KFfan

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Posts posted by KFfan

  1. Posted · Edited by KFfan

    A friend sent this to me.

    Never heard this amazing story:

     

    B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG)

     

    Crew:

    Pilot- Ken Bragg Jr.
    Copilot- G. Boyd Jr.
    Navigator- Harry C. Nuessle
    Bombardier- Ralph Burbridge
    Engineer- Joe C. James
    Radio Operator- Paul A. Galloway
    Ball Turret Gunner- Elton Conda
    Waist Gunner- Michael Zuk
    Tail Gunner- Sam T. Sarpolus
    Ground Crew Chief- Hank Hyland

    In 1943 a mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and a German fighter over the 
    Tunis dock area, became the subject of one of the most famous photographs of WW II. An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot, then continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress named "All American", piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb Squadron. When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces in the B-17. The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator were completely torn away. The two right engines were out and one on the left had a serious oil pump leak. The vertical fin and the rudder had been damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through connected only at two small parts of the frame, and the radios, electrical and oxygen systems were damaged. There was also a hole in the top that was over 16 feet long and 4 feet wide at its widest;
    the split in the fuselage went all the way to the top gunner's turret.

    Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed, except one single elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft miraculously still flew!

    The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor connecting the tail to the rest of the plane. The waist and tail gunners used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage from splitting apart. 

    While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs over the target.

    When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. It took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from parachutes and haul him back into the forward part of the plane. When they tried to do the same for the tail gunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began to break off. The weight of the gunner was adding some stability to the tail section, so he went back to his position. The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail from twisting off. They actually covered almost 70 miles to make the turn home. The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed and was soon alone in the sky. 

    For a brief time, two more Me-109 German fighters attacked the All American. Despite the extensive damage, all of the machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the fighters. The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was actually causing the plane to turn. 

    Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over the Channel and took one of the pictures shown. They also radioed to the base describing that the appendage was waving like a fish tail and that the plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they bailed out. 

    The fighters stayed with the Fortress, taking hand signals from Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signalled that 5 parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail out. He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he would stay with the plane to land it. 

    Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away. It descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing gear.

     

    When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a single member of the crew had been injured. No one could believe that the aircraft could still fly in such a condition. The Fortress sat placidly until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of the aircraft collapsed. 

    This old bird had done its job and brought the entire crew home uninjured.

     

    My father flew in B-24s in the pacific. Many fond memories of the stories. I am named after his best friend who died in a post takeoff crash. What an honor...

    1 person likes this

  5. Posted

    I ran across this today. I've not followed amatuer radio since the vaccum tubes became dianasours. I wonder if this device might be able to comply with the ADS-B in/out requirement for experimental aircraft. I'm certain it would have to work in conjunction with other hardware. The attachment is a pdf slideshow.

    Hamcation2015-SDR.pdf

  6. Posted

    I read part of an interview with a 17 year veteran of law enforcement and also a gun store owner. He said the hand guns that might use this round do not bother him. The weapon is so large it is easily seen. It is the small pocket handguns he is concerned with. The article also mentions that the government has not provided any factual data to support the claims. (imagine that) (note to barrack-hire better pr people)

     

    http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2560750

     

    Someone say Christie?  :wasntme:

  8. Posted · Edited by KFfan

    I've been to Casper & Cody.

    I can appreciate that "reliable" wind sock.

     

    I can remember my wife asking, "I see mail boxes but where are the houses?".

    I have always wanted to retire to ND, SD, WY or MT. Don't think I'll make it...

  12. Posted

    I beleive many times conflict arises because we do not have the benefit of voice inflection and facial expression when communicating via text. The smileys are here to help others interpret mood and voice. I'm guilty of not using them when I perhaps should. And then of course, most of us have not physicaly met one another. We have little information about each other's personality.

     

    Never drink and text. :beerchug:     Where's that one that looks like a growing green leafy weed?  :bugeyes:

  15. Posted · Edited by KFfan

    Hey guys,

     

    Thanks a lot, that is very much appreciated.  That should pretty much take care of the new update that just came out

     

    Ron...  That was funny right there, I don't care who ya are    It means something different here in AK too.

     

    It means something a WHOLE lot different, as of 2/24/2015!

  16. Posted

    Kind of like "airplane porn".

    Once you get started you just can't put it down.

    Reminds me of time spent IN the Bearing Strait.

    1 person likes this

  19. Posted

    Pointing up or down has no effect. The tubing however does. One thing to be mindful of is the reflected power from the tubing to the antenna. The vast majority of people do not consider this reflected power. Also, in fabric covered ships we want a effective ground plane constructed of a metalic material. Thin aluminum will suffice, even foil will work. The material must provide continuity to the "ground" side of the antenna to be effective. The manual I posted calls out a 36" circular coverage. No matter how you dice it, "ideal" is difficult to achive in our chosen vehicles.

    1 person likes this

  20. Posted

    Thanks guys!

     

    I hadn't given much thought to mine...before I began the investigation. The mount for it is affixed to a fuse tube on the right side aft of the seat. Yep, it is mounted vertical.  One more thing to tend to prior to getting in the air this spring.  I'm getting ready to remove the 582 to have it gone through and at least having the seals replaced. To the best of my knowledge it hasn't been touched in 253 hours over nearly 15 years. The hoses have been replaced. The seller, who did not fly it, advised to look at the Bings. He was running it and one of them overflowed. I communicated with the prior flying owner and he confirmed he had instances of an overflow as well. Logs were water damaged and "destroyed". Too many unanswered questions in my mind. Good that I have experience buying used vehicles... :hammerhead:

    1 person likes this

  21. Posted

    After reading TJay's response, I began to question the validity of my advise.

    I researched my ELT which is a Ameri-King 450 121.5/243.0 MHZ model.
    The installation instructions for this unit specifically state the antenna is to be mounted in a vertical orientation. Mounting the unit with the arrow pointing forward is also specified. This is because of the automatic activation feature of the unit in the event of an impact. That makes me suspect that units mounted in a vertical configuration may not activate properly. It also states the flexible antenna is only to be used for portable operation.     I have attached the ELT manual for any who wish to read it. I've also included AC 91-44A that relates to operational & maintenance practices for Emergency Locator Transmitters & Receivers.

    02 IM 450 Rev A Installation Manual.pdf

    ac_91-44a.pdf

    1 person likes this

  22. Posted

    Long time lurker, first time poster...

     

    Jbird

    I noticed in your photos your ELT is positioned horizontialy. Is this your final mount attitude? If so, you may want to investigate getting a 90 degree antenna adapter or, ideally, mounting the device in a vertical position. The horizontal plane of the antenna is 90 degrees from the standard emission polarity. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of any signal being emitted. Normal orientation of aircraft antennas is vertical. Receivers located very far from your transmitter will have difficulty receiving the signal, if at all.

     

    KF2 owner - yet to be a driver

    1 person likes this