O1 (L19) Cessna Bird Dog

balogh wrote:Instead of  dumping the choppers into the sea why they did not just hover in the air near the Midway while the Bird Dog was landing? Then the choppers could have landed afterwards on the Midway too.. Maybe a dumb question...

We civilians don’t think like military personnel. I’m not sure what or how they justify the use or misuse of the equipment they make war with, but the item cost or replacement costs don’t seem to be a factor in making decisions. I know I have posted pictures of what the military did with all the P-38’s that were stacked and burned on a South Pacific island at the end of the war.  It would have cost more to fly ‘em back home than what they were worth? Or they had a newer faster more effective replacements waiting to be deployed? Yeah, we’re still buying War Bonds, they’re just called taxes now.

Yeah...I don’t think they’d miss a couple of small choppers..to save a family’s life!

balogh wrote:Instead of  dumping the choppers into the sea why they did not just hover in the air near the Midway while the Bird Dog was landing? Then the choppers could have landed afterwards on the Midway too.. Maybe a dumb question...

Dunno……..guess you would have to have been there. Maybe Freddie was.

I remember the event being reported on television. Made national news, a positive story among the tragedies of the time.

Mark tells me the plane is not a Bird dog replica, but is a 1942 Taylorcraft L2M. The owner had it out for an oil change. He maintains flight simulators like I did in the Navy, not sure if he instructs though. Mark hopes to hitch a ride.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylorcraft_L-2

Yes Bob sorry I did not want to question the heroism of the participants and the action...just my pragmatism and sorrow for the choppers...on a second thought, maybe the small plane was really critically short of fuel and could not wait for landing until the choppers would have taken off and cleared the landing strip...

y love the plane cool story love read stuf like that my bird dog progres good just nead 3.5g servo wit extention lead and special cable to program my as3x flight controler nano reciver my other combat plane a6m5 zero is ready fo a flight test

davidll1984 wrote:y love the plane cool story love read stuf like that my bird dog progres good just nead 3.5g servo wit extention lead and special cable to program my as3x flight controler nano reciver my other combat plane a6m5 zero is ready fo a flight test

Thanks David, I'm looking forward to seeing your Bird Dog when You get it finished.

And Andras, wife and five kids in that little airplane is a good incentive to clear the deck.

Bob

Yes Bob no question about that..having read the Wiki article now it better transpires that the only option was to dump the choppers and it was a professional decision by the captain of the ship.

Wow Bob. Great score for Mark, and as well, I appreciate seeing the pictures that he took. Very nice looking airplanes the gentleman has there. As well, teh accompanying story is neat too. Going to read up on that later to get more of the story. Thank you.

Seeing the Mustang replica, I wonder whether it might be a Stewart Mustang.  I know a fellow locally who has three in total, all of which were purchased cheaply as unfinished projects.  They run a GM LS V8.

Pretty neat paint schemes on those replica Mustangs Rod. It's an enduring design that will never be equaled.

But it's the Taylorcraft that get's me. I might have heard of it but it didn't register.

Bob