The 'What The Heck' File

Me bad – still have lots of learning to do on post WW2 British props (my excuse for being here 😉 )

Twin Pioneer in 1952!

I would still be York and Tudor on this one.

Mark

Twin Pioneer on the left, Hastings on the right?

Big German thing with six engines – easy-peasy Junkers Ju390 v1

I posted this on the tread I’m putting my Dad’s old pics on http://forum.airforces.info/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24189, but no takers. Its circa 1952 probably at Hurn and is an enlargement of two aircraft on the horizon (Photo 25):

And again – same aircraft.

No cheating! 😉

Looks something like a mini-Vampire!

Right, what’s this thing?

About that French Minijet thing: it was the SIPA 200 Minijet, a really small side-by-side trainer with a single jet engine producing an not quite impressive 150kg thrust. It flew first in 1952 (didn’t know the French had F-47s flying still then!), and seven were built but it lost out to the Fouga Magister and Morane-Saulier Paris (the latter being taken up for navigation training and hack) for the Armée de l’air.

Appearantly there is still some life in these little eggs: http://www.machdiamonds.com/s200.html

The flying boat on pictures 19/20 is a Martin Mariner. A PBM-3R to be pedantic: four-bladed props, no guns, no radar-doghouse over the cockpit. This was a transport variant, Australia also operated twelve of these (A70-1 to A70-12) in the later war years.

I like this, by the way!

Photo 21 is a Douglas B-23 Dragon. I believe the CAF has an airworthy example under restoration, and I saw one (fuselage only) at Kermit Weeks’ place too, two years ago. This photo could be one of those two.

Anyone guess what this is?

Photo 21

No, it wasn’t exploding (as discussed on the Bermuda Triangle Avengers thread 🙂 ) It is actually using JATO (Dear God!!)

Photo 20

I have gone through and numbered the previous posts at Ray Jades request. I hope this makes referencing easier. 🙂

Here’s a few more….

Photo 19

Originally posted by DazDaMan
Fair enough, Dave. I didn’t know about the Aussie roundels, as I’ve only ever seen the blue and white ones!

Cheers for clearing that up! 😉

Hey they manged to mistake a CH53 for a Hind in Gulf War 1. They have always had a reputation for shooting first and looking at the wreckage afterwards to find out what they were shooting at.

Originally posted by WebPilot
Nice shot of the Bristol Bombay. A very useful but somewhat forgotten type. As I recall, it was an armed transport that also had a limited bombing capacity – I think it had external bomb racks. I think it was designed as a sort of early MRCA for Empire duties. Although it was pretty much obsolete by the outbreak of war, the type served with success in the Western Desert and Iraq. I have just discovered that the later Bristol Freighter was derived from the Bombay design when the designer realised that the configuration would be perfect for a car transporter.

Wouldn’t it be great to see a Bombay at a Duxford airshow!

Also used in the ambulance role.
Yes – in formation with a HP Heyford

Kenneth
The aircraft in my Avatar is BA Swallow G-AEVZ taken at Finmere by myself a few years ago. It’s been altered in Microsoft Photo editor for the effect. The aircraft still flies and can be found in Spain now.
OAW

Imagine the sky full of rumbling B-36’s bombing Iraq…:)

The YB-60 is one iteresting aircraft. It was an interim solution by Convair, but it was also seen by the Air Force as a possibly less risky stop-gap alternative if the YB-52 hadn’t have panned out. However, the B-52 did and the YB-6o went the way of the dinosaur. But, can you imagine B-60Hs flying over Afghanistan and bombing Iraq today?!?!?! 🙂

The big swept wing jet was a YB-60. Basically a B-36 Peacemaker with swept wings and tail unit.
It was a competitor to the YB-52 but it’s technonology wasn’t as advanced. It was heavier and was 100mph slower. More of quick “fix-it” by Convair to stay in the race.

So USAF chose Boeing’s BUFF and the rest is history !!
Basically spelled the death knell for Convair for strategic bombers…:(

However, they did (with General Dynamic’s help) go on to build the excellent B-58 Hustler, and F102/106 family.

Another less notable achievements were the Seadart flying boat jetfighter and the massive turboprop Tradewind flyingboat.

Back to the twin engined Bell. I knew I had some info here, but it took a few minutes to dig it out. It is a Bell YFM-1 Airacuda. The crew positions in front of the engines hold 37mm guns in pivot mounts, accessable via crawl spaces through the wings from the fuselage. A total of twelve service test aircraft were produced by Bell. Though not accepted, this project is what got Bell A.C. “off the ground” as it were.

Hi Dave,

The Twin Engine Bell I believe is called the Aircuda I can’t remeber the exact des. for it.

The Lindberge photo look very familiar to me so I went back and check some thing with the Maine Aviation Historical Society. The photo was taken at Winter Harbor Maine. next to Ann’s parents summer place. This came from a seroius of photos taken by an AP guy in the summer of 36.