Historically Orloved

"With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username" (with-a-g) 01/02/2014 at 16:25 • Filed to: orloved

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An unknown pilot was among those who Valiantly but futilely tried to keep Chrysler from falling into Italian hands in the battle of Corinthian Cordoba.

ttyymmnn > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 16:44

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"One a day in Tampa Bay"

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > ttyymmnn 01/02/2014 at 16:49

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wow

such B-26

ttyymmnn > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 17:02

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Much wing loading. Very crash.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > ttyymmnn 01/02/2014 at 17:10

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Alright, I have to know... For me, my grandfather was in B26s in WWII. I heard lots of stories and read a bunch about them when I was in school. So how did you so quickly spout off with B26 lore?

ttyymmnn > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 17:21

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I'm an airplane nut, and have read extensively about WWII aviation. The Marauder was a great plane, with terrific performance, in the hands of an experienced pilot. But the high wing loading lead to very high landing speeds, and was a real handful for pilot recruits and inexperienced pilots. "One a day" was an exaggeration, but the B-26 did, I believe, have a higher crash rate than any other type during the war.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > ttyymmnn 01/02/2014 at 17:28

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It's my understanding that by the end of the war it was among the safest, but that may be my grandfather's storytelling pride coming through. Certainly a handful in training with more than its share of accidents. His favorite moniker for it was "the flying prostitute." (very fast, and had no visible means of support)

ttyymmnn > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 18:01

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Wikipedia has a good article about it.

In 1942, Glenn Martin was called before the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, or Truman Committee, which was investigating defense contracting abuses. Senator Harry Truman, the committee chairman, asked Martin why the B-26 had troubles. Martin responded that the wings were too short. Truman asked why the wings weren't changed. When Martin said the plans were too far along and besides, his company already had the contract, Truman's response was quick and to the point: In that case, the contract would be canceled. Martin said corrections to the wings would be made. By February 1943, the newest model, the B-26B-10, had an additional 6 feet (1.8 m) of wingspan, plus uprated engines, more armor and larger guns.

It would be interesting to know which model your grandfather flew. He may have had the later version, or he may also have been a very good aviator.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > ttyymmnn 01/02/2014 at 18:08

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Well, my grandfather wasn't a pilot, he was a waist gunner and radio operator. He also didn't enter the service until 1943, so it's likely he was in the debugged version.

Xentron Holy Reaper of Worlds > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 19:58

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Did somebody say Corinthian and Cordoba in the same sentence?

mikeluscher159 > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/02/2014 at 20:55

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