100 mustangs the P-51 IN OHIO

I know one Mustang ace(13 kills) that won't be there. His name is Ray Bain, he's my Dad's best friend, and I"ll be sitting next to him on Saturday for my Dad's 80th birthday party. He flew 87combat missions and was shot down and remained a pow till the end of the war. If anyone has any questions for him let me know.

 

hell don't wait for any of our questions, get your damn camera and record him!!! tape, cd video,, just get him ontape!!!!!
start with the traing, the first mission, the little things, about the flights, the biggest things, cripes ask him about the weather,,, just DO IT!!!! your questions don't matter it is his answers!!!!


get on it!!!




he was in the 354th fighter group THE ANGELS FROM HELLMOVIE


HERE IS THE SIGHT CHECK HIM OUT ;SCROLL DOWN ABOUT HALF WAZ DOWN



http://angelfromhellthemovie.com/home.html

ask him about the silk scarf that saved his life!!!!

 

Oh yeah, ask him anything!

How many missions?

What was training like?

How long in the ETO before his first combat flight?

How many missions before he saw actual combat?

What did he do to pass the time not on a mission?

Did he get any confirmed kills?

Did he have any unconfirmed kills?

How many missions before shot down?

What happened on that fateful mission?

How was he captured?

etc etc.

 

Very cool event. Back in my twenties I worked as an AV mechanic. We restored these birds and built them for racing. If you're in the area it a must see. The sound of these birds a low altitude is better than Viagra!

 

There are more Mustangs flying than many other WWII fighters. Most were brought back after the war. Older aircraft like P-38's were obsolete and were destroyed rather than being shipped back.

from: http://home.tiscali.dk/winthrop/stanwood.html

"After the war was finished, I was still in the Philippines. We were flying 51s and 47s but still had a number of 38s on the field. I remember ferrying what were basically brand new 38s down to Clark Field and then taxiing them through a field to a huge hole where they were bulldozed into and burned. Some of these planes had less than 10 hours on the form one. They all had full gas tanks and all instruments. They could have been purchased for one hundred dollars ($100). The gas alone would have been worth that. The instruments could have been salvaged if a person didn't want to keep the plane. How sick do you think I feel today, when there are very few left in the world and now would sell for close to, if not more than, $1,000,000. I did take one of the control wheels out and brought it back home with me. Should have had the whole plane."

 

I'd kill to be there this weekend.

Check out this great Mustang video I just found:

 

Get him in contact with the producers of Dogfights on the History Channel, I'm sure they would like to interview him.

 

where can you go to get a ride in one. I know that for the most part they were all single seaters. There is a corsair trainer here in AZ that will take you up for a fee for a certain amount of time. I would pay a fee as well for a ride in a p-51.

 

here is a pdf story of crazy horse the 2 seat p51 you can pay to fly in http://www.stallion51.com/stories/storiesarticles-tf51dmustang.aspx

http://www.stallion51.com/images/storyarticle/todayspilotissue69.pdf

 

If 105 (scheduled) P-51's arent enough, there are also:
Lancaster
Spitfire
B-17
B-25 (2)
P-38 (2)
P-40
P-63
B-52
C-130
C-17
F-16
F-15
F-22
...............

And Sunday's feature (other than the Thunderbirds and all the other acts) is a flight of 51 P-51's....that's 612 cylinders in the air at the same time.

I'm leaving in 4 hours....I need some sleep.

 

The P-51D Mustang is my all time favorite air plane and one of the most beautiful mechanical things ever created. I wish I could go. The documentary titled The War will be finishing up this coming Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on PBS. They haven't covered the P-51 yet, so hopefully they will during one of the upcoming segments.

 

Damn I wish someone had been able to get my grandfather to talk about what he did in the War. It appears to have been something to do with salvaging damaged aircraft, but nobody knows for sure. Anyone know what the USAAF's 29th MR&R did in the ETO? I know they were associated with a squadron of P-47s.

-Dave

 

Wow there is horsepower in Heaven.

 

My dad worked at GM-Holden during the early part of the war building aircraft before he went into the Royal Australian Air Force and the Pacific theater.
When my brother and I were kids and into building WW11 models and playing war games he did not say much about what went on up in the islands. When we got older (and I guess, smarter) he opened up and we got to listen to some wonderful stories. He was a surveyor and as such he had a camera with him and the photos are amazing. I hope to be back in Oz in March of next year and I will try to arrange to scan some of the images.
Since he retired he has documented much of his life (written longhand in impeccable draftsman's script) and has also made some audio tapes. He is 92 years old now, having been born in 1915, and the changes that he has seen in the world are amazing.

Roo

 

they
served in England, France, and Germany 50th fighter group

The 24th MR&R Sq was active at least from 29 Nov 43 to 31 May 45, and was assigned to IX AF Service Command. It was stationed at RAF Grove from about 29 Nov 43 until about 27 Dec 43, RAF Membury until about 21 Feb 44, RAF Warmwell until about 24 Feb 44, RAF Lymington until about 7 Jul 44, when it moved to the continent, proceeding through France and arriving at Giebelstadt, Germany by May 1945. It was disbanded 8 Oct 48. The M stands for Mobile, but the two Rs appear to have changed meaning (Recovery & Reclamation to Reclamation & Repair, or some such) in 1944.

 

I read that, but that's the 24th. Grandpa was with the 29th MR&R and haven't found anything about that particular squadron.

-Dave

 

Before I see him I can answer what I already know, his plane was hit by flak, and as he was bailing out of the cockpit , his plane was hit again throwing him out of the cockpit, his legs hit the horizontal stabiler, and his back hit the verticle, breaking his back and legs. He's told me that as he was floating down in his parachute, he looked down at his legs and there was bone showing through them and they were pointing in the wrong directions..luckily for him his parachute caught in a tree, sparing him from landing on his feet. He was captured a short time later by the SS who cut him down. He said the SS respected pilots, and that the average German soldier would have killed him right away. He told me his leg became infected and the German doctor put maggots in his leg to eat the infection. It must have worked because at 87 he's still walking. My apologys to Ryan for the off topic post, it's just that lately I've been super impressed by the accomplishments of the Greatest Generation

 

I doubt Ryan will mind,as his previous posts have demonstrated,he too has this love of warbird aircraft. Thanks for the post,can't get enough of warbirds.

 

My neighbor just got home this afternoon with his two Mustangs.
Low fast and tight for a few passes,I can't imagine dozens of em
at a time. Who went to Columbus? Who has pics??

 

I was there all weekend and seemed like every other wingnut was there.
We were there everyday, early, until the cops threw us out.
Once in a lifetime event, sure glad i made the 17 hour drive.
They're was 76 Mustangs on field and 20 in the big formation.
The sound alone was breath taking.


There will be a video of this event available at a later date.


http://www.betterimage.com/gml/

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/videos/view.php?v=77fb2daa

Tuskegee Airmen with Kermits P-51C "Ina the Macon Belle"