Tuesday, April 29, 2025

 


A&G Fish Shoppe of the 458th Bomb Group in Belgium after an emergency landing, 18 March 1945.

The aircraft had taken three direct hits over Berlin, causing it to lose electrical and hydraulic power as well as the #3 engine. The engine threw its prop on the return flight, and engine #2 shut down shortly later. On final approach to a small dirt airfield in Allied-occupied Belgium the #4 engine also quit, but the plane made it to the ground safely with less than 50 gallons of fuel remaining.


17 comments:

  1. With only 50 gallons of fuel remaining, it may have been a good thing that some of their engines shut down.

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    1. Lucky they got down before the gas ran out, else they'd still be up there....

      Stefan v.

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  2. What kind of aircraft?

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  3. Thats called a close one.

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  4. Consolidated Aircraft's B-24 Liberator

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  5. Some of the stories around those things are crazy. My dad flew in B-17s but was never deployed due to a training accident. I think they came in on 2 engines once on a training run.

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  6. Had an Uncle that worked on them at the old Griffiss AFB in upstate NY during WW2. Said they always had hydraulic issues and he was assigned to a group of mechanics trying to solve that particular problem. He also said it was a good plane, but the hydraulics were simply a nightmare.

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  7. One of many aircraft held aloft by the hand of God.

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  8. Balls of steel. Those youngsters thought themselves invincible. You need youngsters who see war as an exciting challenge to overcome. Todays youth, fuck em for the most part.

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  9. Lucky plane, lucky crew. My mom and dad built those at Consolidated Aircraft, in San Diego.

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  10. Pilot control of a Liberator was reputed to require fulltime arm-strength. No hydraulic assist of control surfaces. Not that "power steering" had even been dreamt of at the time.

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  11. I wonder why they named it called A&G Fish Shoppe. Maybe the crew's favorite little shop in town near their base? The group was at Horsham St. Faith, north of Norwich in England.

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  12. Wonder what the pilots kids look like because of his giant balls of iron!

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  13. Twice as many 8th air force personel died over Europe (@50m) as Marines in the Pacific (@25m)

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