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.
Step-dad flew most of the Navy's inventory during the Korean War as a pilot in a FASRON (Fleet Air Support Squadron). He said the Corsair was his least favorite. He had to give one back to the taxpayers due to a burning centerline fuel tank.
I had an uncle that was on the Essex for the duration of the War. He was a machinist mate. He worked on the aircraft elevator and airplane landing gear. He ended up getting a job as a contractor after the war with the Air Force rebuilding landing gear.
The plane is a tail-dragger and pilot can not see to the front and below him because of the massive cowling and the wings. This makes it challenging to judge the height above the ground accurately. Add a carrier landing with a rolling deck and the difficulty goes up significantly. In order to taxi on the ground the pilot has to zig-zag to see what is in front of him.
I was told the prototype was good on getting aboard. the nose was shorter and easier to see around. then the nave decided to stick a bloody huge fuel tank in front of the pilot and stretched the nose forward. Spitfire curving approach is what saved the plane once the anglophiles(led ablely by none other than Adm. King)in the navy overcame their personal prejudices.
That is an EARLY F4U-1 performing first or second round carrier trial's sometime in 1942. The F4U-1 was such a bear to land that they didn't get out to the fleet until 1944 as the -3. The F4U-5 used in Korea was a different airframe prop, and powerplant, being optimized for ground attack. It did exactly the same job as the AD-1 Skyraider --Ray
Oddly enough, if we wanted to build one of them now it would take a billion dollars and 3 years and 5999 people would crawl out of the woodwork eager to fly it.
So that aircraft has 17-F-22 as its number, that means it was part of VF-17, the Jolly Rogers. Let me recommend the book of the same name by the skipper of VF-17, Tommy Blackburn (later CO of the carrier Midway) He relates that VF-17 was to go to the Pacific with the Bunker Hill (CV-17) but was changed out at the last minute for an F6F squadron because there was no supply chain leading to the fleet for Corsairs. They went on to the Solomons and were land-based. They did operate off of a carrier, though; they flew out to carriers to provide fighter cover during a raid on Rabaul. Blackburn said every time his pilots approached a field, they practiced a carrier landing.
the second landing after the bounce shows the brakes locked up solid.the pilot was no doubt looking forward at the barrier and really really wanting to stop before it. think of all the damage, death, and injuries suffered before the USN adopted the wonderful RN invention of the angled flight deck.
The big point is that the arresting gear worked.
ReplyDeleteAnd the tail hook stayed on.
DeleteTakeoffs are optional, but landings are mandatory.........
ReplyDeleteStep-dad flew most of the Navy's inventory during the Korean War as a pilot in a FASRON (Fleet Air Support Squadron). He said the Corsair was his least favorite. He had to give one back to the taxpayers due to a burning centerline fuel tank.
ReplyDeleteI had an uncle that was on the Essex for the duration of the War. He was a machinist mate. He worked on the aircraft elevator and airplane landing gear. He ended up getting a job as a contractor after the war with the Air Force rebuilding landing gear.
ReplyDeleteThe plane is a tail-dragger and pilot can not see to the front and below him because of the massive cowling and the wings. This makes it challenging to judge the height above the ground accurately. Add a carrier landing with a rolling deck and the difficulty goes up significantly. In order to taxi on the ground the pilot has to zig-zag to see what is in front of him.
ReplyDeleteI was told the prototype was good on getting aboard. the nose was shorter and easier to see around. then the nave decided to stick a bloody huge fuel tank in front of the pilot and stretched the nose forward. Spitfire curving approach is what saved the plane once the
Deleteanglophiles(led ablely by none other than Adm. King)in the navy overcame their personal prejudices.
Holy cow! The blades come within an inch or two of the deck and that's a good landing! For all their stories, coming home had to be the best.
ReplyDeleteThat is an EARLY F4U-1 performing first or second round carrier trial's sometime in 1942. The F4U-1 was such a bear to land that they didn't get out to the fleet until 1944 as the -3. The F4U-5 used in Korea was a different airframe prop, and powerplant, being optimized for ground attack. It did exactly the same job as the AD-1 Skyraider --Ray
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOddly enough, if we wanted to build one of them now it would take a billion dollars and 3 years and 5999 people would crawl out of the woodwork eager to fly it.
ReplyDeleteSo that aircraft has 17-F-22 as its number, that means it was part of VF-17, the Jolly Rogers.
ReplyDeleteLet me recommend the book of the same name by the skipper of VF-17, Tommy Blackburn (later CO of the carrier Midway)
He relates that VF-17 was to go to the Pacific with the Bunker Hill (CV-17) but was changed out at the last minute for an F6F squadron because there was no supply chain leading to the fleet for Corsairs. They went on to the Solomons and were land-based. They did operate off of a carrier, though; they flew out to carriers to provide fighter cover during a raid on Rabaul.
Blackburn said every time his pilots approached a field, they practiced a carrier landing.
the second landing after the bounce shows the brakes locked up solid.the pilot was no doubt looking forward at the barrier and really really wanting to stop before it.
ReplyDeletethink of all the damage, death, and injuries suffered before the USN adopted the wonderful RN invention of the angled flight deck.