#krbd

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Fifi" rolls out after landing at Wings Over Dallas back in October. ⁣ ⁣ One of the least-known success stories of B-29 combat ops was the mining of the straits and harbors of the Japanese Home Islands. ⁣ ⁣ Starting in January 1945, the 313th Bomb Wing became the Twentieth Air Force’s specialist mine laying unit. Based at North Field on Tinian in the Marianas Islands, the 313th BW was made up of the 6th, 9th, 504th and 505th Bomb Groups. While B-17/B-24 bomb groups in Europe had four squadrons per group, B-29 bomb groups had only three squadrons. ⁣ ⁣ How successful was the mine laying operation? Keep in mind that coastal shipping was vital to Japan as their bridge and rail network wasn’t as developed as it is today and most of the land based transportation infrastructure were a B-29 targets. As a result, the Japanese economy was heavily reliant on coastal shipping. ⁣ ⁣ So many Japanese ships were lost to B-29-sown minefields that just in the eight months from January to August 1945 that mine laying missions flown, nearly 10% of all Japanese shipping sunk during the ENTIRE war was sunk just by B-29 delivered minefields.⁣ ⁣ By the time of the unconditional surrender in August 1945, every large port on the Home Islands was closed and the B-29 mine-laying campaign had expanded to Japanese-occupied Korean ports. ⁣ ⁣ The postwar US Strategic Bombing Survey of the European and Pacific strategic bombing campaigns concluded that the B-29 aerial mining campaign exerted far more pressure on Japan than attacks on industrial targets- in fact, at one point coal was nearly choked off to the factories on the biggest island, Honshu, as ships were unable to transport it from mines on Hokkaido in the north. ⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #airport #planespotting #WingsOverDallas2021⁣ ⁣ #Boeing #B29 #Superfortress #instagramaviation #mil_aviation_originals #USAAF #instaaviation ⁣#FIFI #CommemorativeAirForce⁣ ⁣ #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #TeamAvGeek (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYtljKNLfPn/?utm_medium=tumblr

The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress “Texas Raiders” of the Commemorative Air Force starts its engines at Warbirds Over Dallas this past October. Note the ground crew ready with the fire extinguishers.⁣ ⁣ Note the slots on the wing just behind the engine nacelles- they’re the exhaust slots from the intercooler of the Flying Fortress’s turbosupercharger. ⁣ ⁣ The turbosupercharger is driven by exhaust gases from the radial engines- the turbine of the turbosupercharger compresses incoming air and delivers it to the engine, improving the engine’s power output at high altitude as it’s being fed compressed air as if it were operating at a lower altitude. ⁣ ⁣ However, one of the thermodynamic consequences of compressing the air is that it heats up and this can decrease the air density, offsetting the very compression you’re trying to accomplish. Intercoolers are used in turbosuperchargers reduce the air temperature and can also increase the pressure of compression by virtue of the flow restriction by the internal fins in the intercooler. ⁣ ⁣ If you look at the leading edges of the B-17’s wing, there are rectangular openings which are the intakes for incoming air that’s compressed by the turbosuperchargers and another intake that’s for the cooling air that flows through the intercooler. The exhaust air from the intercoolers is vented out through those slots on the top of the B-17’s wing.⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #airport #planespotting #WingsOverDallas2021⁣ ⁣ #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #mil_aviation_originals #USAAF #instaaviation ⁣#TexasRaiders #CommemorativeAirForce⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #TeamAvGeek (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW94SSbsVkf/?utm_medium=tumblr

While 1941 was a dark year for the Allies especially in the Pacific, the exploits of the Flying Tigers against a numerically superior Japanese force boosted American morale early in the war.⁣ ⁣ The leader of the Flying Tigers, General Claire Chennault, rigorously trained his men to capitalize on the strengths of the P-40 Warhawk against the more maneuverable Japanese fighters. They avoided a turning fight and used the Warhawk’s speed and sturdiness in slashing attacks at high speed. Contrary to popular belief, the Flying Tigers never battled against the legendary Mitsubishi A6M Zero- it was likely a case of mistaken identity as the Zero was a naval fighter and the Imperial Japanese Navy had withdrawn its Zero units from China before the Flying Tigers went into action. ⁣ ⁣ Their main opposition would have been the Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar and the elderly Ki-27 Kate fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army. In those days, just about any Japanese fighter was referred to as a "Zero". Though not as a capable as the Zero, the Oscar was a more nimble and maneuverable fighter than the P-40 Warhawk. ⁣ ⁣ Flown in the right way, the Warhawk could effectively battle the Japanese. The Flying Tigers astutely realized the P-40 had a climb and speed advantage and used their P-40s in slashing attacks, avoiding the turning fight with the more nimble Japanese fighters. ⁣ ⁣ The bigger ailerons of the Oscar that gave it outstanding roll maneuverability were also a liability as Warhawk pilots would keep their speed up during dogfights- the higher speeds put higher dynamic loads on the Oscar’s ailerons, making the aircraft sluggish and less maneuverable.⁣ ⁣ #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas  #airport #texas #igtexas #WingsOverDallas2021 #CommemorativeAirForce⁣ ⁣ #Curtiss #P40 #Warhawk #FlyingTigers #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight  ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVwSKSSslnc/?utm_medium=tumblr

In 1940, Rolls Royce and the British government turned to the American manufacturer Packard Motor Car Company to assist with the wartime production of the Merlin engine. ⁣ ⁣ Packard’s role in the history of the Merlin gets glossed over when it was much more significant than just license production. Of all the Merlin engines built during World War II, 1/3 of them were built by Packard in the United States, but more importantly, it was Packard that made the Merlin mass-producible. ⁣ ⁣ Prior to engaging Packard’s assistance, the Merlin was built in small production lots that were near-hand built with some variations from production lot to production lot. Packard took the Merlin design and made subtle changes (primarily to accept American accessories) that essentially standardized the Merlin design with proper production drawings and measurements to allow mass production on *both* sides of the Atlantic. ⁣ ⁣ Packard assigned 200 draftsmen just to prepare drawings of the Merlin design and then in a short period of time lined up second and third tier suppliers to mass produce an engine that as superb as it was in its early marks, wasn’t originally designed to be mass produced. ⁣ ⁣ That this conversion took place *and* without sacrificing the performance of the Merlin engine is Packard’s legacy to the Merlin’s history as one of the iconic aircraft engines in history.⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #airport #planespotting #NorthAmerican #P51 #Mustang #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #USAAF #instaaviation ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #TeamAvGeek (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CER8sf0BlTg/?igshid=1dqksy2yfyifw

The B-17G “Texas Raiders” on its bombing run! Well, sort of. You get the idea. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ During the strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, most B-17 Flying Fortress missions were flown from 25,000-30,000 feet, but if the target was weakly defended by flak, the bombing missions could take place at considerably lower altitudes on the order of 15,000 feet.⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Bombing accuracy tailed off with increasing altitude as did flak accuracy, for that matter. From the IP (Initial Point) where the bombing run started, to the actual bomb drop point was about 10 miles and took about 30 seconds to traverse while the bombardier took control of the aircraft via the Norden bombsight. It was an agonizingly long 30 seconds to fly straight and level to the bomb drop point! ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ USAAF planners were not biased by notions of the accuracy of high altitude daylight bombing. Data from training and ongoing missions showed that a bomber at 20,000 feet at a 1.2% chance of hitting a 100x100 foot square target zone. That meant you needed just over 200 bombers to have a 90% chance of destroying that target. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ The standard 500 lb bomb had a lethal radius of under 90 feet and it dug a crater just two feet deep and nine feet across. As a result, the need for 1000-plane bombing missions against key targets becomes pretty obvious!⠀ ⠀ ⠀ It’s been said that “amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.” A typical Eighth Air Force B-17 bombing mission used the same amount of aviation fuel as what Nazi Germany could produce in a single month for the Luftwaffe. And in 1944-1945, there were some days where there were several such missions mounted by both the Eighth Air Force in the UK and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #TexasRaiders #CommemorativeAirForce #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #WingsOverDallas2018 #WoD2018 ⠀ ⠀ #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeeksAero #AvgeekNation (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B72IIWmhFlW/?igshid=5bfp9pabdlgm

The B-17G “Texas Raiders” on its bombing run! Well, sort of. You get the idea. ⠀ ⠀ During the strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, most B-17 Flying Fortress missions were flown from 25,000-30,000 feet, but if the target was weakly defended by flak, the bombing missions could take place at considerably lower altitudes on the order of 15,000 feet. Bombing accuracy tailed off with increasing altitude as did flak accuracy, for that matter. ⠀ ⠀ Interestingly in the Pacific Theater, most B-17 missions were flown from medium altitude and the B-17s were even trialed in low altitude skip-bombing, but that was a mission better suited to medium bombers like the B-25 Mitchell or A-20 Havoc that were more maneuverable at low level.⠀ ⠀ USAAF planners were not biased by notions of the accuracy of high altitude daylight bombing. Data from training and ongoing missions showed that a bomber at 20,000 feet at a 1.2% chance of hitting a 100x100 foot square target zone. That meant you needed just over 200 bombers to have a 90% chance of destroying that target. The standard 500 lb bomb had a lethal radius of under 90 feet and it dug a crater just two feet deep and nine feet across. As a result, the need for 1000-plane bombing missions against key targets becomes pretty obvious!⠀ ⠀ The B-17 did have fairly respectable high altitude performance thanks to a lightly loaded wing. Postwar, some B-17 target drones were flown to 40,000 feet and one Boeing test crew took a B-17 to just over 43,000 feet, setting an altitude record for four-engined piston aircraft. ⠀ ⠀ #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #texas #igtexas #Boeing #B17 #FlyingFortress #TexasRaiders #CommemorativeAirForce #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekNation #WingsOverDallas2018 #WoD2018 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4v7nb-hZYR/?igshid=1e57rs1eq0gyp

My previous photo talked about the USAF’s use of the Beech T-34A Mentor as a primary trainer in the 1950s. This photo is of the Navy’s version, the T-34B. ⁣ ⁣ Defense Department rules were that if two services used the same aircraft, they had to split the research and development costs. To get around this rule, the Navy mandated a sufficient number of changes to their version of the Mentor that it warranted its own variant designation (T-34B) and thus the Navy didn’t have to split the R&D costs with the USAF. ⁣ ⁣ The Navy ordered 423 of the T-34B which went into production a year after the USAF’s T-34A variant. Most of the aircraft were based at Saufley Field, an outlying airfield of NAS Pensacola, but small numbers of T-34Bs were assigned to headquarters squadrons and station flights to allow Navy and Marine Corps pilots to maintain flight proficiency while assigned to non-flying billets. ⁣ ⁣ After 16 years of use, the T-34B was phased out of Navy training service and replaced with the T-34C Turbo Mentor which had a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25 turboprop. The T-34C entered service in 1975 and has now been replaced by the Beech/Raytheon T-6A Texan II. ⁣ ⁣ Some T-34Bs were passed on the Navy and Marine Corps flying clubs. This particular Mentor wears the colors of VT-1, the “Eaglets”, which were based at Saufley Field outside of Pensacola. The “2S” tail code was used by VT-1. Another squadron, VT-5, was also based with VT-1 at Saufley Field. ⁣ ⁣ #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #texas #igtexas #Beech #Beechcraft #T34 #Mentor #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeeksAero (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ZEJM4hMDu/?igshid=cjpgy7ozn5dt

The Beech T-34A Mentor primary trainer was a derivative of the iconic Bonanza but with a slimmer fuselage for a tandem cockpit and a conventional tail to appease the US military which was at the time of the Mentor’s development in the late 1940s, was skeptical of the Bonanza’s V-tail. The straight fin of the Mentor was later used on the Beech Travel Air twin which was developed further into the Baron twin. The T-34 was the brainchild of Walter Beech who planned the new trainer as a postwar replacement for the T-6/SNJ Texans that were commonly used in the Second World War. First flight was in 2 December 1948, nearly three years after the Beech Bonanza’s maiden flight. The first customer was the USAF who ordered nearly 500. At the time, Air Training Command was divided into two components- Technical Training Air Force and Flying Training Air Force (FlyTAF). New pilot candidates first went to Lackland AFB in San Antonio for pre-flight screening before being farmed out to one of nine civilian-operated flying schools equipped with the T-34 Mentor for primary flight training and the T-28 Trojan for intermediate training. The nine contract schools were in Marianna (Florida), Columbus (Mississippi), Moultrie (Georgia), Bartow (Florida), Malden (Missouri), Bainbridge (Georgia), Marana (Arizona), Kinston (North Carolina) and Hondo (Texas). Though civilian operated, the primary flight schools were overseen by the USAF. The schools were phased out with the introduction of the Cessna T-37 jet and the creation of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) that moved flight training back under the aegis of the USAF. Most of the T-34A Mentors were phased out and passed to base flying clubs and civilian owners. The Navy used the T-34A Mentor as well. Production ended in 1959, but was resumed again in 1973 as the turboprop-powered T-34C Turbo Mentor for the US Navy. #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #texas #igtexas #Beech #Beechcraft #T34 #Mentor #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeeksAero (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Xr0fOBIAA/?igshid=15zgqgtg1te3d