To All Our Vets...

[Peacerider]

I qualified on USS Triton (SSN 586) and spent 4.5 years aboard as a QM. She was the only boat we built with 2 reactors. She was also 450' long!

Do you ever come up to N. FL?

not often only to pass through headed to New Mexico to sister in laws place. But hopefully will change after Dec this year I retire fully, then might start looking to move north of I-4! Take s8 hours just to get out of south Florida and it is getting to crazy down here!!!

 

[1dn5up]

I always admired all bottom feeders, thought it was cool lurking around to torpedo somthing.

Went to CT to tour one, being I'm clostifobic, :shok: had to vacate in a hurry. Sub folks are special !

 

[Peacerider]

I always admired all bottom feeders, thought it was cool lurking around to torpedo somthing.

Went to CT to tour one, being I'm clostifobic, :shok: had to vacate in a hurry. Sub folks are special !

Yes bubble-heads are a special group of, well let's just say different!! My wife's uncle as WWII bubble head, suffered 18 hours of depth charges from the Japanese Navy, aoparetnly they tok offense to them sinking their ships!!!

 

[2Paps]

Yes bubble-heads are a special group of, well let's just say different!! My wife's uncle as WWII bubble head, suffered 18 hours of depth charges from the Japanese Navy, aoparetnly they tok offense to them sinking their ships!!!

Awwww. Guess they shouldn't have done that visit to Pearl Harbor. The funny part is our Pacific submarine fleet was left intact on Dec. 7. It wasn't even a secondary target!

 

[2Paps]

not often only to pass through headed to New Mexico to sister in laws place. But hopefully will change after Dec this year I retire fully, then might start looking to move north of I-4! Take s8 hours just to get out of south Florida and it is getting to crazy down here!!!

I don't know how far north of I-4 you're looking to go but you may want to look up the Scorpion Chapter of SSMC. They are based in Daytona.

 

[Peacerider]

I don't know how far north of I-4 you're looking to go but you may want to look up the Scorpion Chapter of SSMC. They are based in Daytona.

Not sure the exact area yet will really start looking next year after I retire. but thanks for info.

 

[extxn]

Sundog,
I'm a new member too. I have a 2014 HD trike. Maybe we can get together sometime. I live in Boise.
I am a retired Navy A-7 pilot, callsign "Elf". Retired in 1995 after 21 years of service. Flew for SWA for 18 years and retired July 2014. Loving retirement! Love the trike! Just put on the reduced reach handlebars which make it more comfortable for shorter riders. I'm going on a 2 wk ride though WY, CO, UT, ID starting Friday. Should be a blast! Go Navy, Beat Army!

Hey Elf, Welcome Home. Don't know if I ever launched your ride off the cats or not, I worked the cats & gear on the flattops (5 different ones). Was in the Tonkin Gulf '69 -''70 on the U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19).

 

[extxn]

As a member of the catapult and arresting gear crew, we knew them as 'controlled crashes'. I still have 2 thumbs, 8 fingers and 10 toes ~ my feet still want to move before my head has a chance to see what the noise was about! Mandatory reaction development!!

 

[consitter]

Welcome home.

Welcome to Trike Talk from eastern Kentucky! Enjoy your new ride.

 

[Dave59]

Welcome from Wisconsin and Thank You for your service!

 

[Sundog29]

Welcome

I have had my HD 2015 Trike now for a year and it has opened a whole new world of adventure for me. I love cruising on it and this summer plan to take a number of trips. Fully expect to get out Boise way, but will try routes that avoid the interstate. I was based at Mt. Home AFB for 5 years flying a prototype aircraft before I was assigned to Grumman. If you get out this way to the Portland area give me a shout.

 

[thomastrike]

Thomastrike

I'm a retired career USAF fighter pilot and a new owner of a H-D 2015 Trike. I flew missions as a forward air controller out of Vietnam and also flew the F-111 out of Thailand. I can't wait for new adventures as I tour on my new TriGlide.

Welcome to TT from east Texas. Former US Navy postal clerk. I went in as Nam was winding down , so I never made it there. Retired from Postal Service a few years ago and enjoying my 15 Freewheeler. Thank you for your service.

 

[Sundog29]

Thomastrike

Lots of us former military on this great forum. I was assigned as the USAF pilot at Grumman Aerospace on Long Island for 5 years. I was the one USAF pilot amongst several Navy pilots. I got to fly the Navy aircraft produced by Grumman and delivered many A-6Es to NAS Whidbey Island.

 

[peteg59]

Many of the pilots I had the pleasure of serving with, called their landings "controlled crashes" too:clapping:

 

[thomastrike]

Thomastrike

Now you've got me curious, it shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 Submariners to surround this whole group. How many of us are aboard the forum?

USS Triton
USS Sunfish
USS Spadefish
USS Thomas A. Edison
USS Stonewall Jackson

All those boats were decommissioned and cut up for scrap metal years before I retired in '93! Yeah, I served in all of them too.

Was on a sub tender delivering the mail to the subs in Scotland.

 

[extxn]

I went on a sub ONCE! Made sure all the ropes were tied to the dock too!! Actually, my father in law was a submariner, I went to the boat one afternoon while he had watch duty and had dinner with the crew. Got a good tour of everything and then realized I had more people in my Division on the carrier than what they had to run the entire sub, plus we had real fresh air and running water ~ that was on an old diesel boat.
He started out in Washington state, then down to Diego and eventually over to Connecticut and retired out. After retirement, Bill worked for EB there in Groton up in the 'retrofit' department ~ he was the only person to have ever served on diesel boats and knew how much room there wasn't for installing new equipment. Best experience I ever had was when I took him down to the Submariner's Memorial there in Groton ~ all the subs and names of the crews lost during the early wars. Was moving watching him and listening to the stories.
BTW, my father in law was William (Bill) 'Pappy' Signs, Torpedoman 1st Class

 

[2Paps]

Was on a sub tender delivering the mail to the subs in Scotland.

I may have been the recipient of your services. I visited Scotland on all 3 of my first 3 boats in the '60s and '70s. Thanks.

 

[Peacerider]

How many have experienced the wonders of "Angles & Dangles"" on a submarine??? going fast, fast turns, deep dives and quick ascents??? And seeing things that are suppose to be bolted down come loose!!!!!!
(Fubar)(Rofl)

 

[rudymsmith]

uss wahoo ss 565

Now you've got me curious, it shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 Submariners to surround this whole group. How many of us are aboard the forum?

USS Triton
USS Sunfish
USS Spadefish
USS Thomas A. Edison
USS Stonewall Jackson

All those boats were decommissioned and cut up for scrap metal years before I retired in '93! Yeah, I served in all of them too.

I started my navy career on the USS Wahoo SS565 before joining EOD at age 20. Never looked backed.

 

[Blueline]

General Hal Moore passed yesterday at age 94. Mel Gibson played him in the movie "We were soldiers once..."

 

[wingit]

I don't remember crying then seeing guys lost.

Was it another mental zone ? After visiting a wall copy I sat behind a tree and couldn't stop.

I wish I could find friends we served with.

We called him Wahtosh, from the Res somewhere in NM.

He helped me wreck my new bike and we laid on the ground drunk and laughing. Wah stood on the back pegs pulling me back.

I asked what he's doing when we get home. He said drink like the rest at the Res.I biked through NM a couple years ago wondering about him, and it became clear what my friend meant.

The ditches glittered with broken glass, as they couldn't have boozeA sad day indeed my friend. Peace

 

[wingit]

Whats Holly-weird fake plane fake pilot doing on there ?

We all know ?

That's an actress digital fake plane and fake pilot from a movie

 

[frostbite51]

More info on the 'pilot' and plane:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382992/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_26

When someone puts **** like this in an article, it makes you question how much of the rest of it is fake...

 

[Sully]

We all know ?

That's an actress digital fake plane and fake pilot from a movie

Did Trump tell you that :Shrug:

 

[rhino 2]

Any American asset is a target.......

 

[Sully]

RESTORED B-29 rescued from the China Lake CA boneyard of aircraft

TAKES TO THE AIR …. (and an original ‘Rosie the Riveter’ is there!)

http://mortefontainevillage. pagesperso-orange.fr/ marcbrecy/b29.html

​

 

[GrandpaDave]

Sully,

Thanks so much for sharing that video. What a labor of love.

Dave

 

[Catfish]

Great video, thanks for posting. ThumbUp

 

[David357]

This is really incredible as well as outstanding!



B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG) Crew:

Pilot- Ken Bragg Jr.

Co-pilot- G. Boyd Jr.

Navigator- Harry C. Nuessle

Bombardier- Ralph Burbridge

Engineer- Joe C. James

Radio Operator- Paul A. Galloway

Ball Turret Gunner- Elton Conda

Waist Gunner- Michael Zuk

Tail Gunner- Sam T. Sarpolus

Ground Crew Chief- Hank Hyland

In 1943 a mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and a German fighter over the Tunis dock area, became the subject of one of the most famous photographs of WW II.

An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot, then continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Flying Fortress named "All American", piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb Squadron.

When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces inside the B-17.

The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator were completely torn away. The two right engines were out and one on the left had a serious oil pump leak.

The vertical fin and the rudder had been damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through, connected only at two small parts of the frame, and the radios, electrical and oxygen systems were damaged.

There was also a hole in the top that was over 16-feet long and 4 feet wide at its widest; the split in the fuselage went all the way to the top gunner's turret.



Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed, except one single elevator cable still worked, the aircraft miraculously still flew!

The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor connecting the tail to the rest of the plane. The waist and tail gunners used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage from splitting apart.

While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs over the target.



When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. It took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from parachutes and haul him back into the forward part of the plane.

When they tried to do the same for the tail gunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began to break off. The weight of the gunner was adding some stability to the tail section, so he went back to his position.

The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail from twisting off. They actually covered almost 70 miles to make the turn home.

The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed and was soon alone in the sky.

For a brief time, two more Me-109 German fighters attacked the All American. Despite the extensive damage, all of the machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the fighters. The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was actually causing the plane to turn.



Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over the Channel and took one of the pictures shown. They also radioed to the base describing that the appendage was waving like a fish tail and that the plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they bailed out. The fighters stayed with the Fortress, taking hand signals from Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signaled that 5 parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail out. He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he would stay with the plane to land it.



Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away. It descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing gear.



When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a single member of the crew had been injured.

No one could believe that the aircraft could still fly in such a condition.

The Fortress sat placidly until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of the aircraft collapsed.







This old bird had done its job and brought the entire crew home uninjured.