Chris and John,
This is a subject near and dear. I've been a major fan of WWII vintage
aircraft since I was knee high. Thanks to you both for a some great
messages.
Chris- Wonderful shots of the Liberator memorial. It sure is great to see
those sorts of things, as far as I'm concerned. I don't think most folks
now-days have half the understanding of just what was accomplished at what
cost, in WWII.
John- You're absolutely right. There is nothing in the world like the sound
of big piston-drive radials. About the only thing I can say I've heard that
I've found as thrilling are the Merlin engines used in some WWII-era
fighters. Different sound entirely, but "way cool".
---
Scott Gomez
(too young to even remember WWII, but grateful for what was accomplished,
nonetheless)
-----Original Message-----
From: John A. Lind [mailto:jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 17:06
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [OM] Liberator Crash site
At 11:42 8/1/01, you wrote:
>I have made a little website with some photos of the War Memorial in
>Scotland that I visited with my wife and younger son. If anyone is
>interested, it is at:
>
>http://www.threeshoes.co.uk/liberator/lib_grave_main.html
>
>If that does not work, try going to http://www.threeshoes.co.uk and
>clicking on the link about 2/3rds of the way down the page.
Chris,
Thanks for posting these. We have a saying in the U.S. Army that are words
to the effect: "So long as a single soldier still lives, those who went
before are never forgotten." (I'm now retired.) Thanks for helping us
live up to that.
Today I took a day of vacation today to photograph a B-17 Superfortress and
B-24 Liberator as they landed at the very small airport here, and then to
make some ground shots of them after they landed. Because the airport is
so small, I was able to position myself less than 200 yards from the end of
the runway, on the shoulder of a public road running between sets of
approach lights. The B-17 is one of just a few still flying. The B-24 is
the *only* one still flying.
Used the OM-4 with winder and 18/3.5 on a tripod. Had the traverse and
elevation loosened so I could pan and track as they lined up on final
approach. Was able to fill the viewfinder looking almost straight up as
they passed overhead. I've never had a large aircraft fly over me that
low. As they lined up it looked like they were headed straight for me
(DOH, I guess they were). The thundering of their four radial engines was
magnificent; nothing like any other aircraft I've heard before. I cannot
imagine what it must have sounded like in the huge formations they flew
during the war, when the sky would go dark from the numbers of them. For
military aircraft over 55 years old, they are in "KEH EX" condition.
I was able to walk through each of them, if you can call it that. For the
first time in my life, I felt aged. The crews had to be contortionists and
gymnasts to move around the inside of them. Just getting from the forward
hatch to the flight deck was a chore climbing around oxygen tanks and the
top turret mount. The bombadier had to crawl through an opening below the
flight deck to get to his station. Not a job for someone with vertigo; it
hangs out into the plexiglass nose!
Got the OM-4 back from a CLA and overhaul by John H. just in time to use it
for this. Performed flawlessly (thanks John). Shot two rolls of
Kodachrome and now must wait a week for them to be processed. Never done
the overflight shots before. It will be interesting to see how they turn
out.
-- John
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|