Quote:
Originally Posted by CRH911S
Joe, what was that fighter we used in the Pacific that had the engine in the rear and the propeller shaft ran between the pilots legs? I remember hearing it was a pretty good fighter but had heating problems if it sat on the taxi way too long.
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The P39 "Aircobra" was an early design that just did not work very well as a fighter. It indeed did have overheating issues if it could not get airborne quickly and was not nimble.
It was very good at one thing, and that was tank busting. The cannot barrel that you can see sticking out of the nose did a very good job at dispatching tanks, so we sent a whole bunch to the Russians, who used them for many years.
MFAFF,
A friend of mine is the person restoring the FW-190 you are talking about. BTW, its not in Seattle but will be when completed. Cannot say anymore about it as its confidental as per the owner.
Thought that the five "nachbau" (new build) FW-190's were all flying. Sorry to see the one in the UK down.
The other one that is up and coming is the "White One" FW-190. That is the one that was flown by my friend, Heinz Orlowski. He was one of the fighters flying CAP to protect the Tirpiz, the German Battleship that was sunk by the RAF in Norway late in the war.
http://www.white1foundation.org/white1_history2.htm
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A single Mustang tried to help out, and attacked the German fighter. A long aerial duel developed. The Mustang finally caught fire, and made a wide turn out the fjord. Perhaps he will try to get away and make a crash landing. But then the british pilot turned back. According to eyewitnesses the pilot must have been badly wounded,but instead of bailing out he continued the fight. But to no avail. The Mustang crashed in the green pine forrest being the only Mustang loss of this battle. W/O Cecil Claude Caesar was dead.
The German fighter was in trouble also. The engine had been damaged and this forced the pilot to bail out. A small charge dispensed with the canopy and a small figure detatched itself from the plane. But he was too close to the ground for the chute to open. Fortunately, the snowy hillside enabled the pilot to survive, a small avalanche carried him to the bottom of the valley. During the journy down, the flare gun accidentily went off, causing severe burns on one leg. Still, he can walk, and he found his way into a small barn. After a little while some Norwegians contacted him and made sure he got to hospital. This pilot was Heinz Orlowski. He spent the rest of the war in hospital and reconvalenced at Herdla, and did not see further combat. In 1994 he and his newly-restored "Weisse 1" was actually reunited in Texas, survivors of a fierce battle some 49 years before.
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Here is Heinz in Berlin last December.
