On this date in 1944, the U.S. Navy shot down, sunk on carriers, or otherwise destroyed the bulk of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, also known as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".
If this makes you want to look at pictures of old warbirds in all their piston-powered glory, that's completely understandable: Mauser*Girl's warbird pictures, let her show you them. Great photos; you can almost hear the Wright radials and smell the exhaust.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Nice pictures of some of the finest.
If you really want the grand tour of Navy WW II aircraft (and others) I personally recommend the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, FL.
Gmac
Of course, Spruance got castigated by the airdales who were still pissed that a blackshoe was commanding carriers and hadn't forgiven him for his major role in winning Midway. They said he should have gone all out after the IJN carriers instead of staying back to protect the invasion force and have his CAP, directed by radar and CIC and backed up by VT shells, gut the Japanese attack.
On the other hand, next go-round Halsey did exactly what the aviators were lusting after and left the Taffys wise open off Samar. His ass was saved for him by the incredible guts of a bunch of blackshoes.
Wide open. He left that Taffys wide open off Samar. I am sofa king...
My father was there on the U.S.S. Belleau Wood, a CVL (Light Carrier) converted from what was to be the light crusier New Haven. Wooden decks, no armor under the flight deck. The Kamikaze almost blew her in half, but they brought her home, minus a forth of the crew.
When I was a little shit, I'd go to work on Saturdays with my dad, at Green Cove Springs NAS in Florida.
All the reserve outfits were flyin in their prop jobs and transitioning to jets after Korea. My father was reconditioning the birds to ship them out again to the French, for use in North Africa.
I spent two years wiggling sticks in SBD's and F4U's, all the while listening to the old man bitching out the drippy wing hydrolics in the Corsairs. I hadn't thought about it in years. Thanks for the memories.
Post a Comment