[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The North American Twin Mustang first flew in 1945 as the XP-82.

Sidebar: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...&postcount=335

[Llarry]

The Korean War (1950-1953) -- The other guys...

When North Korea invaded South Korea in June of 1950, igniting the Korean War, the NK Air Force was small and inexperienced. There were two main combat aircraft: The Ilyushin Il-10 (NATO code name: Beast) ground attack aircraft and the Yakovlev Yak-9 (NATO code name: Frank). Both of these aircraft types were World War II-era Soviet designs with liquid-cooled V-12 piston engines. As in the war on the ground, the North Koreans had the advantage of surprise and enjoyed early successes. But the U.S. intervened quickly with U.S. Air Force aircraft from still-occupied Japan and from U.S. Navy carriers in the region. The NK Air Force was quickly obliterated, and the skies belonged to United Nations air forces.

The USSR reacted quickly to aid the North Koreans and Russian pilots began covertly flying combat missions in aircraft with NK markings, creating the fiction that the Soviets were not engaged in the war. The Soviets also began training North Korean pilots on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO code name: Fagot), which in 1950 was among the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world.

The MiG-15 had first flown in 1948 and was powered by a Klimov RD-45 turbojet engine, a copy of the UK Rolls-Royce Nene. It was a transonic fighter with a top speed close to the speed of sound and was heavily armed with two 23mm cannon and a single 37mm cannon.

In 1949, an improved version of the MiG-15 first flew and was designated the MiG-15bis. It was powered by a more powerful Klimov VK-1A engine with 5.950 lbs. of the thrust rather than the 5,000 lbs. of the MiG-15.

The MiG-15 and -15bis remained the primary fighter aircraft on the North Korean side for the entire war. A large proportion of the combat missions continued to be flown by Soviet pilots and they were joined by pilots from China. Participation in the air war by the USSR and China continued to be covert for the entire war, although the UN side knew perfectly well what was going on; presumably they chose not to publicize the fact to avoid expanding the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War (see section on the air war)

[Lady Jane]

Zeppelin Fliegende Panzerfaust

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppel...de_Panzerfaust

[Lady Jane]

1879 Victor Tatin monoplane.



Aeronaut Henri de la Vaulx - in his “crash-suit” - used to test the Victor Tatin monoplane behind him in November 1907.

It came in useful when the machine crashed on the 18th, after a 70 meter flight.

[Llarry]

The Korean War 1950-53 -- the United Nations side...

The U.S. was the first air force to come to the aid of the South Koreans after the June 1950 invasion of the South by North Korea. But lots more help was on the way. The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the aggression by the North and many nations contributed forces to defend the Republic of Korea. (The reason that the UN was able to do so was that the Soviet delegation had walked out in protest over something or other and was not present to veto the resolution.)

Well-trained U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy units were soon in action and destroyed the NK air force. As previously posted, the USSR and then China came to the aid of the NKs.

Soon UN forces arrived in Korea to aid the effort. The list is long of those countries that contributed air assets to the war; those who sent combat aircraft include the UK Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Australian Air Force and Navy and the South African Air Force. Many others contributed transport and support aircraft.

The lion's share of the effort was accomplished by the U.S. Air Force. The effort started out modestly, but combat escalated as the USSR committed MiG-15 jet fighters to the war. That prompted the U.S. to send jets as well, including the latest F-86 Sabres to counter the MiGs.

Virtually the whole U.S. air arsenal, with the exception of those forces dedicated to the nuclear weapon delivery mission, was represented in Korea. The Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy contributed Fairey Firefly and Hawker Sea Fury aircraft.

As the war escalated, the U.S. started bombing North Korea with B-29 bombers. Enemy MiGs interfered and the B-29s got jet escorts; at one point the B-29s switched to night bombing (and had black painted undersides) as the enemy had no effective night fighters. Marine F7F and F3D night fighters and then USAF F-94 night fighters escorted the bombers.

The photos depict just a sampling of the combat aircraft involved on the UN side.

The war ended in a stalemate on the ground and UN forces were reduced. However, in 2023 the UN forces are still represented in small numbers in South Korea, while the U.S. maintains a considerable military presence, including two Air Force fighter wings with A-10 and F-16 aircraft.

[Llarry]

Production of the F-16 ceased in 1988, but more orders kept coming. Production has now resumed with the F-16V Block 70/72 variants for a number of nations.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Production of the F-16 ceased in 1988, but more orders kept coming. Production has now resumed with the F-16V Block 70/72 variants for a number of nations.

The F-16 certainly went through a lot of variants over the course of its life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genera...alcon_variants

[Lady Jane]

Rockwell XFV-12: a prototype that didn't quite make it but the concept would live on.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_XFV-12

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Korean War 1950-53 -- the United Nations side...

The U.S. was the first air force to come to the aid of the South Koreans after the June 1950 invasion of the South by North Korea. But lots more help was on the way. The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the aggression by the North and many nations contributed forces to defend the Republic of Korea. (The reason that the UN was able to do so was that the Soviet delegation had walked out in protest over something or other and was not present to veto the resolution.)

Well-trained U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy units were soon in action and destroyed the NK air force. As previously posted, the USSR and then China came to the aid of the NKs.

Soon UN forces arrived in Korea to aid the effort. The list is long of those countries that contributed air assets to the war; those who sent combat aircraft include the UK Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Australian Air Force and Navy and the South African Air Force. Many others contributed transport and support aircraft.

The lion's share of the effort was accomplished by the U.S. Air Force. The effort started out modestly, but combat escalated as the USSR committed Mig-15 jet fighters to the war. That prompted the U.S. to send jets as well, including the latest F-86 Sabres to counter the MiGs.

Virtually the whole U.S. air arsenal, with the exception of those forces dedicated to the nuclear weapon delivery mission, was represented in Korea. The Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy contributed Fairey Firefly and Hawker Sea Fury aircraft.

As the war escalated, the U.S. started bombing North Korea with B-29 bombers. Enemy MiGs interfered and the B-29s got jet escorts; at one point the B-29s switched to night bombing (and had black painted undersides) as the enemy had no effective night fighters. Marine F7F night fighters and then USAF F-94 night fighters escorted the bombers.

The photos depict just a sampling of the combat aircraft involved on the UN side.

The war ended in a stalemate on the ground and UN forces were reduced. However, in 2023 the UN forces are still represented in small numbers in South Korea, while the U.S. maintains a considerable military presence, including two Air Force fighter wings with A-10 and F-16 aircraft.

As always, thank you for your amazing contribution to this thread. You and LJ add such content, both with your photos and stories/history that goes along with them.

I became fascinated with airplanes because of my dad. He flew a lot of different planes while in the Marine Corp in the '40s and '50s, but his very favorite was the F4U Corsair which you've included in your photos in this post. If my dad was still with us, I'd absolutely take him through all the posts on this thread and talk about these planes with him.

Thanks again to you, LJ, and to the other contributors to this amazing thread.

[Llarry]

Wealthy oil company or other executives in the 1930s had an expensive private or corporate aircraft to buy -- the Spartan Executive. It was powered by a Pratt & Whitney radial engine of 450 horsepower and featured retractable landing gear. Not many were built due to the high price -- according to aerofiles.com, the price started at $23,500. I suppose it was the Gulfstream of its day.

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

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

As always, thank you for your amazing contribution to this thread. You and LJ add such content, both with your photos and stories/history that goes along with them.

Thank you for your kind words.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Wealthy oil company or other executives in the 1930s had an expensive private or corporate aircraft to buy -- the Spartan Executive. It was powered by a Pratt & Whitney radial engine of 450 horsepower and featured retractable landing gear. Not many were built due to the high price. I suppose it was the Gulfstream of its day.

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

My A & P mechanic owned a Harlow, which appeared to be similar to the Spartan. He was in the process of restoring it back in the '80's, but passed away before completion.

[Llarry]

Even more expensive than the Spartan were the Lockheed and Beechcraft twin-engine offerings. Both were developed for feeder airline or executive/corporate use.

The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior first flew in 1936 and was produced until 1941. The Army bought some and designated them C-40s (also the current Department of Defense designation for military 737s.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockhe...Electra_Junior

The Beechcraft competitor, the Model 18, first flew in 1937 and proved far more popular. In fact, it stayed in production throughout World War II for the military -- and in military service until the 1970s -- and the last civilian model was delivered in 1970: a pretty good run! In its later years it was offered with optional tricycle landing gear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.Beechcraft_Model_18

[Llarry]

In the 1950s and 1960s, former military aircraft of World War II could be bought for a song. (Many of those are now worth millions.)

A few were converted to high-speed corporate executive aircraft. An example is the Howard conversion of a Lockheed/Navy PV-1 Ventura twin-engine patrol bomber to a VIP aircraft. The PV-1 of World War II was a fast medium patrol bomber used in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Howard pulled all the military equipment out, converted the bomb bay to a luggage compartment and installed a plush interior. The result was an airplane that could do 300+ miles per hour for cross-country trips. Of course the airplane also guzzled fuel like crazy but at the prices of gasoline, even aviation gasoline, at the time, who cared? (Those were the days of 30 cents a gallon or less.)

Soon, however, more modern corporate turboprop and eventually jet aircraft dominated the market.

[Llarry]

Continuing with the corporate executive aircraft theme, Grumman Aircraft (the same Grumman that made Navy fighters, ASW aircraft and radar planes) decided to design and market a turboprop-powered corporate aircraft in the 1950s. At first they wanted to modify a design built for the Navy but soon realized that they needed a clean-sheet design for the civilian market. The result first flew in 1958, powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, and was called the Gulfstream -- later, as succeeding models came out, as the Gulfstream I. Ultimately Grumman spun off the Gulfstream line and no longer has a relationship to the fancy business jets of today that still use the Gulfstream name.

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

There was ultimately a Navy connection, though; the Navy wanted an airplane to train bombardier/navigators of the A-6 all-weather attack aircraft and chose the Gulfstream I for the task. Grumman grafted the bulbous radar nose of the Grumman A-6 Intruder onto the Gulfstream I's nose and installed four consoles in the aircraft for students in 1967. The result was an odd-looking aircraft that proved useful in training Navy and Marine aviators for a couple of decades and was designated the TC-4C. The photo depicts a TC-4C of the "Green Pawns" of Attack Squadron 42.

[Llarry]

Grumman's second, and last, executive aircraft was the jet-powered Gulfstream II, which first flew in 1966. Grumman only built a few dozen at its own plant before divesting itself of the corporate market and turning production over to first Grumman American and then finally the company now known as Gulfstream Aerospace, which continues to build advanced Gulfstreams today.

The Gulfstream II proved very popular and established the brand that flourishes today among corporations and the wealthy. It remained in production until 1980, long after the connection with Grumman ceased.

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

[Lady Jane]

Israeli Aircraft Industries Arava (The flying football)

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

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Korean War (1950-1953) -- The other guys...

When North Korea invaded South Korea in June of 1950, igniting the Korean War, the NK Air Force was small and inexperienced. There were two main combat aircraft: The Ilyushin Il-10 (NATO code name: Beast) ground attack aircraft and the Yakovlev Yak-9 (NATO code name: Frank). Both of these aircraft types were World War II-era Soviet designs with liquid-cooled V-12 piston engines. As in the war on the ground, the North Koreans had the advantage of surprise and enjoyed early successes. But the U.S. intervened quickly with U.S. Air Force aircraft from still-occupied Japan and from U.S. Navy carriers in the region. The NK Air Force was quickly obliterated, and the skies belonged to United Nations air forces.

The USSR reacted quickly to aid the North Koreans and Russian pilots began covertly flying combat missions in aircraft with NK markings, creating the fiction that the Soviets were not engaged in the war. The Soviets also began training North Korean pilots on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO code name: Fagot), which in 1950 was among the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world.

The MiG-15 had first flown in 1948 and was powered by a Klimov RD-45 turbojet engine, a copy of the UK Rolls-Royce Nene. It was a transonic fighter with a top speed close to the speed of sound and was heavily armed with two 23mm cannon and a single 37mm cannon.

In 1949, an improved version of the MiG-15 first flew and was designated the MiG-15bis. It was powered by a more powerful Klimov VK-1A engine with 5.950 lbs. of the thrust rather than the 5,000 lbs. of the MiG-15.

The MiG-15 and -15bis remained the primary fighter aircraft on the North Korean side for the entire war. A large proportion of the combat missions continued to be flown by Soviet pilots and they were joined by pilots from China. Participation in the air war by the USSR and China continued to be covert for the entire war, although the UN side knew perfectly well what was going on; presumably they chose not to publicize the fact to avoid expanding the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War (see section on the air war)

The light blue fighter closely resembles Britain's WW2 Spitfire fighter.

[Romo]

Fairchild C-82 Packet



The star of a 1965 movie.

Question; what movie ?

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Romo

Fairchild C-82 Packet


The star of a 1965 movie.

Question; what movie ?

Flight of the Phoenix.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fl...nix_(1965_film)

[Romo]

^ Excellent !

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Romo

^ Excellent !

Thank you... and do you know the aircraft used in the 2004 re-make? (Very similar to the C-82)