Looks like we're getting a 39D as well.

[Bruv119]

are we all sure the squeakers will be able to handle boobies?

what do those do etc ???

[Stang]

Originally posted by Bruv119
are we all sure the squeakers will be able to handle boobies?

what do those do etc ???

The only pair the squeakies have seen are their mothers' saggy titties.

[TimRas]

Originally posted by Bruv119
are we all sure the squeakers will be able to handle boobies?
what do those do etc ???

Originally posted by Stang

The only pair the squeakies have seen are their mothers' saggy titties.

If I was the moderator of these boards all hell would break loose.

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

If ever* that skin is released, one of two things will happen.

1:Unless its the art on the plane your flying, you wont hardly ever get close enough to your *target* to go "boobies!?" while your tryin' to get the kill.If you do, your time is probably better spent using the 15 bucks on porn vs. straining your neck to try to get a tit shot in a flight sim.

2:IF ANYTHING, a night gown of some sort will be put on, just so reply's like some here & mine, will come to a end.


Fighter pilots lived and died, and therefor could "almost" put whatever art they wanted on the bird, granted the Co's and probably the general culture of the people around the area granted it acceptable.."imagine a bunch of shirtless 1940's african women's in north africa being offended by a naked woman on a flying machine, vs. a 1940's british victorian woman, and how she might feal about it.


Sorry dint mean to offend anyone or anything, just turning the coin to the side so everyone can see bolth views.


"shrugs"

*Throws two cents, and walks away*

[Widewing]

Originally posted by BaDkaRmA158Th
If ever* that skin is released, one of two things will happen.

1:Unless its the art on the plane your flying, you wont hardly ever get close enough to your *target* to go "boobies!?" while your tryin' to get the kill.If you do, your time is probably better spent using the 15 bucks on porn vs. straining your neck to try to get a tit shot in a flight sim.

2:IF ANYTHING, a night gown of some sort will be put on, just so reply's like some here & mine, will come to a end.

Night gown? LOL

These are historic nose art. There's no night gowns!

Moreover, it's not like we don't have undressed ladies on other aircraft...









My regards,

Widewing

[2bighorn]

Originally posted by BaDkaRmA158Th
a 1940's british victorian woman, and how she might feal about it.

no worries, most of them are dead and few remaining don't play AH.

Well, now that I think of, Taurus45's aunt was 90 something, when she stole his account info and blasted through the air. Luckily all of her attention was dedicated to joystick and none to skin art.

[Hawk55]

Originally posted by Rich46yo
Many fighter jocks were, and are, a bit odd. Most dont have much use for regulations. I remember a big stink was made once by our foreign hosts, during my days overseas in USAF, regarding our hotshot F-4 Phantom sticks standing the airplanes on end at full throttle over the base, and other assorted maneuvers. They were told to cut it out, in no uncertain terms, and for days afterwards you couldnt breath the air around the airbase due to the F-4s doing standing climbs. Ever hear an F-4 on full AB with the engines pointed right at you?

                    Eventually they had to be asked...nicely. They couldnt have cared less. We invested millions into them, needed the birds for special weapons delivery, and the sticks all knew they were to old to be rotated into the coming 15s and 16s.

                  Fighter jocks are a different breed. At least they were. I had a friend who flew Jugs in the ET and boy the stories he told me about these guys. But boy they could fly those jugs. Also many had problems after the war. With booze and trying to live life off the razors edge.

                  My guess is George was stuck with a fame he really didn't want. And it must have been frustrating to be assigned to aircraft not capable for the mission.

This is a great, and very, very accurate post.  

[hubsonfire]

Originally posted by 2bighorn
no worries, most of them are dead and few remaining don't play AH.

Well, now that I think of, Taurus45's aunt was 90 something, when she stole his account info and blasted through the air. Luckily all of her attention was dedicated to joystick and none to skin art.

Aah, good ol' AuntBea.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Widewing


As it turned out, Welch was not very popular with the pilots of the 80th FS. Some felt that he was a rich kid who pulled strings to get into the unit. (It was widely believed that Welch was heir to the Welch's Grape Juice fortune, but George was the son of chemist who worked for Du Pont). Other's didn't care for his general disregard of regulations that Welch felt were meaningless or unimportant. Still others thought Welch to be reckless, bordering on suicidal. Certainly a few pilots resented Welch's fame and the fact that Hap Arnold would insist on getting monthly reports on George from the group CO.

Nonetheless, Welch's combat leadership and skills could not be ignored. Everyone who flew with Welch had to admit that the guy was a gifted combat pilot. He was cocky, abrasive with a single-minded aggressiveness and a bit of a loner; Welch didn't fit into the culture of the 80th very well. But, when you think of other pilots who displayed those same traits, names like Thomas McGuire and Robert Johnson come to mind.

My regards,

Widewing

Apparently he and 80th CO Porky Cragg didn't get along too well.  Something to do with Welch's Dog doing something to Cragg's.

Apparently some other 80th pilots 'took care' of Welch's dog while he was away and got it so drunk it's legs quit working.  

Seems like that early war 5th AF fighter pilot bunch was an interesting bunch, much removed in style from the Hollywood versions or the 8th AF bunch for that matter

Of course lots of those guys ended up in the ETO later such as George Preddy who started with the 7th FS in P40s, John Landers who was also 7th in P40s and Sid Woods who was 9th FS in 38s.

[Treize69]

They sent the second stringers to England to make room for the starting lineup of oddballs.

[Megalodon]

Originally posted by Widewing
George Welch was unhappy with the P-39's limited range. Japanese aircraft had been pulled back beyond the range of the P-39s and P-40s. Across the field from the 36th FS was the 80th FS, flying P-38s. They were getting all of the Group's (8th FG) kills because they had the range to take the fight to the Japanese.

Invariably, when Japanese land based aircraft arrived, the P-39s were unable to climb high enough, fast enough to engage. That's the legacy of single speed, single stage supercharging. The AVG suffered this same problem in Burma and China. Even when the P-39s were able to wobble up to 25,000 feet, they were so far down the backside of their power curve that their performance was simply miserable.

Welch's 3 kills in the P-39 came against Japanese Naval aircraft, and for a change, the 36th's P-39s had the altitude advantage and were at an altitude where their P-39s were substantially faster than the Zero escorts.

Aside from this one engagement, Welch spent much of his time flying escort to transports, flying long boring patrols and attacking ground targets in support of Army ground forces in New Guinea.

Growing bored and disillusioned, Welch asked the CO of the 36th when they might get P-38s. The answer was "I suppose when they run out of serviceable P-39s". Welch walked over to the HQ hut and presented the same question to the 8th's CO. He received the same answer. George discussed this response with several of his squadron pals, and they made a pact to dispose of any P-39 that demonstrated a mechanical failure.

No one knows for sure how many P-39s were dumped in Papua Gulf, but Welch is believed to have left two P-39s rotting on the bottom. Word trickled back to the 36th's CO that Welch was the ring leader of the P-39 revolt. Realizing that Welch had way too much political pull with USAAF leadership to discipline him over what really boiled down to his zeal to fight; it was decided that the lesser of the two evils was to transfer him across the airfield to the 80th FS.

*Welch was fortunate that he received his transfer. When the 36th FS was reequipped, it didn't receive P-38s. Instead, the squadron was equipped with the P-47D-3 and -5. The Jug had greater range than the Airacobra, but still lacked the range to take the fight to the Japanese airfields.

Welch did not miss the opportunity, shooting down 9 more Japanese (in just 3 engagements), with squadron mates insisting that he shot down at least 5 more that he never bothered to put in claims for. After being promoted, he was transferred to the 8th HQ staff, where he continued to fly combat missions. Welch was removed from combat due to a dangerous case of malaria. After he had recovered, doctors decided that the haggard and worn-out pilot had seen enough combat and Welch was transferred back to the States. He had flown 348 combat missions, logging nearly 800 hours of combat zone flight time.

As it turned out, Welch was not very popular with the pilots of the 80th FS. Some felt that he was a rich kid who pulled strings to get into the unit. (It was widely believed that Welch was heir to the Welch's Grape Juice fortune, but George was the son of chemist who worked for Du Pont). Other's didn't care for his general disregard of regulations that Welch felt were meaningless or unimportant. Still others thought Welch to be reckless, bordering on suicidal. Certainly a few pilots resented Welch's fame and the fact that Hap Arnold would insist on getting monthly reports on George from the group CO.

Nonetheless, Welch's combat leadership and skills could not be ignored. Everyone who flew with Welch had to admit that the guy was a gifted combat pilot. He was cocky, abrasive with a single-minded aggressiveness and a bit of a loner; Welch didn't fit into the culture of the 80th very well. But, when you think of other pilots who displayed those same traits, names like Thomas McGuire and Robert Johnson come to mind.

My regards,

Widewing

After December 7th, Welch continued to fly combat patrols around Oahu. However, the news of his four confirmed victories had been released to the press and soon he was ordered back to the States. The country was badly in need of a hero, and Welch fit the bill. After several hectic months of giving War Bond speeches across America, Welch finally received orders to return to the Pacific. George reported to the 36th Fighter Squadron of the 8th Fighter Group in New Guinea. The good news was that this squadron had been seeing combat. The bad news was that is was flying the hopeless Bell P-39 Airacobra. Welch found himself flying mostly ground support missions, this being largely due to the P-39’s poor combat performance and its limited range. Certainly, the 37mm cannon was useful against ground targets, but the Bell was at a serious disadvantage when facing Japanese fighters. This was largely the fault of it being fitted with an Allison engine that lacked a two speed, two stage supercharger. This meant that performance dropped off quickly above 12,000 ft. At the altitudes necessary to engage the Japanese bombers and fighters, the P-39 was an absolute dog. Welch did not view the lack of performance at altitude as the primary sin of the P-39. What truly turned Welch against the Airacobra was its limited combat radius. With the majority of air to air engagements being fought beyond the reach of the Bell, opportunities to shoot down more Japanese were nearly nonexistant. Naturally Welch noted that there were squadrons on his base that were flying the P-38G Lightning. Now, here was a fighter! Fast, long ranging and equally important, its twin Allison engines were turbosupercharged. This allowed the P-38 to climb higher and faster than the P-39. It was everything Welch wanted and the performance of the P-38 was reflected in the tally of Japanese aircraft being shot down. George wanted the Lightning, he wanted it badly and cornered his group commander and inquired as to when 36th could expect to get the P-38. The answer was: “When we run out of P-39s.” That was all Welch and the pilots of 36th needed to hear. Virtually any problem encountered in flight (real or imaginary) resulted in a bailout from that day forward. The operational loss rate climbed dramatically. Welch found himself in hot water with the Group commander, who pointed out that George had been very successful in the P-39. Hadn’t he shot down two Vals and a Zero on the one-year anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack? That didn’t deter Welch, who knew he could have splashed a hell of a lot more if he’d been flying the Lightning. Finally, the Brass gave into Welch’s repeated requests and transferred him across the field to 80th Fighter Squadron. At last, George had his P-38, and he made the most of it.


http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Welch1.html

[Grits]

Originally posted by Treize69
Most career military types of any stripe are a little off (ever hung out with Marines, or Cavalrymen?), but pilots have always been a step up in the uniqueness department, and fighter pilots a level above the rest (with combat chopper pilots at almost the same level).

LOL, tell me about it. My Dad was a Marine Helicopter pilot, then transitioned to A-4 Skyhawks.

[Treize69]

Originally posted by Grits
LOL, tell me about it. My Dad was a Marine Helicopter pilot, then transitioned to A-4 Skyhawks.

My Dads quite fond of relating a story from when he was in the Air Force in the '70s. Riding as a passenger in a Huey through the Rockies (he was a survival systems instructor at Great Falls, Montana), the pilot was chasing a herd of elk through a valley, laughing maniacally and saying "The best thing is, they aint shooting back!!".

Apparently he'd done a tour or two as a SAR pilot in 'Nam. 'Nuff said.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by Megalodon
After December 7th, Welch continued to fly combat patrols around Oahu. However, the news of his four confirmed victories had been released to the press and soon he was ordered back to the States. The country was badly in need of a hero, and Welch fit the bill. After several hectic months of giving War Bond speeches across America, Welch finally received orders to return to the Pacific. George reported to the 36th Fighter Squadron of the 8th Fighter Group in New Guinea. The good news was that this squadron had been seeing combat. The bad news was that is was flying the hopeless Bell P-39 Airacobra. Welch found himself flying mostly ground support missions, this being largely due to the P-39’s poor combat performance and its limited range. Certainly, the 37mm cannon was useful against ground targets, but the Bell was at a serious disadvantage when facing Japanese fighters. This was largely the fault of it being fitted with an Allison engine that lacked a two speed, two stage supercharger. This meant that performance dropped off quickly above 12,000 ft. At the altitudes necessary to engage the Japanese bombers and fighters, the P-39 was an absolute dog. Welch did not view the lack of performance at altitude as the primary sin of the P-39. What truly turned Welch against the Airacobra was its limited combat radius. With the majority of air to air engagements being fought beyond the reach of the Bell, opportunities to shoot down more Japanese were nearly nonexistant. Naturally Welch noted that there were squadrons on his base that were flying the P-38G Lightning. Now, here was a fighter! Fast, long ranging and equally important, its twin Allison engines were turbosupercharged. This allowed the P-38 to climb higher and faster than the P-39. It was everything Welch wanted and the performance of the P-38 was reflected in the tally of Japanese aircraft being shot down. George wanted the Lightning, he wanted it badly and cornered his group commander and inquired as to when 36th could expect to get the P-38. The answer was: “When we run out of P-39s.” That was all Welch and the pilots of 36th needed to hear. Virtually any problem encountered in flight (real or imaginary) resulted in a bailout from that day forward. The operational loss rate climbed dramatically. Welch found himself in hot water with the Group commander, who pointed out that George had been very successful in the P-39. Hadn’t he shot down two Vals and a Zero on the one-year anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack? That didn’t deter Welch, who knew he could have splashed a hell of a lot more if he’d been flying the Lightning. Finally, the Brass gave into Welch’s repeated requests and transferred him across the field to 80th Fighter Squadron. At last, George had his P-38, and he made the most of it.


http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Welch1.html

That's an outstanding article.. I should know. I wrote it.  

My regards,

Widewing

[SgtPappy]

Woots P-38H!