The Pearl Harbor P-40 boys

[Meep-Meep]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zS8HWFWaqa4

 

[mmissile]

Great work, in some less than stellar aircraft.

 

[Xp29h]

Great story!

 

[benno440]

one of the best looking planes ever built I reckon

 

[MOPOWER871]

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[monaco66coupe]

The Japanese hated and feared them, and couldn't understand how they could function so well. They could take a beating, were easy to repair, and had .50 Cal guns, and Angry American Pilots. Old maybe,,,,

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but please check this out too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Rasmussen

Here is another link that goes along with this amazing feat of airmanship.

Taylor and Welsh were not the only American pilot to get airborne that fateful morning. Another pilot named Phil Rasmusson also managed to get in the air in a very similar plane to the P-40.

He went up in a P-36 which was basically a P-40 with a radial engine. They took a P-36 and installed an Allison liquid cooled V-12 in it and ended up with the P-40.

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The top photo shows a plane painted up as the one he went up in that morning.

The second picture shows him standing next to the actual plane. Some sources said he quit counting when he got up to 500 bullet holes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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He managed to shoot one plane down before he came down.

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Notice the missing tail wheel tire, two HUGE holes by the number "86", fillet missing by the vertical fin and stabilizer, and shot up antennae cable..

 

[mmissile]

Excellent work.

 

[71airgrabberRR]

http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=6333

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This is a link to a photo that shows Welch, Taylor, Rasmussen and two other pilots that got in the air that morning and managed to down at least one Japanese plane.

 

[Car Nut]

Awesome!

 

[71airgrabberRR]

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/pr...ding-gear-fails-new-smyrna-beach-airport.html

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This P-40 I actually got to see in person. It is a Survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It's now airworthy again..................

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Thanks for the awesome thread.

 

[monaco66coupe]

The P-40 was used thru 1945 in Afrika, Italy, and Russia. it was a tough plane, although it's performance was off a bit. But it filled a crucial gap in the war effort.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Thanks for posting that video Meep. Those guys had real courage to take off after those zeros knowing they would be outnumbered and very possibly shot down.
I was lucky enough to be stationed at Hickam Field when Tora Tora Tora was being made and a few of my buddies and I worked for Paramount Pictures as extras during our off duty hours. It was an interesting experience and a hell of a lot of fun. I still have my pay stubs from Paramount to prove I'm an actor LOL.

 

[monaco66coupe]

That would have been great! There was a big Show at Offutt with the P-51, P-47, and others, and I was honored to be where the crews warmed them up, and taxi down the runway. There is no sound like a P-51 idling and waiting. I wish I could have been around them in the 40's.

 

[MOPOWER871]

 

[71airgrabberRR]

I found a few photos of the B-17's that landed that morning........

I thought these would be appropriate. No wonder they were referred to as "The Greatest Generation".

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This one crash landed.

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This one caught fire and burned after being strafed by the Japanese.

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Here is how most of the US planes ended up at Pearl that morning.

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This is a group of P-40's at Hickam Field.

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Here is a Japanese B5N "Kate" torpedo plane that was recovered later by the US Navy. It was dredged up from the harbor.

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Thanks for the excellent thread Meep.

 

[Budnicks]

Truly Brave Men, from one of the truly "Greatest Generations",
downed multiple enemy Japanese planes, IIRC 8 in total 6 confirmed/2 probable
all during the massive sneak Pearl Harbor attacks...

Thanks for sharing Meeps