My uncle was a Navy Hellcat pilot in the Pacific. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in the Battle of Midway for shooting down a Japanese fighter as it approached the Yorktown. He later shot down a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft during the Battle of Guadalcanal but not before return fire shot out his oil line and seized his engine. He ditched and swam 25 miles to a Japanese held island and hid in a sea cave until his rescue four days later. He was brought back to the US for 30 days to help sell war bonds and afterward sent back to the Pacific. On June 12, 1944, he volunteered to take the place of a fellow pilot who fell sick. The mission was to attack a Japanese convoy on the island of Saipan. He launched off the Essex and according to witnesses, the plane went down about a mile directly in front of the ship. The plane exploded upon impact. No one knows what happened and his body was never recovered. A destroyer was dispatched but no remains were recovered. He never reached 5 kills (he had 4), but to his family, he was a hero. Edit for More information: He flew the F4 Wildcat during the Battle of Midway with VF-6. He transitioned to the Hellcat when he transferred to VF-5 in 1943. His name was Lt. Melvin Roach from Oklahoma. More information can be found here. www.coltautos.com/1911a1ci_721974.htm
Wife and I visited the original Richard Bong museum in Poplar WI when it was in a elementary school room. It had a P-38 on a pole next to the building. The plane was taken down and restored and now is in the Richard Bong museum in Superior WI.
You should talk about retired Marine Corps ace and Major General Marian Carl. In 1998, at the age of 82, he was killed protecting his wife from a home invader who broke into their home.
Bong was a great tactician, he would cut one of his two engines to simulate a cripple struggling to get home, enemy pilots sensing an easy kill would, carelessly and without much caution, attempt an attack at which point he would fire up his "dead" engine and well...
You forgot to mentioned Major Thomas McGuire regarded the 2nd highest u.s ace in Pacific , while Bong was in the U.S , McGuire was chasing 2 Ki-84 Franks on the deck , he was too low that he forgot to release his drops tanks. It was witnessed by his wingman and a Filipino high school youth who later became my driver.
Maguire always damaged his plane because he was trying to catch up to Bong. Because he ran into a trap he and at least 1 more pilot was killed. Maybe 2 . He made a stupid rookie mistake trying to break bongs record.
@@briancooper2112 Utterly false. McGuire felt that his luck was running out. He was trying to get to the point where he'd be sent home. He crashed clearing the six of a junior pilot in his flight, he saved the guy's life. The other pilot killed was shot down while actually lagging back from the fight.
Heros! Not just the ones that didn't make it back but the any of the guys willing to strap on the gear and fasten themselves into an aircraft and go to battle. Badass everyone.
1) Note that this is actually only American aces with last names A-E, as I will plan to do more similar vids on other aces with the other last names. 2) Yes I intentionally titled this one "unplanned accidents" once again just to see you guys get heated in the comments. Lol
Very surprised that you mentioned Bong of course but did not mention Don Gentile the leading ace in the ETO with 34 kills died under the same circumstances, flying a T33
You might've also mentioned Dick Bong's friend & Squadron mate, Tom McGuire, who had 38 kills. McGuire was known to "Fly the P-38 so hard, that the plane came home BENT."
The story was that McGuire was flying his last missions before he was also sent to the states. He wanted to surpass Bong’s record so he scheduled himself for a long range mission requiring drop tanks. When he attacked a group of Japanese Army fighters, he ordered his flight not to drop tanks. He apparently stalled and crashed his heavy P-38 trying to out maneuver an enemy fighter.
@@manuelvillamil9809 Not exactly true. McGuire wanted to tie Bong, as McGuire felt that his luck was running out. He chose three pilots to fly a regular mission. The most experienced pilot, Rittmayer, reported a rough engine. As they encountered a single enemy aircraft, McGuire called "hold your tanks" and attacked it. There was a second, unseen Japanese fighter that appeared as if out of nowhere, and saddled up on McGuire's wingman, Weaver. McGuire was pulling onto the second fighter to dust it off of Weaver, and as he got a few hits, the enemy broke off, but McGuire, in an unfamiliar aircraft, not his own, had pulled into a high speed stall at 1500 feet, and spin in, he died instantly. The second plane made a head on pass on Rittmayer, and managed to kill Rittmayer in his cockpit with a lucky round, unusual as experienced Japanese pilots rarely went head on with a P-38. Rittmayer crashed into the jungle. And the first Japanese plane crash landed due to damage. Guerillas shot the Japanese pilot, and recovered McGuire's body. The other two pilots, Weaver and Thropp, were separated during the engagement, but both returned to base. Weaver had to tell Mac MacDonald, the CO, that McGuire and Rittmayer "were down and burning". Mac MacDonald ordered McGuire's P-38 to be stripped of all personal markings, painted, and shipped to a different unit.
@@AlanRoehrich9651 very true Japanese 22th sqd. of KI-84 "Franks" came from China newly assigned to the Philippines. These planes were designed to kill dashing P-40s , and occasionally they sneak behind P-51s then dash away low on the deck. The late Gen.Olds admitting many flaws in the P-38 , when the plane dashes she can become uncontrollable, plus the drop release switch or transfer can be a hassle. At one time Gen.Olds admitted dropping his tanks but failed to switch to his internal fuel source , both engines went out. I think system wasn't automatic , two switches had to be turned on. In fact Charles Lindbergh a civilian military consulatant for Lockheed and Vought suggested that P-38 pilots would conserved more fuel if they use their external drops tanks. In fact Charles Lindbergh was very involved with Thomas McGuire squadron. And remember the Japanese 22th Sqd.battled the U.S P-38js 459th.sqd. in China . They know the weakness of the P-39Js.
@@robertotamesis1783 The flaws Olds was talking about were the complexity of the controls. Now he did forget to switch fuel source when he dropped his tanks while saddling up once. All planes required manual switching of fuel sources. You had to switch them all. He also went into a full throttle dive in a pre J25 model without dive flaps. The complexity of the controls allowed the skilled pilot to exploit some advantages, such as differential throttle for both roll and turn rates that no enemy plane could match. Lindbergh merely got pilots to use the correct engine settings that were in the P-38 manual from day one. LeVier did the same thing in Europe. The correct settings are auto lean, 1600 RPM, and 32"-36" of boost. With the radiator and oil cooler doors set for cruise to keep the oil and coolant at 200°F and 190°F respectively. In Europe, in the 8th AF, they were trying to cruise in auto RICH, at 20" manifold pressure, and 2800 RPM. And they set the radiator and oil cooler doors to maximum cooling. The oil temp and coolant temp were around 100°F, and fuel consumption was near double. When you tried to go to 100% power, or worse, WEP, the engines backfired, blew hoses, and burned or dropped valves, they were dead cold, and simply couldn't go to max power. No doubt, the electrical system was handicapped by having one generator on one engine, and by having two electric props. The early models had no dive flaps, and too small intercoolers. The later models solved most problems. And only the War Production Board prevented the rest from being solved.
@@AlanRoehrich9651 I do not know if Olds or McGuire were left handed? Since the P-39Js uses a yoke not stick. Reaching an item on the opposite side can be tricky . As an industrial designer I find the biomechanics of the P-38s additional mental overload if you're left handed. My uncle brought me to the planes he flew in the Philippine Air Force , including the the cockpit of P-51D . I began to understand the biomechanics and additional mental constraints that many left handers have to adjust .
I've watched several of your videos and I enjoy all of them. I grew up loving military aviation because my dad was an Air Force fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam including flying 3 combat tours in Vietnam including 2 as a Wild Weasel (F-100 and F-105).
Waffen SS were notorious for executing downed allied airmen who fell into their hands. Civilians were also guilty of the same crime. Your best chance was capture by the Luftwaffe who manned antiaircraft guns, they had the ultimate responsibility for all captured airmen and at least had a kind of sympathetic view of downed aviators.
Well think about it. It's war. We executed unarmed prisoners as well. It's a bit hypocritical to engage in an activity where the goal is the death of your enemy on a massive scale but then balk at killing a highly skilled tool of war that has likely strafed factories and trains. It was mostly fellow pilots who showed restraint to others.
Donald Gentile died almost the same way , same aircraft near Andrews Air Force base! He was a famous P-51 Ace in the European theater! Rest In Peace Ancient Warrior’s all‼️
Just awesome, this is great content on aviation history. Accolades to you for the doing the research for this episode, can't wait for the next one. Have you been to the Richard I. Bong Historical Center in Wisconsin? Its on my list of places to go and see. Cheers.
George Preddy would be another ace not mentioned, shot down by friendly fire while pursuing an enemy aircraft. Don Gentile who died in an aircraft accident after the war. Pug Southerland also died in an aircraft accident after the war,
There was a secret technology that was used in US World War 2 antiaircraft flack shells that could have kept many US fighter pilots from being shot down. The secret technology was the proximity fuse. The proximity fuse was an electronic sensor inside antiaircraft flack shells that could detect the close proximity of aircraft and explode and damage or destroy enemy aircraft without actually striking the aircraft. One big problem fighter pilots had that was the cause of many of them being shot down was that in many cases they didn't see an enemy plane on their tail and especially if the plane was coming from a little lower altitude where the enemy could see the underbelly of the plane, it was death without warning. Although the proximity fuse didn't have a long-distance detection capability, like every invention, it could have been improved and adapted for use in fighter planes of that time period to detect enemy fighters approaching from the rear. They had some planes that were used for night fighting that were equipped with radar, but it was a bulky system and not practical to use in fighter planes. The proximity fuse on the other hand was small enough to fit inside an artillery shell. The proximity fuse was kept secret so the Japanese never figured out how our guns were so accurate and were able to shoot down so many of their planes.
ok so first of all, the proximity fuse wasnt electronic, it was magnetic, it would detonate when a magnetic field disturbance occured (for example an aircraft entered the magnetic field of the fuse), this was simmilar to the proximity fuses the germans used on their mid to late war torpedos. you could never use it to detect enemy aircraft behind you, thats just fantasy think
The proximity fuse was a device that was installed inside our antiaircraft flack shells that detected when the shell was close to an enemy aircraft and it would trigger the shell to explode. It was called a fuse, but in reality, it was an electronic detection device. I was talking about using the idea of the proximity fuse and improving on the invention for use in our fighter planes to detect enemy aircraft approaching from the rear. It would have been used for detection purposes only to alert pilots to the pressence of an enemy aircraft and wouldn't cause any damage to our airplanes.
@@treefrogjoness OK, but in an aircraft you can use a much better version since ti doesn't have to withstand the forces and acceleration of a rifle projectile
The British night bombers had something similar. A rear radar that was supposed to give warning if a night was coming from behind to attack them. In reality the radar was was always on because of the friendly bombers close by. Most of bombers just turned if of because of it. The same problem if you do it in fighter, it doesn't know if it's a friendly or a foe.
If you are strafing an enemy on the ground and they return fire it's not "bizarre" and if they shoot you down and you die in the crash it's not an "accident."
Richard Ira Bong died when the P-80 Shooting Star that he was testing crashed due to fuel pump and him bailing out at low level. this crash on the same day as the 1st Atomic Bomb dropped over Hiroshima.
My office was at the end of the Bong Highway at Clark Airbase in the Philippines. It was an honor to be on that road, named for the ace of aces. Now its named after some Filipino politician . . . ouch, (minor).
I have a question Thomas McGuire was an fighter pilot of 475 th fighter group but killed in January 7 , 1945 . How many victorys he have and how he killed.
An interesting pilot to cover would have been the Navy’s first ace in WWII. Edward “Butch” O’Hare , flying the F4F Wildcat, was in a dog fight where he attacked 9 Japanese aircraft by himself, shot down 5 and returned to his ship. On another mission at night, a year later, he was flying with other aircraft with radar installed. Japanese bombers appeared and after some shooting, Butch went down. Maybe a victim of friendly fire? After several searches he was declared lost with no wreckage ever found. As far as I know, his loss is a mystery and never been solved. He was awarded the first WWII Navy Medal of Honor. Chicago O’Hare Airport was named after Butch and his father was a lawyer for Al Capone. He turned states evidence and help put Capone behind bars, thus getting his son a spot at the Naval Academy. There is no record of this but his dad knew politicians. Doing this cost him his life. Very interesting indeed.
Sorry but you are way off base. At the time of his death he was flying an F6F Hellcat and he died during Operation Galvanic, the Tarawa operation. He was flying a ground breaking nighttime mission and got caught in a crossfire between a TBF Avenger and a Japanese Betty bomber
@@georgesetzer5283 Sorry but we both are...the only thing I got wrong was his disappearance. Ooops. What was I thinking? Everything else I said was correct. He was flying a Wildcat on his Ace in a Day mission near Rabaul on Feb.22, '42 and the Hellcat was adopted for flight operations in Aug of '43. Three months before Butch disappeared. Correct, He was flying at night with radar equipped TBF's to draw out Japanese bombers and shoot them down. There is no way to know how he was shotdown. One of the crew of the TBF believes he saw a chute but after several searches, no wreckage or Butch was ever found.
Hate to sound picky, but you left out George E. Preddy of the Blue Nosers, the 352nd Fighter Group. He got blown clean out the sky by friendly fire persuing a an Me 109 at low level on Cristmas Day 1944.
Here we go again.The fuel pump on the P-80 shooting star was well known to malfunction.The bugs were not worked out of this aircraft and soon after it's debut it was scrapped!
That would be the P-80 that was in service until 1959 by any chance? You know, the one that saw combat in Korea & had som 1700 models built? The one that the T-33 Shooting Star was developed from? The problem you refer to was during the testing phase & Dick Bong's death was because he hadn't switched on the newly installed emergency fuel pump. Or, put another way, stop talking out of your arse. Chuck Yeager flew them for 500 plus hours after Dick Bong's death to prove they were safe having been chosen specifically for the job along with 3 other pilots. The number of countries that operated the P-80/T-33 was quite large with the Bolvian Air Force using them until 2017. Not bad for an aircraft you reckon they scrapped.
@@markpaul8178 Not very bright, are you? A PRODUCTION run of 1700 aircraft isn't considered a failure you clown. As for the F-86 Sabre, yes, it was a superior aircraft for several reasons, mainly because it was designed after the P-80 & used lessons learned from that aircraft but mainly because captured data from Germany allowed the use of swept wings - the original XP-86 had straight wings and wasn't much different to the P-80 in terms of speed etc. But tell me, oracle of the military aviation world, given that you think 1700 aircraft built represents a failure of the type, is the Panavia Tornado with a total run of about 960 built a failure? I mean, if they only built so few it must be rubbish according to your magnificent rules. How about the Eurofighter Typhoon with a mere 571 built (as of October 2020) starting 1994? How about the F22 with a mere 187 (plus 8 test) aircraft built? That must be a real dog if they only built that few of them. How about the F9F Panther? Only a paltry 1382 of those horrendous things built. They were so bad the US Navy Blue Angels used them from 1949 - 54. Here's a good one. The Hawker Hunter. Only 1972 built. Gotta be awful with that few built, right? Go away you arse clown. I don't expect you to take any notice as you're CLEARLY a well known & noted researcher on military aircraft & aviation with extensive knowledge pulled from your arse & dispensed in Delphic form.
@@k1200ltse North American aviation was a great aircraft company,but different designs were made as jet engines became more and more powerful.1700 different models made from the P-80,that is laughable.
@@k1200ltse Very good mick you said alot of things I wanted to say...lol. It was our 1st jet I believe and there would be bugs and you hit it on the knob about Bong's failure to activate the emergency fuel pump
Tragic, absolutely, but bizarre..........?! Ok, dying from being startled by an air raid siren, a bit bizarre but the rest, typical combat deaths or accidents? That being said, sad endings to some of the greatest pilots, may they rest in peace 😪
My Grand father died in a concentration camp. He was walking around trying to keep himself warm when he tripped and fell off the guard tower, breaking his neck.
The influence of Robert Coffey working at the US Embassy in Chile just after the war is significant. Most South American Countries patterned their Militaries after successful ones in Europe and the USA . Chile is just one of these for example their Army was patterned after the Prussian Military tradition after the 1st WW1 and the 2nd WW to this day you can see this in action with their soldiers wearing Nazi style uniforms songs and Prussian tradition collimating with Pinochet leading the Country, the Chilean Navy patterns itself after the Royal Navy and uses their warships . The Chilean Airforce patterns itself after the United States Airforce flying 1st P51s and then Panther Jets then F86s ! Coffey was instrumental in cultivating this 1946 to 1948 . He was not only an Ace but a great Diplomatic representative of the US Air Force !
Cut us some slack with the commercials, first you spend nearly three minutes promoting your sponsor then 5 minutes in, another. This is where I click off. Too many commercials.
Jesus kills this first child, when at age one he curses a boy, which causes the child's body to wither into a corpse. Later, Jesus kills another child via curse when the child apparently accidentally bumps into Jesus, throws a stone at Jesus, or punches Jesus (depending on the translation). When Joseph and Mary's neighbours complain, they are miraculously struck blind by Jesus. (Infancy Gospel of Thomas)
Thanks to Alpine Rings for sponsoring this video, go check out their awesome Wedding Bands here! alpinerings.com/?
My uncle was a Navy Hellcat pilot in the Pacific. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in the Battle of Midway for shooting down a Japanese fighter as it approached the Yorktown. He later shot down a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft during the Battle of Guadalcanal but not before return fire shot out his oil line and seized his engine. He ditched and swam 25 miles to a Japanese held island and hid in a sea cave until his rescue four days later. He was brought back to the US for 30 days to help sell war bonds and afterward sent back to the Pacific.
On June 12, 1944, he volunteered to take the place of a fellow pilot who fell sick. The mission was to attack a Japanese convoy on the island of Saipan. He launched off the Essex and according to witnesses, the plane went down about a mile directly in front of the ship. The plane exploded upon impact. No one knows what happened and his body was never recovered. A destroyer was dispatched but no remains were recovered. He never reached 5 kills (he had 4), but to his family, he was a hero.
Edit for More information: He flew the F4 Wildcat during the Battle of Midway with VF-6. He transitioned to the Hellcat when he transferred to VF-5 in 1943. His name was Lt. Melvin Roach from Oklahoma. More information can be found here.
www.coltautos.com/1911a1ci_721974.htm
No F6F Hellas at the battle of Midway. Plane still on the drawing board.
@@theodoreskaff1209 That's right, Hellcats didn't enter combat until more than a year after Midway.
@@BTillman48 both of you see my edit above in my original post. I didn't say he flew the hellcat at midway.
A hero in my book!
a true badass
Wife and I visited the original Richard Bong museum in Poplar WI when it was in a elementary school room. It had a P-38 on a pole next to the building. The plane was taken down and restored and now is in the Richard Bong museum in Superior WI.
You should talk about retired Marine Corps ace and Major General Marian Carl. In 1998, at the age of 82, he was killed protecting his wife from a home invader who broke into their home.
19 y.o. Jesse fanus, armed with a shotgun killed him. fanus is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Imagine Fanus surprise when he realized who he killed
That's why I'm single
I've been studying military aviation all my life, but never heard of any of the guys up to Dick Bong. Thank you for sharing.
Gone but not forgotten. RIP our heroic Airmen.
Bong was a great tactician, he would cut one of his two engines to simulate a cripple struggling to get home, enemy pilots sensing an easy kill would, carelessly and without much caution, attempt an attack at which point he would fire up his "dead" engine and well...
Bong gave kills to his wingmen alot so he wasn't sent home. I believe Bong goy 55 kills.
You forgot to mentioned Major Thomas McGuire regarded the 2nd highest u.s ace in Pacific , while Bong was in the U.S , McGuire was chasing 2 Ki-84 Franks on the deck , he was too low that he forgot to release his drops tanks. It was witnessed by his wingman and a Filipino high school youth who later became my driver.
Maguire always damaged his plane because he was trying to catch up to Bong. Because he ran into a trap he and at least 1 more pilot was killed. Maybe 2 . He made a stupid rookie mistake trying to break bongs record.
@@briancooper2112
Utterly false.
McGuire felt that his luck was running out. He was trying to get to the point where he'd be sent home.
He crashed clearing the six of a junior pilot in his flight, he saved the guy's life.
The other pilot killed was shot down while actually lagging back from the fight.
@AlanRoehrich96nope. Crew Chief always complained.51
@AlanRoehrich9651 he wanted to beat Bong so he made a fatal mistake going after Oscar. He was low stalled and crash because of his tanks!
@AlanRoehrich9651 wrong!
Heros! Not just the ones that didn't make it back but the any of the guys willing to strap on the gear and fasten themselves into an aircraft and go to battle. Badass everyone.
1) Note that this is actually only American aces with last names A-E, as I will plan to do more similar vids on other aces with the other last names. 2) Yes I intentionally titled this one "unplanned accidents" once again just to see you guys get heated in the comments. Lol
I look forward to the rest! Your videos are always great!
I can’t wait keep them coming
Many pilots died of planned accidents rip
Ah, great news 👍🏻
I was wondering why some well-known are missing.
Very surprised that you mentioned Bong of course but did not mention Don Gentile the leading ace in the ETO with 34 kills died under the same circumstances, flying a T33
You might've also mentioned Dick Bong's friend & Squadron mate, Tom McGuire, who had 38 kills. McGuire was known to "Fly the P-38 so hard, that the plane came home BENT."
The story was that McGuire was flying his last missions before he was also sent to the states. He wanted to surpass Bong’s record so he scheduled himself for a long range mission requiring drop tanks. When he attacked a group of Japanese Army fighters, he ordered his flight not to drop tanks. He apparently stalled and crashed his heavy P-38 trying to out maneuver an enemy fighter.
@@manuelvillamil9809
Not exactly true.
McGuire wanted to tie Bong, as McGuire felt that his luck was running out.
He chose three pilots to fly a regular mission.
The most experienced pilot, Rittmayer, reported a rough engine. As they encountered a single enemy aircraft, McGuire called "hold your tanks" and attacked it. There was a second, unseen Japanese fighter that appeared as if out of nowhere, and saddled up on McGuire's wingman, Weaver. McGuire was pulling onto the second fighter to dust it off of Weaver, and as he got a few hits, the enemy broke off, but McGuire, in an unfamiliar aircraft, not his own, had pulled into a high speed stall at 1500 feet, and spin in, he died instantly. The second plane made a head on pass on Rittmayer, and managed to kill Rittmayer in his cockpit with a lucky round, unusual as experienced Japanese pilots rarely went head on with a P-38. Rittmayer crashed into the jungle. And the first Japanese plane crash landed due to damage. Guerillas shot the Japanese pilot, and recovered McGuire's body. The other two pilots, Weaver and Thropp, were separated during the engagement, but both returned to base. Weaver had to tell Mac MacDonald, the CO, that McGuire and Rittmayer "were down and burning". Mac MacDonald ordered McGuire's P-38 to be stripped of all personal markings, painted, and shipped to a different unit.
@@AlanRoehrich9651 very true Japanese 22th sqd. of KI-84 "Franks" came from China newly assigned to the Philippines. These planes were designed to kill dashing P-40s , and occasionally they sneak behind P-51s then dash away low on the deck. The late Gen.Olds admitting many flaws in the P-38 , when the plane dashes she can become uncontrollable, plus the drop release switch or transfer can be a hassle. At one time Gen.Olds admitted dropping his tanks but failed to switch to his internal fuel source , both engines went out. I think system wasn't automatic , two switches had to be turned on. In fact Charles Lindbergh a civilian military consulatant for Lockheed and Vought suggested that P-38 pilots would conserved more fuel if they use their external drops tanks. In fact Charles Lindbergh was very involved with Thomas McGuire squadron. And remember the Japanese 22th Sqd.battled the U.S P-38js 459th.sqd. in China . They know the weakness of the P-39Js.
@@robertotamesis1783
The flaws Olds was talking about were the complexity of the controls. Now he did forget to switch fuel source when he dropped his tanks while saddling up once. All planes required manual switching of fuel sources. You had to switch them all.
He also went into a full throttle dive in a pre J25 model without dive flaps.
The complexity of the controls allowed the skilled pilot to exploit some advantages, such as differential throttle for both roll and turn rates that no enemy plane could match.
Lindbergh merely got pilots to use the correct engine settings that were in the P-38 manual from day one. LeVier did the same thing in Europe. The correct settings are auto lean, 1600 RPM, and 32"-36" of boost. With the radiator and oil cooler doors set for cruise to keep the oil and coolant at 200°F and 190°F respectively.
In Europe, in the 8th AF, they were trying to cruise in auto RICH, at 20" manifold pressure, and 2800 RPM. And they set the radiator and oil cooler doors to maximum cooling. The oil temp and coolant temp were around 100°F, and fuel consumption was near double. When you tried to go to 100% power, or worse, WEP, the engines backfired, blew hoses, and burned or dropped valves, they were dead cold, and simply couldn't go to max power.
No doubt, the electrical system was handicapped by having one generator on one engine, and by having two electric props. The early models had no dive flaps, and too small intercoolers.
The later models solved most problems. And only the War Production Board prevented the rest from being solved.
@@AlanRoehrich9651 I do not know if Olds or McGuire were left handed? Since the P-39Js uses a yoke not stick. Reaching an item on the opposite side can be tricky . As an industrial designer I find the biomechanics of the P-38s additional mental overload if you're left handed. My uncle brought me to the planes he flew in the Philippine Air Force , including the the cockpit of P-51D . I began to understand the biomechanics and additional mental constraints that many left handers have to adjust .
Hi, first time I’ve watched your channel & I’m really impressed!! So I’ve subscribed & about to watch another of your videos on German Aces. Thanks 🙂
Thanks!
A nice selection, I appreciate the research you put into this. Cheers mate!
I've watched several of your videos and I enjoy all of them. I grew up loving military aviation because my dad was an Air Force fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam including flying 3 combat tours in Vietnam including 2 as a Wild Weasel (F-100 and F-105).
Thanks!
Bong Airbase was under construction in Kenosha,. Wisconsin but work was never completed and is a Wildlife Refuge and Park now..
i dont count a unarmed downed pilot who is shot by germans as being a bizarre or tragic accident , just plain Murder ...
Waffen SS were notorious for executing downed allied airmen who fell into their hands. Civilians were also guilty of the same crime. Your best chance was capture by the Luftwaffe who manned antiaircraft guns, they had the ultimate responsibility for all captured airmen and at least had a kind of sympathetic view of downed aviators.
Well think about it. It's war. We executed unarmed prisoners as well. It's a bit hypocritical to engage in an activity where the goal is the death of your enemy on a massive scale but then balk at killing a highly skilled tool of war that has likely strafed factories and trains. It was mostly fellow pilots who showed restraint to others.
Wow Dick Bong was the man!
We will never know the Bravado and courage these guys had. A totally different generation. Nerves of Steel!
Donald Gentile died almost the same way , same aircraft near Andrews Air Force base! He was a famous P-51 Ace in the European theater! Rest In Peace Ancient Warrior’s all‼️
T33
Wow, those Shooting Stars were kind of rough on our aces.
Excellent video! FWI, The bridge that connects Duluth Minnesota to Superior Wisconsin (Bong's birthplace) is named after him.
Bloody good video, very informative and a little saddening. Thanks for posting it.
Great vídeo !! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Just awesome, this is great content on aviation history. Accolades to you for the doing the research for this episode, can't wait for the next one. Have you been to the Richard I. Bong Historical Center in Wisconsin? Its on my list of places to go and see. Cheers.
Another ace from the Pacific theater was Tom Lynch of Catasaqua, PA. He was a squadron mate of Dock Bong.
Absolutely Amazing Story of Heroism and Loss! Thank You!
Thanks TJ3 History for this very informative video.
George Preddy would be another ace not mentioned, shot down by friendly fire while pursuing an enemy aircraft. Don Gentile who died in an aircraft accident after the war. Pug Southerland also died in an aircraft accident after the war,
The Ray Crawford mentioned after the war became a top ranked car racing driver, including at the Indy 500.
Love your vids, great story's and great recreation in flight Sims 👌🏻👍🏻
Always a Great video and presentation!
Killed by an air raid siren! That is tragic.
... You ought to do a video of how many combat pilots died flying the P-80.
I just recently discovered your channel and am learning a lot about WW 2 history. I was curious if you have any content on Bermuda Triangle.
Not yet! On my list for potential videos though.
Don Gentile!! Over thirty kills. Dies in Airforce training accident in 1951
joe I believe he was flying the P80 also. Nope sorry T33
What about doing a video on Butch O'hare? He was a Navy pilot in the Pacific Theater during WWII.
Thought the same 👍🏻
Because he wasn't just the only navy ace.
Thank you for the uploads......it must take you a tremendous amount of time/research to produce your programs.
Thank you!
You alright bro. Mad videos nice. Respect .
2 american aces killed by P-80/F-80: what a bad luck!
You are one of best channel. Please find more contain & world level history add in ur videos
You know what would be a cool dogfight, a F4u Corsair Vs. FW-190 D. Who do you think would win if they were to mix it up?
I love your videos!
I wonder that those planes are shining in the sun ,so they could be spotted more easiely .
10:25 I bet Coffey had a heart attack or something. Notice no effort to put down landing gear when losing alt.
There was a secret technology that was used in US World War 2 antiaircraft flack shells that could have kept many US fighter pilots from being shot down. The secret technology was the proximity fuse. The proximity fuse was an electronic sensor inside antiaircraft flack shells that could detect the close proximity of aircraft and explode and damage or destroy enemy aircraft without actually striking the aircraft. One big problem fighter pilots had that was the cause of many of them being shot down was that in many cases they didn't see an enemy plane on their tail and especially if the plane was coming from a little lower altitude where the enemy could see the underbelly of the plane, it was death without warning. Although the proximity fuse didn't have a long-distance detection capability, like every invention, it could have been improved and adapted for use in fighter planes of that time period to detect enemy fighters approaching from the rear. They had some planes that were used for night fighting that were equipped with radar, but it was a bulky system and not practical to use in fighter planes. The proximity fuse on the other hand was small enough to fit inside an artillery shell. The proximity fuse was kept secret so the Japanese never figured out how our guns were so accurate and were able to shoot down so many of their planes.
ok so first of all, the proximity fuse wasnt electronic, it was magnetic, it would detonate when a magnetic field disturbance occured (for example an aircraft entered the magnetic field of the fuse), this was simmilar to the proximity fuses the germans used on their mid to late war torpedos. you could never use it to detect enemy aircraft behind you, thats just fantasy think
How could US flak guns keep our planes getting shot down?
The proximity fuse was a device that was installed inside our antiaircraft flack shells that detected when the shell was close to an enemy aircraft and it would trigger the shell to explode. It was called a fuse, but in reality, it was an electronic detection device. I was talking about using the idea of the proximity fuse and improving on the invention for use in our fighter planes to detect enemy aircraft approaching from the rear. It would have been used for detection purposes only to alert pilots to the pressence of an enemy aircraft and wouldn't cause any damage to our airplanes.
@@treefrogjoness OK, but in an aircraft you can use a much better version since ti doesn't have to withstand the forces and acceleration of a rifle projectile
The British night bombers had something similar. A rear radar that was supposed to give warning if a night was coming from behind to attack them. In reality the radar was was always on because of the friendly bombers close by. Most of bombers just turned if of because of it. The same problem if you do it in fighter, it doesn't know if it's a friendly or a foe.
Excellent video
no Maj. George Preddy? P-51D Mustang Cripes A Mighty
Many others could have been included
My biggest takeaway from this is, do not make aces do test flights lol
Great Topic
Video starts at 2:30
great video
Didn't even mention Dingus Filtrum who died in a wrong way collision on I-35 while on bath salts
Donald Aldrich is the correct spelling; the timeline indicator shows "Aldridge" if you can make corrections.
First off let me get that band and also cool sign. Decent video
Thank you so much.
Have just subbed to you, cuz you seem to make alot of really good content, im really interested, il join your Journey from now on
Thank you!
U.S. loses two top WW2 fighter pilots in P-80 take off engine failures. Damn thing was a widowmaker.
If you are strafing an enemy on the ground and they return fire it's not "bizarre" and if they shoot you down and you die in the crash it's not an "accident."
Richard Ira Bong died when the P-80 Shooting Star that he was testing crashed due to fuel pump and him bailing out at low level. this crash on the same day as the 1st Atomic Bomb dropped over Hiroshima.
That is exactly what this video just said.
What about Tommy McGuire. 2nd highest American ace. I believe he flew with Bong in the same unit.
h, you missed Tommy Mcguire. 38 planes downed.
This is only last names A-E so plenty more to come!
Combat is not an accident.
Wel that would be Kirtland AFB, NM
Very good.
I very like this chepter.
Content starts at 2:30
It's a shame you left out killer kane
My office was at the end of the Bong Highway at Clark Airbase in the Philippines. It was an honor to be on that road, named for the ace of aces. Now its named after some Filipino politician . . . ouch, (minor).
I mean...probably makes sense since it's the Phillipines
I have a question
Thomas McGuire was an fighter pilot of 475 th fighter group but killed in January 7 , 1945 . How many victorys he have and how he killed.
McGuire broke one of his own rules, pulling hard on on the yoke while low & slow. He spun out in to the trees & ground.
He had 38 kias. I was stationed at the USAF base named for him
Major McGuire had 38 kills. STILL Number 2 American Ace all time.
Where is the CN River?
How the hell is getting shot down by a fire weird or bizarre?
An interesting pilot to cover would have been the Navy’s first ace in WWII.
Edward “Butch” O’Hare , flying the F4F Wildcat, was in a dog fight where he attacked 9 Japanese aircraft by himself, shot down 5 and returned to his ship.
On another mission at night, a year later, he was flying with other aircraft with radar installed. Japanese bombers appeared and after some shooting, Butch went down. Maybe a victim of friendly fire?
After several searches he was declared lost with no wreckage ever found.
As far as I know, his loss is a mystery and never been solved. He was awarded the first WWII Navy Medal of Honor.
Chicago O’Hare Airport was named after Butch and his father was a lawyer for Al Capone. He turned states evidence and help put Capone behind bars, thus getting his son a spot at the Naval Academy. There is no record of this but his dad knew politicians.
Doing this cost him his life.
Very interesting indeed.
Sorry but you are way off base. At the time of his death he was flying an F6F Hellcat and he died during Operation Galvanic, the Tarawa operation. He was flying a ground breaking nighttime mission and got caught in a crossfire between a TBF Avenger and a Japanese Betty bomber
@@georgesetzer5283 Sorry but we both are...the only thing I got wrong was his disappearance. Ooops. What was I thinking?
Everything else I said was correct. He was flying a Wildcat on his Ace in a Day mission near Rabaul on Feb.22, '42 and the Hellcat was adopted for flight operations in Aug of '43. Three months before Butch disappeared.
Correct, He was flying at night with radar equipped TBF's to draw out Japanese bombers and shoot them down. There is no way to know how he was shotdown. One of the crew of the TBF believes he saw a chute but after several searches, no wreckage or Butch was ever found.
WTF,, the first one! Are you srs!? :(((
Hate to sound picky, but you left out George E. Preddy of the Blue Nosers, the 352nd Fighter Group. He got blown clean out the sky by friendly fire persuing a an Me 109 at low level on Cristmas Day 1944.
Not to fear, this is only American Aces with last names A-E other letters to come later on.
Not to mention that George Preddy from Greensboro, NC, was the leading ace at the time of his untimely death.
Here we go again.The fuel pump on the P-80 shooting star was well known to malfunction.The bugs were not worked out of this aircraft and soon after it's debut it was scrapped!
That would be the P-80 that was in service until 1959 by any chance? You know, the one that saw combat in Korea & had som 1700 models built? The one that the T-33 Shooting Star was developed from?
The problem you refer to was during the testing phase & Dick Bong's death was because he hadn't switched on the newly installed emergency fuel pump.
Or, put another way, stop talking out of your arse. Chuck Yeager flew them for 500 plus hours after Dick Bong's death to prove they were safe having been chosen specifically for the job along with 3 other pilots. The number of countries that operated the P-80/T-33 was quite large with the Bolvian Air Force using them until 2017.
Not bad for an aircraft you reckon they scrapped.
@@k1200ltse Well,if the P-80 have 1700 different models that proves my point.It was a price of shit and not even in the same league as the F-86.
@@markpaul8178 Not very bright, are you? A PRODUCTION run of 1700 aircraft isn't considered a failure you clown.
As for the F-86 Sabre, yes, it was a superior aircraft for several reasons, mainly because it was designed after the P-80 & used lessons learned from that aircraft but mainly because captured data from Germany allowed the use of swept wings - the original XP-86 had straight wings and wasn't much different to the P-80 in terms of speed etc.
But tell me, oracle of the military aviation world, given that you think 1700 aircraft built represents a failure of the type, is the Panavia Tornado with a total run of about 960 built a failure? I mean, if they only built so few it must be rubbish according to your magnificent rules.
How about the Eurofighter Typhoon with a mere 571 built (as of October 2020) starting 1994? How about the F22 with a mere 187 (plus 8 test) aircraft built? That must be a real dog if they only built that few of them.
How about the F9F Panther? Only a paltry 1382 of those horrendous things built. They were so bad the US Navy Blue Angels used them from 1949 - 54.
Here's a good one. The Hawker Hunter. Only 1972 built. Gotta be awful with that few built, right?
Go away you arse clown. I don't expect you to take any notice as you're CLEARLY a well known & noted researcher on military aircraft & aviation with extensive knowledge pulled from your arse & dispensed in Delphic form.
@@k1200ltse North American aviation was a great aircraft company,but different designs were made as jet engines became more and more powerful.1700 different models made from the P-80,that is laughable.
@@k1200ltse Very good mick you said alot of things I wanted to say...lol. It was our 1st jet I believe and there would be bugs and you hit it on the knob about Bong's failure to activate the emergency fuel pump
... How on Earth did you not include Major George Preddy - Top P-51 Ace until he was killed by American Friendly fire???
This is only last names A-E. He will be in a later episode!
The River Seine is pronounced 'Sane'.
Tragic, absolutely, but bizarre..........?! Ok, dying from being startled by an air raid siren, a bit bizarre but the rest, typical combat deaths or accidents? That being said, sad endings to some of the greatest pilots, may they rest in peace 😪
Greatest air aces are Erich " Bubi " Hartmann, Rall, Barkhorn,Schuck, Ruhdorfer, Rudel usw...
Absolutely.
1. Hartmann 352
2. Barkhorn 301
3-5 Rall, Kittel, Nowotny
One Finnish guy in the 100and up club
While Rudel was a bomber/divebomber/ground attack specialist he also scored a few victories, enough to be an ace in any allied Air Firce
@@Dilley_G45 absolutely! Rudel's grave ist only 14km away from my home! A real fighter!
@@stefanvogel8255 fantastic, do you ever visit it?!
There nerves off steel was the alcohol and meth they don`t tell you about.
Is that corsair from the 1946 pack?
War Thunder!
How are these little simulations done?
Flight sims IL-2 Sturmovik and War Thunder
Why wasn't Don Gentle on here?
Post War
You forgot George Preddy.
czcams.com/video/LjjqpejU5gU/video.html
Man they all died in planes ! Or because of one.
Do you use DCS or war thunder for these sims?
War Thunder and IL-2 Sturmovik
My Grand father died in a concentration camp. He was walking around trying to keep himself warm when he tripped and fell off the guard tower, breaking his neck.
So sorry for your loss...
He should have followed the SS-ential safety rules
Sorry but this doesn't make any sense. 😔☹️
@@robertsettle2590 It's a bad joke
@@partygrove5321 yes very bad.
Japanese did not fly Migs.
Of course it's 7 American aces couldn't have made a mix of other aces from other countries
The influence of Robert Coffey working at the US Embassy in Chile just after the war is significant. Most South American Countries patterned their Militaries after successful ones in Europe and the USA . Chile is just one of these for example their Army was patterned after the Prussian Military tradition after the 1st WW1 and the 2nd WW to this day you can see this in action with their soldiers wearing Nazi style uniforms songs and Prussian tradition collimating with Pinochet leading the Country, the Chilean Navy patterns itself after the Royal Navy and uses their warships . The Chilean Airforce patterns itself after the United States Airforce flying 1st P51s and then Panther Jets then F86s ! Coffey was instrumental in cultivating this 1946 to 1948 . He was not only an Ace but a great Diplomatic representative of the US Air Force !
Auyyyy some of these clips are from warthunder lol
I play war thunder!
When you say. With that being said I just turned it off. So sick of hearing them words
I never knew you had a wife!
Just a version of german aces
Bong hits are great
Cut us some slack with the commercials, first you spend nearly three minutes promoting your sponsor then 5 minutes in, another. This is where I click off. Too many commercials.
Jesus is Lord
Jesus kills this first child, when at age one he curses a boy, which causes the child's body to wither into a corpse. Later, Jesus kills another child via curse when the child apparently accidentally bumps into Jesus, throws a stone at Jesus, or punches Jesus (depending on the translation).
When Joseph and Mary's neighbours complain, they are miraculously struck blind by Jesus.
(Infancy Gospel of Thomas)
Jesus was an ace who died when a Roman speared him