Steve
En-Route
For the history buffs
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/2...tle=Local_museum_to_display_new_WWII_artifact
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/2...tle=Local_museum_to_display_new_WWII_artifact
Rare WWII artifacts now on display
- Thread starter Steve
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AdamZ
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Adam Zucker
Wow the story of how he got it was as interesting as the blade itself. Not sure I followe the part about the diving incident though.
Steve
En-Route
I think the point was the guy's wife sailed the boat single-handedly to Panama to get him to a compression chamber, if I read correctly. Just an aside.
Ghery
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Ghery Pettit
How do they know that this is off the Betty that he was in? Japanese records and matching serial numbers? Nice story, but I missed some details.
Hiperbiper
Line Up and Wait
"The airplane is easily identified because someone had cut the Japanese emblem from the center of the vertical tail fin. Fox’s photos show the hacksaw operation, the native carrying the prop blade over a stream, on his shoulder and later a picture of himself standing on the bow of his sailboat with a very satisfying grin holding the prop blade."
On April 18,1943 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was shot down by Capt. Thomas Lanphier and Lt. Rex Barber (both fired into it but Lanphier was credited with the kill). Per Capt. Lanphier: "the plane fell in flames and the right wing broke off, the rest crashed into the Bougaiville jungle".
I have several pictures of the crashed Betty taken by the Japanese. The entire wreckage is burnt to a crisp thus the whole "emblem being missing from the tail" thing is weird.
Next you have the picture of two guys holding a fairly straight prop blade (note the slight curl on the end) supposably taken from a Bomber that hit the jungle/ground totally out of control at over 250 mph.
Not buying it. They might have a prop off a Betty (or a Nell, etc) but I won't believe it's from the Yamamoto shoot-down...but if they're happy, I'm happy!
As an aside; This was the first (recorded) mission the 339th Fighter Squadron flew using the Lean-of-Peak engine management scheme championed by Charles Lindbergh. He showed how to keep a P-38 in the air for more than 1.5 hours PAST what was then thought possible...
Chris
On April 18,1943 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was shot down by Capt. Thomas Lanphier and Lt. Rex Barber (both fired into it but Lanphier was credited with the kill). Per Capt. Lanphier: "the plane fell in flames and the right wing broke off, the rest crashed into the Bougaiville jungle".
I have several pictures of the crashed Betty taken by the Japanese. The entire wreckage is burnt to a crisp thus the whole "emblem being missing from the tail" thing is weird.
Next you have the picture of two guys holding a fairly straight prop blade (note the slight curl on the end) supposably taken from a Bomber that hit the jungle/ground totally out of control at over 250 mph.
Not buying it. They might have a prop off a Betty (or a Nell, etc) but I won't believe it's from the Yamamoto shoot-down...but if they're happy, I'm happy!
As an aside; This was the first (recorded) mission the 339th Fighter Squadron flew using the Lean-of-Peak engine management scheme championed by Charles Lindbergh. He showed how to keep a P-38 in the air for more than 1.5 hours PAST what was then thought possible...
Chris