I'm in middle of reading a few great books about WWII right now, including "Forever Flying" by WWII ace pilot and POW R.A. "Bob" Hoover, who I met at the Reno Air Races a few years ago. There are many compelling reasons why the pilots and planes... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Well said JB. Like you Im totally enamoured by that time and the exploits of both Bomber crews and fighter pilots over the skies of Europe and the Sth Pacific. Names like Richard Bong, Gregory Boyington, Paul Tibbetts and Robert Morgan and thousands of other less recognised veterans shall never be forgotten. I am currently reading a book called "Bomber Boys" that describes the devastating losses incurred by the RAF's Bomber Command during night time bombing over Germany during WWII. As we know, the 8th bombed by day and Bomber Command by night. Losses were so horrendous and morale so low that the very existence of Bomber Command's ability to continue and function as a strategic entity came into question. Pilots and crews were burnt out and many were not able to function as a fighting unit and were dishonorably discharged. Very very sad indeed. IMO it is a crime that the 50,000 aircrew that lost their lives serving in Bomber Command were only just recently recognised because of political correctness and BC's involvement in fire bombing Hamburg & Dresden where thousands of civilians perished. May we never see such carnage again. Back to the hot rods.... So much war surplus was used on the dry lakes in the immediate years after the war which were plentiful and cheap to buy. Let's see from the pics I have : Navy pea coats Aviator sunglasses Leather A2 jackets Military boots Belly tanks Leather flying helmets Flying goggles Ex military tools and measuring equipment Water canteens "Jerry" fuel cans Parachutes (after the Airborne made them functional) Hmm...what ese was there..... Rat
i think one of the biggest impacts on hot rodding was simply allowing dumb farm kids access to state of the art equipment and training on the care and repair of it. Many of the bigger hot rodders worked on jeeps, tanks and aircraft and learned a lot that applied later
The fondness for WWII aircraft is shared here as well....................some phenomenal machinery! And the lessons learned there led to higher compression ratios and high octane fuel at the everyday pump island. Many a young man learned skills in those few years that would serve the growth of post war rodding. For all the horror of war it did give our hobby/sport a swift boot in the butt. A tip of the jar to Col. R.C. Ohlsen, my late FIL, a B24 jock.
I was at an air show a few years ago and a Corsair taxied by, with that big radial's rough idle making the groud shake. The shaggy old greentooth I was next to turned to me and smiled, saying, "It aint no wonder all them boys came home and bought a Harley, is it?"
Yes the up side to war is that we do not have a king, we are not a slave nation and we can enjoy the company and friendship of our Jewish neighbors. On to technology, have a look at Freedoms Forge by Arthur Herman. American industrial might and freedom built us out of that war. Plus the cost at home was quite high as well. Thank you to all who serve. Paul
Right up my alley! I work next door to"Worlds Greatest Aircraft Collection" and have had the privilege to listen to the stories from some of the 'greats' and 'unknowns' alike. I have watched these old birdmen(and women) and crew members be reunited with their machines and seen the years between melt away for them. I've even managed a ride in a P-40 in the same seat that David "Tex" Hill had occupied a few years before. Even so, having never faced fire I'll never wrap my mind around the personal hell that they faced. To me though the automobile/aviation technology has always gone hand in hand and was frequently traded back and forth. Even in the early days it wasn't uncommon to see aircraft-vs- automobile races staged as evidenced by this Lincoln Beachey-vs-Eddie Rickenbacker clip. The technology race was parallel, War I & II just quickened the pace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWzEQhcX7Os&feature=player_embedded
"influence of the aircraft technology during that time: The roots-type blower adapted to gasoline engines" I too am a student of WWII aircraft but I don't recall any aircraft (at least of the most common ones) running a roots-type blower. Most were centrifigual, either gear driven or turbo. If I missed one, please let me know; if there was one, I'll bet it was British!!
Dave, without knowing the original intent or accuracy of that quoted statement, we shouldn't limit our thinking to just supercharging of engines. Roots type blowers are a common way of moving cabin air in aircraft, e.g. one of the primary markets for the S.C.oT. blowers was aircraft cabin air movement. Likewise, high volume air compressors. Many were the influences of the tools of war.
One of the coolest salvage places I've ever been to,The Black Hole in Los Alamos,NM is closing for good this week.I've bought the 7 foot drop tanks for my Dad to use in objects found sculpture and countless other goodies that had a nuclear purpose at some point in time.I really wanted to go down there,but I'm too damn busy this week.If you're near there,go check it out .
One more book to read, "I could never be so lucky again" Jimmy Doolittle's biography. Starts with barn storming, to air racing, then through wwII.
A tech detail for that list: Fuel systems. Valves, filters, tanks, hoses. Think Moon and Eelco, first adapting surplus stuff, then manufacturing their own versions more closely adated in size to rods and dragsters. This stuff also was basic to the development of Hilborn and other hot rod fuel injection. The little gas tanks are almost as iconic as the deuce grill...
I love vintage aircraft almost as much as old cars....and have total respect for any veterans...and am very proud that my grandfather helped liberate Europe until he was wounded in Holland.
GM, Ford and Chrysler gained a great deal of management expertise from WWII vets who learned managing extremely large scale projects during the war. The management of Ford greatly improved post-WWII by incorporating the "whiz kids" that were ex-Army officers, Robert McNamara being one of the most recognizable. The GI bill led to hundreds of thousands of GI's going to college on Uncle Sam's tab as a thank you for their service. Many of these vets were trained as engineers and professionals that fueled the post war expansion in the US. sorry if this is a bit off topic from the direct use of surplus equipment for Hot Rodding.
Something as small as Fuel lines clamps really makes the difference on some engine bays!!! I think the most important thing that those guys took away from their duty was the Sense of appreciation of speed to which all boundaries and limits were pushed upon their return. I think most advancements for the next 15-20 years in hot rodding were due largely in part to the G.I.'s in one way or another.
It's possible a lot of people would be speaking German and Japanese if not for those guys, and all the other ones who fought then. We should never forget the fact that they put their lives on the line so we could enjoy what we do today.
I don't think farm kids had the corner on "dumb". As a matter of hands-on experience, the farm boys more than likely had it over the "city boys". More than a few of those city boys didn't know what purpose a clutch & shifting lever had as evidenced by their grinding a pound of metal while attempting to drive a 3/4T.
*Fiberglass cloth. Though it is debatable if this had a positive influence on hot rods (outside of the show car realm), it sure was a gift to surfboard building! Also neoprene rubber- used as sound deadening, padding and insulation in aircraft- is still keeping the chill off surfers and divers today. *Balsa wood, used as quick bridge building.... whoops I'm off course! * ** Graphic artist Art Chantry has made a hobby of tracing military WW2 insignias into widespread use as peace time (usually industrial and auto parts) logos.* ** My gramps was a flier stationed up in Alaska during that time. Somewhere there is a picture of his rotary engine(?!) jalopy he built when he got back. ** *Thanks vets and civilians alike for your great sacrifices.
Obviously "Bob" still has it... And like are beloved Hot Rods most of these birds were discarded way too soon. But next door they still live and breath. Lets go for a ride in the P-51... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=94HRSACNZ_w
Perhaps a small contribution, but B&L Aviator sun glasses (as noted by Rat Basterd) became sononymous with '40's and '50's Hot Rodding. Mine are amongst my most prized possessions.
Great subject matter for sure. I have a book signed by Eddie Rickenbacker, Maj Gen. "Boots" Blesse and Col. Bud Anderson. Real American Idols! Attached is a photo I have on my wall of the garage of Brig. Gen Jimmy Stewart another great American Bomber Pilot from WW2 (center) and a great American actor. He is shown here just returning from a B-52 Mission over Vietnam 1966. My great Uncle was a B-24 Flight Engineer with the 392nd Bomb Group out of Wendling England. He still can recall many details, even at his age now.
Also don`t forget the advent of disc brakes.IIRC,the first use of diac brakes was by Jaguar(?) when they adapted the brakes from a Spitfire to their competition cars somewhere back in the (IIRC)mid 50`s.Maybe some of our English cousins can be more specific as to year of conversion. Many thanks to those who have served to those now serving and to those who will serve in the future.God bless you all. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Great thread, it worked both ways, lots of hot rodders went to work in the defense industry, in California and elsewhere, they already knew mechanics and, sometimes, how to machine stuff, so were a real asset to the war effort..lots of others went off to war as mechanics, using their hot rod skills to keep planes and tanks operating...
Daimler Benz employed nitrous oxide injection and methanol/water injection on their aircraft engines.
The hotrods over all became better engineered after the WW2,I beleve it was that tech info was just more understud by the guys that came back ,after seeing it help so much in the war. I came to be in 1942 and remember a lot of storys from my Dad and his buddys,my Dad was a plywood molding expert and engineer,he worked on at the time of WW2 a top classafied plain,the XP77. It was all plywood molded,could take more bullet holes then alum and hold together well,and years later he said it did not show on radar tell after they put the thin alum skin on so that no one would know that. The engine size got cut down too manytimes as they were building,so the speed did not look as amazing as it would of been if it was built as designed,but this could of been to keep any one from looking to close and finding out about no show on radar. Years later befor he passed away,he LOL about F117 being the first no radar plain to be known to the world. I learn a lot from my Dad about building things right.