Boat torpedoed the ship. The boiler room crew were trapped as their normal access route was damaged. Pop knew where the escape hatch was and when he opened it scalding steam caused severe injuries to his shoulder and lungs.

While recovering in England a Naval Officer came into his room and addressed him as ENSIGN Michael John Malia. To be accepted for Naval flying school you were immediately made a commissioned officer before even getting into an airplane (the Army was quite different as one of my supervisors was a NON-commissioned Army fighter pilot in France).

The Officer went on to say, something like this, "However, the rules state that you must be in physical condition to learn how to fly an airplane. Obviously you are not." (his lungs were scarred and about half a square foot of skin on his shoulder was scalded off). "Therefore I must deny your entrance into flight school and revoke your commission."

Yup. Pop was a commissioned officer in WW I -- for about 2 minutes.

__________________
Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

dave lukins

RB a lovely story,however, I did ask for the US date. You are quite close as the brits are normally a few years behind.

RustyBattleship

Well, Pop WAS in the UNITED STATES NAVY at the time transporting AEF troops to Europe. So 1917 would be a US date as well as anywhere else in the world (except Cathay - er - China). Though his name was Irish, he was born and raised in Pennsylvania.

Naval Overseas Transport Service (NOTS) was American civilian Maritime ships "inducted" into the Navy for Troop Transport and Supply ships.

By his request, his cremains were scattered at sea from a US Navy warship, in particular the USS Constellation CV-64.

dave lukins

Go on RB you where closest to the gold..your turn

RustyBattleship

This should be a real easy one as I'm still winding down from having a knock-down drag-out with Social Security, Medicare and Office of Personnel Management over a screw up on my Medicare (they put my WIFE's Social Security number on MY card effectively cancelling out my Part B).

When the Boeing 707 was first flown for demonstration, the pilot did something that was not on the flight plan. Nobody believed what he did and since no cameras were ready at the time, he did it again so it would be on film.

What was it?