B-29 Doc @ KMCW

[1tinindian]

I came across this beauty coming into work this morning.
http://fjowners.com/gallery/11/646_18_07_19_10_37_01.jpeg

[TexasDave]

Great picture. Is that at the Waterloo Airport?

Dave

[1tinindian]

Great picture. Is that at the Waterloo Airport?

Dave

KMCW is Mason City, Iowa

[Motofun]

Interesting trivia.  The B29 project was actually more expensive than the Manhattan project.  Beautiful plane!

[Tuned forks]

They should hire Pat to polish the skin.  

I watched a video of Doc taking off.  It might have been the first flight or maybe not but there were a lot of people attending.  It's awesome to see those behemoths take to the sky.

For those interested, I found the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_AZeMRqCfg
There are a couple people in the video that make it extra special.  You have to watch to understand.

Here is another one.  Awesome seeing a formation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncUdqT8AxY0

Joe

[FJ Flyer]

Saw Doc and Fifi at the Reading airshow last year, along with Aliminum Overcast. Have to pony up someday soon to take a ride. Amazing machines.

[Old Rider]

Nice plane but not so nice thinking about this planes was used to drop nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and nagasaki and killed over 140 000 inocent pepole

[1tinindian]

Nice plane but not so nice thinking about this planes was used to drop nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and nagasaki and killed over 140 000 inocent pepole

We, as a country that was attacked by Japan, were tasked to end/win the war by any means possible.
As cruel as that sounds, that is the meaning of war.

[red]

Nice plane but not so nice thinking about this planes was used to drop nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and nagasaki and killed over 140 000 inocent pepole

Old rider,

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  How many innocent Chinese people were killed by Japanese soldiers, before that?  There is a lot more to the story.
.

[TexasDave]

Think how many American and Japanese lives were saved by not having to invade main land Japan. Certainly more than killed by the atomic bombs.

Dave

[PaulG]

If this is closer to home, you can also catch a ride on this Avro Lancaster MkX the only one left this side of the pond. The Canadain Warplane Heritage Museum has several vintage aircraft you can buy flights on.  Hopefully I'll eventually go for something cheaper though, unless the lottery comes in.

Now for a little diversion ..

Think how many American and Japanese lives were saved by not having to invade main land Japan. Certainly more than killed by the atomic bombs.

Dave

To put things into perspective, this has been the mantra for +70yrs yet has been contested by historians and researchers several times over.

Russia had already swept through Manchuria and were ready to invade northern Japan by late August 1945.  Since Truman already dropped both of them, Stalin blinked and went home.  The decision to drop the bomb was based on politics, and had little to do with any military considerations.  It was a signal to the Russians to back off.  Yes the US would probably have incurred horrendous losses if they invaded, but there was never a need to. 

The continued incendiary bombing of Japanese cities would have had the same result.  As cold as it sounds, thousands more civilians would have died, but with nil US/Allied losses.  No physical invasion would have been needed, though plans were prepped for it.  With Russia entering the picture, that changed the timeline for surrender.  The decision to drop it will be disputed for a while yet, until history is once again rewritten by future victors.

Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand...
Lady MacBeth

Now back to the thread....

[aviationfred]

I currently work in the building where Doc and Fifi were built.

Photos are of the

B-29 assembly line
737 body integration
787 forward section
Sikorsky CH-53K
Bell V280 tilt rotor
FJ1200 with 737 fuselages

All are built here in Wichita. The first 2 photos are in the same building roughly 70 years apart.


Fred

[ribbert]

I currently work in the building where Doc and Fifi were built.

Photos are of the

B-29 assembly line
737 body integration
787 forward section
Sikorsky CH-53K
Bell V280 tilt rotor
FJ1200 with 737 fuselages

All are built here in Wichita. The first 2 photos are in the same building roughly 70 years apart.


Fred

Hey Fred, you're not trying that old trick of taking a piece home in the panniers every night and eventually building a 737 bit by bit in your backyard are you?

Noel

[ribbert]

Now for a little diversion ..

Thanks Paul, that's very interesting.  I enjoy history and certainly WW2 was one of the biggest, complex and drawn out events of the last century (or maybe it was the flag on the moon fluttering in nil wind or JC appearing on a piece of toast or....

It is interesting that an event such as that with so many living participants is still subject to so much conjecture.

Noel

[Tuned forks]

That's awesome Fred, to work in a building with so much aviation history.

Joe