Subject: Getting rid of turbines. (grin)
From: "Dudley Henriques"
Date: 12/5/03 7:20 AM Pacific Standard Time
Guess you never rode between two roaring R-2800's high over Germany
with
flak
bursts singing in hamony with the Pratt and Whitney double Wasps?
.Music
to our
ears. .Turbines are for girls. Little girls.(;-))
Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
Flew a Bearcat with a 2800. It's a great engine. They did manage to stick
a
4360 in a Corsair. The numbers were quite impressive,
I wish I could have flown it....just once. Just starting the damn thing
was
a day's work. :-))
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt
Starting it up was a beautiful experience and a sound you never fofrget..
And
when you come back with a couple of cylinders shot out and it never
missed a
beat, it is an engine that you grow to love with all your heart.
Regards,
I had a friend who flew a Bearcat on the airshow circuit during the sixties.
He had beautifully hand painted on the lower side of the left cowl, "Baby,
if you love me, don't EVER leave me" :-)
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Funny how a thread like his can bring back memories rarely thought of in over
60 years. This was a conversation that lasted only 20 seconds, but this thread
brought it all back. It was announced that we would be losing our B-26
Marauders and they would be replaced with Douglas A-26 Invaders. One guy said,
" I hope they do as well for us as the Marauders did". The guy answered,
"They got R-2800's. We'll be ok". Of course the Invaders were better planes.
But it was never the same. Our old smelly, dented battered war weary Marauders
were personalised. We always flew the same plane with our nose art on it, Once
we got Invaders, no nose art allowed. We never flew the same plane twice or
knew in advance which plane we would be flying. It all became cold and
impersonal. After all these years I often think of "Willie the Wolf" But never
think of those shiny new Invaders with any sense of fondness.. Ah Willie. One
of a too long list of absent friends. (sigh)
Regards,
Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer