Re: CAF Heinkel destroyed

damn...might have made it MORE valuable historically...what a waste

Is he still dead? Kim M

Operation American Freedom-Where is our regime change?

There was a Ki-43-I restored in New Zealand--the only one in the world. It was in flying condition, but because of its rarity, it was only taxied on the field. One day the wind was right (or wrong) and it went airborne for a moment. Sometimes you can't keep'em down.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't/aren't the bombers that are under the ice (almost 200' by now) B-17s? Are we talking about the bombers that went down with the P-38s, right?

-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

According to "Weekend Update".. yes.

It's in 2008. President Condoleeza Rice?

WmB

I saw part of a documentary recently on the flight of 38s and the lone 17. On first expedition they discovered the B-17 was all but destroyed. They salvaged it for the odd artifact and tidbit that was worth recovering.

At some point they made the determination that the smaller and more compact fighter had fared better. They put together a second expedition to go back. No idea how it turned out; I was physically removed from the living room and forced to go out to a local restaurant. Missed the rest of the show.

Like Saturday night is such a big deal. ;-)

WmB

no. this was an rb50 that went down in greenland.

One of the P-38s was raised from the grave and brought home. About all that needed replacement were the props and tires. The engines were stripped, overhauled and reoiled and fueled. The plane has flown once or twice, to my knowledge since. There were a few photos of it at alt.binaries.pictures.aviation last year and might be something about it at National Geo. IIRC, they were one of the sponsers of the expedition.

-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

Plane had no family, no friends, no nothing - tell me again about the actual loss in this situation??

Jimi

No - Greenameyer (sp?) attempted to salvage a relatively intact B-29 that was on top of the ice and then had to sit and watch as it burnt to the axles because someone hadn't adequately secured a Honda generator in tha aft end of the airplane.

Nova did a documentary for PBS on the attempt - one of the mechanics litterally worked himself to death in the process.

Few people seem to realize that these aircraft, had they not been bought and restored to flying condition by the enthusiasts, would have been bought as scrap metal and ceased to exist many years ago. Ever day that Heinkel existed after the Battle of Britain movie had been completed, was a day borrowed from the smelter. The tragedy of it's destruction was delayed by 30 years thanks to the people who have been putting it at risk by flying it.

It is THEIR property, the spent the money to recover, restore and maintain. If not for individuals and groups like the CAF most of these birds would be toasters by now. In fact a lot of the USAF Museum WWII aircraft are from individuals who flew them first.

It's merely my opinion based on the lack of any hard evidence that either is still among the living. Their supporters are as adept at misinformation and propaganda as anyone else.....

No offense, but are you sure. I mean, the pictures that I saw in National Geo showed an aircraft in reasonable condition. But I won't argue here, I'll try to find it in my father-in-law's stack of old magazines and get back to you one way or the other. The B-17 on the other hand ~was~ roadkill.

-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

Nah, we're referring to a B29 (someone else said it was a B50? I thought it was a B29) that been on the ice in Greenland for years. This is not one of that famous squadron that was under the ice.

A team went in and put new engines on the plane, etc, and tried to fly the plane out of there. The plane caught fire in its tail section (some gizmo back there that was apt to catch fire, as any veteran would have told them) and they watched it burn to nothing as there was no way to stop it once it started.

These cowboys were really trying to pull a fast one and it didn't work.

That's what I thought Matt; so why is it so much cheaper to restore a historic aircraft vs building a replica from the ground up?

All our loss; if you don't identify with what that means right away, I don't think I can describe it. That's not a slam in any way at all; I just can't explain it.

Anyone else out there want to try?

it was an rb50, converted recom bird. and apu caught fire, not part of the aircraft but it in. honda was correct.

All you can focus on is the loss of the plane - the loss of human life is worth far more than that. YMMV.

Jimi