LetLetLet ~ Warplanes
Let Let Let - Warplanes => Warplane Art => Topic started by: No.1 on October 11, 2006, 11:00:42 PM
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Just let me few day's to make up my mind and see which final sample to release :)
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it's looking great as it is!
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Wow No.1 your make one wonderful fly fotress... how much time you need for make it?
look realy great :)))
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Few day's need to get to the basic shape. This is G version as you can see and if yoy have some interesting image just let me know. This is big plane and one deay, hope soo, will make one B-52.
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the first one is maybe a G type or am i wrong with this type completely?
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Yes it is G... and can you believe that few days before I have watch at the art present above and think about to finish it as soon as I get time ;)
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This is my Easter egg for the forum ;)
[Edit]:
Short addition to this photo:
The first big raid by the 8th Air Force was on a Focke Wulf plant at Marienburg. Coming back, the Germans were up in full force and we lost at least 80 ships-800 men, many of them pals. Army Air Forces., 1943
:-eek !
The town of this raid, Marienburg/Westpreußen it seems is after the war called Malbork, Poland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork)
Source:Wikipedia: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Raid_by_the_8th_Air_Force.jpg Image caption.
That is a lot of losses for one raid!! I will try to find statistical evidence for this.
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Very nice :-ok
Here's one from my collection of original prints. It was taken on the 26th Mar 1945.
I'm still researching the unit that took it. :-think
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8th Air Force Combat Losses in Wolrd War II:
http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/8aflosses.shtml
How can i interpret this statistic for the 9 October 1943: Target Marienburg?: 4 losses or 96? 13 damaged so it cant be 96?
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The losses of RAF Bomber Command during WW2 is a thing close to my heart, my wife lost her grandfather on one raid. The RAF lost over 55,000 aircrew from BC. I think I have stated before, the total numbers in the RAF now is only 41,000.
Personal feelings, any lost of life is sad, it does not matter which side they may have been fighting for.
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Please tell us more about your family loss :(
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He was Sergeant John Atkinson of 149 Squadron and was a Flight Engineer on board a Short Stirling Mk III.
The aircraft code OJ-O BK799 and took off from RAF Lakenheath at 23.51 on a raid to Krefeld, and was shot down by Oblt Ernst-Georg Drunkler of 12 /NJG 1 on the night of 22 June ‘43, timed at 02.39. This was his 3rd victory, and he went on to score 47 confirmed kills. Two of these were B17's in daylight. He was a holder of the Knights' Cross, and survived the war to die in 1970.
Other crew members were:
Pilot Off J Lowrie 148179
Flying Off DH Lyne 125540
Sgt EG Hird
Sgt A Coull 1559064
Sgt J Atkinson 1017417
Sgt DC Fudge 1312340
Sgt EC Waite 1279016
All the crew members died and are buried in northern Holland. The average age of the crew was 21
I have posted copies of his log book here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921073@N05/
If anyone wishes to see hiRes copies please let me know
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Thank you for this story and historic info. God rest their soul in peace.
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Thanks mate,
Well I'm going off-line for maybe the rest of the day, my mother has turned up for the day. :))
See you all later :-green
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Yes, thanks for the story Mick and may they rest in peace!
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Thank you all for your comments (Mother now gone home :-ok)
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Right back to B-17's. I have never heard of this variant before.
The YB-40 was the bomber escort variant of the Flying Fortress, where the Y stood for "service test". This aircraft was produced in an attempt to provide better defenses for B-17 daylight bomber forces which were suffering appalling losses in their raids against German targets on the European continent. The YB-40 was produced by converting existing B-17Fs in an attempt to provide additional firepower for the defense of bomber formations when they ventured into areas beyond the range of contemporary fighters.
The first XB-40 prototype was produced in November of 1942 by the Vega division of Lockheed. They converted a standard Boeing-built B-17F (serial number 41-24341) to escort configuration by adding a dorsal turret in the radio compartment position carrying a pair of 0.50-cal machine guns, a chin turret underneath the nose equipped with a pair of 0.50 cal machine guns, and twin gun mounts instead of the usual single gun mounts at each waist position. The regular top, belly, and tail turrets were retained, bringing total defensive armament to fourteen 0.50-inch machine guns. Additional protective armor was fitted for better crew protection. The bomb bays were replaced by storage areas which carried additional ammunition for the guns. The normal ammunition load was 11,135 rounds, which could be increased to 17,265 rounds if the fuel load was reduced.
Twenty more Vega-built B-17Fs were converted to YB-40 configuration, plus four TB-40 trainers. Although they bore the Vega model number of V-139-3, they were actually modified by Douglas at Tulsa, Oklahoma from Vega-built B-17F airframes. A variety of different armament configurations was tried. Some YB-40s were fitted with four-gun nose and tail turrets. Some carried cannon of up to 40-mm in calibre, and a few carried up to as many as 30 guns of various calibers in multiple hand-held positions in the waist as well as in additional power turrets above and below the fuselage! Oddly enough, there don't seem to have been any photographs ever published of these 30-gun YB-40s (insofar as I am aware), although I have seen some drawings.
The first operational YB-40 sortie took place on May 29, 1943 against St. Nazaire. Eight other missions were later flown, the last one taking place on July 4, 1943. Five kills and two probables were claimed during these missions, with the loss of one YB-40.
Very early on, it was found that the net effect of the additional drag of the turrets and the extra weight of the guns, armor, and additional ammunition was to reduce the speed of the YB-40 to a point where it could not maintain formation with the standard B-17s on the way home from the target once they had released their bombs.
The YB-40 could protect itself fairly well, but not the bombers it was supposed to defend. Consequently, it was recognized that the YB-40 project was an operational failure, and the surviving YB-40s were converted back to standard B-17F configuration or used as gunnery trainers back in the States. However, the YB-40 was to have one lasting impact--the chin turret originally introduced on the YB-40 was later adopted as standard for the B-17G series.
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Yes thats an interesting concept. Reminds me of the 2-seater formations in WWI. When they flew close together it was hard for scout planes to come near.
Heres another B-17 photo but i have no date this time.
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I think they are from the 96th Bomber Group based at Snetterton Heath, England
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Six years later- G version converted into F and soon will be released first profile
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On first look acts as a complex work. :-ok Good job!! :-ok
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You are right, very complex :-wall
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Look like that,believe me. When i saw your image,first thing i thought is "Oooo my God,how much panel lines!! ". :-wall :-roll
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And add to that many variations even with the same subtype and you will realize a horror :(
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Yes there are a huge number of nose window configurations, astrodome or no astrodome, etc. etc. etc........The F demands real hard research to determine exact details of particular airframes.
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I know mate, I know :-kr :-wall Here is a bit of progress :(
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Yes! That is beautiful to behold.
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Yes,looking great!!! :-clap
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Thank you fiends :) I have made this but I think that I will need to change start border into yellow.
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You are the boss! :))
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Ha ha :))
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very nice work No.1 :-ok :-clap :-wave
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Thank you :)
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Rare Yugoslav partisan machine :))
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Great!! :-clap :-clap