jponic
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'Doc' & 'FiFi', the world's only airworthy B-29 Superfortresses flying together at Oshkosh 2017.
Nov 28, 2017 6:18 AM
jponic
36806
2580
41
stonebreaker6
Majestic old dogs of war.
AlIYourBaseAreBelongToUs
Fifi? She was on Better Call Saul, no?
JohnnyricoMC
Yep, when he made that tv ad targeting the pensioners.
AlIYourBaseAreBelongToUs
Thought so. Thx!
statelessnfaithless
Oooh, shiny
AJRGale
Thats Doc showing off..
BertuQ
Said the man from the Hiroshima. Then “Oh, now too brighty”.
Bejaran
and chrome!
ImFunAtGrammarParties
Dunno if I'm missing a reference but no, that's polished aluminium.
Bejaran
ofc :) mad max fury road reference
Zeda
B'gosh.
YpoCohlo
As someone who washed aircrafts in a previous job, that gleam brought a tear to my eye...
Ccsyst
Fly them over Japan
Beaubeau15
They actually did fly them over Japan earlier this year
BigAdam
Man, they where over capacity the first time. Least on the way there.
AIComments
These planes never flew over Japan in anger.
Sturmmannn
Lol they be like not again
counslor
Specifically Nagasaki & Hiroshima.
ImFunAtGrammarParties
Thanks, Flight Officer Obvious!
taco1910
Old guy: not again!
auscaliber
Now imagine 50 of them
BuckeyeBTH
Now imagine 450+ during the Lemay firebombing campaigns...
WisconsinCentral2714
I love that my house is in the flight path during Airventure.I park my ass in a lawn chair with a pair of binoculars and an aircraft ID book
WisconsinCentral2714
The roar was amazing when these two flew over. When they were joined by the B-17 and the B-25, it just got better. Then came the BUFF
BeerFueledAdventurer
Thank you, CAF! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkSYV_eTZ_k
Starbolt81
And thank YOU, I needed the sound of these beauties.
GoodDadJokes
I've been inside Fifi. She's riveting!
Bigemedic
I got to see FiFi at an air show. I was bitterly disappointed we weren’t allowed to tour the inside.
TheManInTheWall
PO-2 is still the superior aircraft #russianbias
StraightOuttaUsersub
u forget the Gulalg Express Tu-4
StraightOuttaUsersub
#russianbias
TheManInTheWall
Yes, Ivan. Tu-4 OP
GeneralBonesteel
Had them in Hamilton once with one of the 2 only airworthy Lancasters. What a sight to see
haco1234
Airworthy?
QuartzBeer
1 of my favorite sounds in the world is a big ass radial reciprocating engine. Even better is radial reciprocatings that are synchronized.
robinhoodeast
! War thunder
Metalhead47
Would love to see one of those up close some day. Probably the only US plane of that era I never have.
squirrelfartsy
Ever seen a B24? I think there's only one in flying condition left.
Metalhead47
It was back when I was a kid, but yeah, still remember that one. The bomb doors confused me.
squirrelfartsy
B24s are weird-looking in general. Big slab-sided twin-tail monsters. The B17 got all the attention.
jponic
Fifi visited my hometown several years ago. It's quite a spectacle.
friko5
Lucky to have gone inside Fifi when it was stationed at CAF in Harlingen, TX .Cue Glen Miller's "In the Mood" - thanks Greatest Generation!
menoduh
omg wow wish i could have seen it in person
RoAnnon
Beautiful!
Rjdiioo
Oshkosh Bkosh
jaydubu
B'gosh
Rjdiioo
Sure, that.
3YearsaLurker
A diabolical piece of military engineering, this plane was. It was the first bomber to have a pressurized cabin, among other things.
kurfu
And bunk-beds, too!
HenryFondle
computer linked turrets with ballistics compensation - always blew my mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h4yBxydz0E
SirNigelThornberry
... The Germans and British already had pressurised cockpits in bomber at the point of the B-29 introduction
Mishn0
Small cockpit bubbles, not whole aircraft. The US had a whole pressurized airliner before the war; the Boeing 307 Stratoliner.
GNiko
Well, first US bomber, certainly. The Germans, of course, already had the JU-86 R2 by that time.
plaank
As, of course, is tradition.
SirNigelThornberry
And the mosquito was pressurised at that point as well
Mishn0
no it wasn't, how would you pressurize a wooden fuselage with a giant cut out for the wing?
Nuttsy
Photo recon versions PR Mk XVI and 32, as well as the bomber B Mk XVI, so, evidently, it could be done. According to the Wiki, at least.
Mishn0
Okay, you got me, but all 4000 B-29s had pressurization that was designed in from the start. No one nation "invented" pressurized aircraft.
HlST0RICAL
Of course.
Mishn0
that was a photo recon aircraft developed from a pre-war bomber
Nuttsy
R1 was recon, R2 was the bomber variant, with a massive payload of, *dramatic pause* ...1000kg. It's not the worst medium bomber payload...
Nuttsy
...but four 250kg bombs are kinda underwhelming when your plane still flies low enough to get intercepted the same year it was made.
GNiko
The R-2 was the high-altitude _bomber_ variant of the high altitude photo recon aircraft (the R-1).
DC1888
Why were they bad?
TheManInTheWall
They werent bad. The only downside of them was that they struggled in landing and takeoff
Mikaru86
Also, the strategic bombing campaign directly targeted (among other things) residential areas in an attempt to break the fighting spirit.
Metallica93
I assume you're talking about the firebombing of Japan? I always wondered if they used the Superfortress for that. Christ...
civicson234
They firebombed Dresden using B-17s and Lancaster’s. 3900 tons of incendiaries dropped on civilians over the course of two days. 25k dead.
Metallica93
I actually had no clue we dropped firebombs anywhere other than Japan. Fuck me. This is like Japanese Fu-Go all over again.
thatwoodguy
Immense bomb load, fast and high (out of reach of flak), could be heavily damaged and still fly.
Somnipresent
Diabolical as in devious and powerful. They could fly higher than most aircraft at the time to avoid interceptors. Probably.
DC1888
Oh. I've only ever heard diabolical being used as a bad thing.
Somnipresent
Well they are weapons of war :P they're just OUR weapons of war.
Tywinning
A lot of the things they were used for weren't exactly nice, but they sure look beautiful
GadenKerensky
And had turrets that could more effectively target anything that did.
Mikaru86
Both nuclear weapons ever used in combat were dropped by B-29.
MEL357
Nothin bad about that.
deliciousbananapancakes
Nothing bad about dropping a nuclear weapon on civilians killing over 100,000 people? Oh ok.
DraxxHimUp
As opposed to fighting every last one of them in ground combat on the main Island? Yes. Downvote me if you want, but the A bomb was better
governmentgavemeagun
Plenty bad. But most westerners agree it was less bad than the expected alternative, fighting across Japan for more months or years.
deliciousbananapancakes
Depends who you ask, Japan was trying to work out favourable terms of surrender via the Soviets (neutral at that point) before the bombs.
Randomman96
Hell, more lives, both military and civilian, were probably spared with the use of the A-Bombs over an invasion. Still doesn't truly --
idpassr
I'll bet that sounded amazing.
TheRealDavo
I got the chance to see FiFi when it flew into my home town... I have to say the B29 is my favorite American bomber
Luchingador
suddenly the lower gates open...
dangerrat
OshKosh be'gosh..
ThisGuyHiding
I’ve been going to Oshkosh for nearly 10 years now. If you’re an aviation buff this is the place to be at the end of July!
RevArtillery
Used to go to Luke Air Force Base when I was younger but I got to go to Oshkosh a few years ago and it just blew me away. So cool.
Blze001
I've only managed to attend once. It was when SpaceShipOne made it's last public appearance before going to the Smithsonian.
JeremyClarksonDidNothingWrong
Majestic AF.
JasonAbbadon
Majestic Air Force! Ha!
copingcabana
Enola.....GAAAAAAAAAYYY
BeerFueledAdventurer
I touched Fifi! It was magical. I mean it, seriously; it connected me to an era in ways words can't adequately describe. Worth every penny.
36roentgen
It connected you to dying airmen and burning Japanese after the bombing runs.
Strshns
My grandfather was on fifi! I have a picture of him getting to revisit it about 20 something years ago. Didn't know it was still flying!
MagnorCriol
It definitely still is! One of my friends is on the restoration/upkeep/etc crew. They're quite proud of her (as they should be).
bones10145
She was broke at an airshow at my base and I helped Jack and defuel her so the crew could check a possible fuel pump leak. It was a blast!
shhep
Fifi sounds like what preschoolers say when they're to embarrassed to say peepee.
BeerFueledAdventurer
Thanks to the CAF for this video of the GIF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkSYV_eTZ_k
Rasdwatrium
Those times can be described: "Never again."
DaftKid
NuNuDagobah
You sure it wasn't its perverted twin peepee?
sinbinrugger
I flew in Fifi. It was glorious
Fluffycorn
I sometimes touch expensive cars
irlborat
The only war plane I've ever touched was a Sukhoi :(
rowm
Narnia?
Prionalurus
And years later the Headlines read: Fifi. Claims a Beer Fueled Adventurer touched me inappropriately - news at 9
ImCommanderShepardandthisismyfavoritepostonthefrontpage
Sounds like fifi is gonna sue you for sexual harassment
sosofosho
You can book a flight for ~$5-600.
jinko82
bombers seat is like 1500.
SUPERAMZINGPOTATO
I did the flight on fifi... go for the back seats always they are better
SanguiniusRex
Where can I find one for $5?
foxracing254
That's it??
SUPERAMZINGPOTATO
I did the flight it's worth it
Philosophdog
Per person om guessing
easyridercat
$5 sounds like a pretty good deal.
Hatixon
Nah they pay you $595 to fly
DarkUranium
What is this, 1944?
Computercrafted
Computercrafted
WallpaperProblems
A tragedy the US destroyed most of them, would love to have more than two airworthy planes.
HyunJ00n
I'm so fuckin relieved they didn't scrap the iowa class battleships. Surface to surface battleships are obsolete, but damn they're beautiful
ComanderoftheShepard
I agree those battlewagons are my go to for pure functional form can be sexy
Cosmogonic
imagine a futuristic battlewagon, with million hp dual fuel turbines, railgun turrets, 1k's of sea to ground and seat to air missiles...
LastoftheMcKettrickSupplicants
And a wave-motion gun! Star Blazers reference!
jackalopes
Buy a T-4 from Russia!
TheManInTheWall
You mean the mightily stronk Tupolev 4 ?!? The living Russian bias!
dmr11
A few decades ago the AF stopped an attempt to restore a B-36 to flight worthy status by claiming its a "threat to national security" and >
dmr11
> that it could be used by terrorists. http://users.waymark.net/proweb/last_one.htm
dmr11
(If you're wondering why there isn't any B-36 flying around.)
TheManInTheWall
I think you can get a kit for most WW2 planes if you happen to be a millionaire
CamelSpotter
If that bothers you, then you'd be pissed at what happened to the Memphis Belle. Thankfully, the Air Force Museum got to restore it.
flammenwolf1314
That's just sad, it made such a great movie too.
Laynco
sitting there on the edge of my seat as a kid hoping that the crew can manage to deploy the landing gear in time
AviationNation
It was my favorite childhood movie!
[deleted]
[deleted]
DeafVader11
Love that story!
Xionis
No Bullets Fly!
TriggerhappySOB
Oh lord I fucking hope so. Beautiful story that shows that even when you are fighting for your nation, you don't need to be heartless