Author: thejivebombers

PBY-5A (48386) of VP-62

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The plane crashed at the base of Old Women’s Mountain on Kodiak Island Alaska in 1945.  Of the 15 crew and passengers were aboard, 8 were killed. The aircraft, after several failed approaches in the weather, flew in to rising terrain and stalled while attempting to climb out of the situation.  Upon stalling, the aircraft plunged nose-first in to the ground.  Photos taken at NAS Kodiak.

Douglas TBD Devastators of USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise 

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Unfortunately, both aircraft (BuNo 0364 and 0329) were reassigned to VT-8 of the USS Hornet. They met their fate with the other 13 TBDs of that squadron at the Battle of Midway, where the hopelessly outdated TBDs were nearly annihilated.

That being said…

Ever since they were slaughtered at Midway, the term “hopelessly obsolete” has been attached to the TBD and, therefore, implying/stating that the reason 35 of the 41 TBDs participating in the fight were destroyed was due to their advanced age.  Yes, even before Midway in June 1942, the TBD had been overtaken by the rapid advances in aviation and, of course, was being replaced. However, the TBDs were obliterated not due to their age but the fact they were overwhelmed by defending Japanese fighters. Of course, being an older aircraft design did not help with survivability. Still, one must remember that the TBD’s replacement, the new TBF Avenger (an aircraft superior in all aspects to the TBD Devastator), was shot to pieces at Midway, where its loss rate was almost identical to that of the TBD. Therefore, the idea that the TBD squadrons were annihilated at Midway simply because the plane they flew was a few years old doesn’t add up – their near-annihilation (and that of the brand-new TBFs) was caused by their bravely flying unescorted into the teeth of the Japanese Combat Air Patrol.

Hell’s Angels and the Sikorsky S-29-A

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When the movie “Hell’s Angels” hit the screen, audiences got to see a host of authentic WW1 aircraft.  This isn’t one of them.  It is the post-war (and one-off) Sikorsky S-29 done up like a German Gotha bomber.  Eh, close enough.  This was not the aircraft’s first “acting” job. In its pre-Hollywood days, the S-29 had been fitted out as a bomber in the hopes of attracting the attention of the Air Corps. It did nothing of the sort.

In fact, the S-29 never had much luck finding its niche, this despite the aircraft’s solid performance. The first twin-engine aircraft able to maintain altitude on one motor, this power was also utilized to haul baby grand pianos. (I dunno, was that also a first?). The list goes on (first plane to operate as a flying radio station, etc.). But, it never met with success in its intended role of a passenger plane.  Sold off by Sikorsky, it continued to perform a variety of roles (flying cigar store – maybe another first?) before ending up in Hollywood.

Unfortunately, the aircraft came apart during the filming of Hell’s Angels, the pilot parachuting to safety.