And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Yeh it was almost a six man fighter, But the wing loading was so high that with bombs and gas onboard a stall was almost all ways a death sentence. They were a bitch to get out of in a hurry, caught fire easily and had a nasty habit of breaking up when hit by cannon shells. Yet those kids(19-22 year olds) got in them every day and flew into low level "flack thick enough to walk on" Swarms of Fock Wolf FW-190 and BF -109 fighters ,who's cannon could cut the wings off a '26 in one pass ;and often did . They faced a life expectancy of 10 missions and went up anyway KNOWING they had almost no chance of going home. But "we have a job to do" was their motto, and they did it with alacrity. It is good that we remember such men, they were better than us.--Ray
Amen Ray... Great write up... Yes it is good and honorable to remember who gave it all knowing they probably had no chance of getting home... Perhaps those of chivalry and gallant men is long gone, perhaps not... Great read...
B-26 "Widowmaker" (Marauder). It was a fast aircraft with a very fast landing speed and pilots tended to stall it out and crash (thus the Widowmaker).
ReplyDeleteYeh it was almost a six man fighter, But the wing loading was so high that with bombs and gas onboard a stall was almost all ways a death sentence. They were a bitch to get out of in a hurry, caught fire easily and had a nasty habit of breaking up when hit by cannon shells. Yet those kids(19-22 year olds) got in them every day and flew into low level "flack thick enough to walk on" Swarms of Fock Wolf FW-190 and BF -109 fighters ,who's cannon could cut the wings off a '26 in one pass ;and often did . They faced a life expectancy of 10 missions and went up anyway KNOWING they had almost no chance of going home. But "we have a job to do" was their motto, and they did it with alacrity. It is good that we remember such men, they were better than us.--Ray
ReplyDeleteAmen Ray...
ReplyDeleteGreat write up...
Yes it is good and honorable to remember who gave it all knowing they probably had no chance of getting home...
Perhaps those of chivalry and gallant men is long gone, perhaps not...
Great read...