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.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Grumman TBF Avenger after it ditched following a catapult mishap on board the USS Bataan - 29 March 13, 1944
That aircraft was notorious as a death trap that sank like a stone after ditching. G.Bush I ditched two of them in 1944 after being shot up on bombing runs. He lost both crews. They were almost impossible for the gunners to escape from with a chute on or in the water.---Ray
We lost a lot of good men in that war - not all at enemy hands. Stuff broke in these operational environments. It's no different today. We lose military people all the time to accidents. The classic example is the deck of an aircraft carrier - one of the most dangerous work environments on the planet.
That aircraft was notorious as a death trap that sank like a stone after ditching. G.Bush I ditched two of them in 1944 after being shot up on bombing runs. He lost both crews. They were almost impossible for the gunners to escape from with a chute on or in the water.---Ray
ReplyDeleteWe lost a lot of good men in that war - not all at enemy hands. Stuff broke in these operational environments. It's no different today. We lose military people all the time to accidents. The classic example is the deck of an aircraft carrier - one of the most dangerous work environments on the planet.
ReplyDeleteCalled a "cold cat shot" which regularly happened with hydraulic cats. Later cats (and today')were steam powered.
ReplyDelete