Warbird Information Exchange

Do you know anything more about it, such as from a purely theoretical "multi-engine" training point of view, did the outward turning props cause any additional single-engine handling problems? Or was it more of a case like the Smith/Piper Aerostars, which are supposedly so clean and relatively powerful that they fly (so I've heard) almost as well on one engine as they do on two?

I've heard a story about famed Lockheed test pilot Tony LaVier rolling a P-38 on just one engine. He must have had BIG brass ones....

Heck Lefty Gardner used to shut both of them down during a routine and also demonstrate one engine acro

So, are you telling me that Lefty thought he was Bob Hoover? Or did Bob Hoover think he was Lefty Gardner?

A few years ago I noticed the nose on the NMUSAF Marauder had been damaged, with the gun mount wrenched out of place..it looked like someone had tried to do chin-ups on the gun barrel. I can't blame them for being a little reluctant to replace the gun.

The new nose on the Marauder looks nice, but it still isn't quite correct. The original nose was made up of an upper and lower molded section, bolted together with no actual frame. the upper frames were actually internal stiffeners, held in place with screws. I don't mean to criticize the restoration staff..molding a new two-piece plexi nose would be a major undertaking.

Here's the nose of a B-26G, fresh from the factory.



And here's "Flak Bait's" nose (she's a B-model, but think the nose is the same.)



SN

That's it? That's all the held a .50 caliber machine gun in place, some plexiglass? Was it just there for show and they were never allowed to fire it?

Why is then that they could only mount M60's in Huey's? I'd always heard that a M2 would tear up the mounting structure if it was mounted in the door of a Huey....

I used to work with two guys who were both ex-USMC helicopter crew chiefs, one in a Huey and the other in a CH-46. Travis really LIKED his .50 in the CH-46 and he would fire it until the barrel got so hot that it didn't shoot straight anymore. (Your tax dollars at "work") Tom, in the Huey, was jealous.

No, they both thought they were Bob Johnson, who did a similar routine in a Ford Tri-Motor in the 30s!!!

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Well, those upper (internal) frames on Flak Bait look pretty hefty, and the joint between the upper and lower sections looks to be reinforced as well. The extra framing was introduced on the B-model. If you look at Kermit Weeks' early B-26, the nose has no metal framing at all, other than the frame for the flat bomb-aiming window. But I think the early Marauders were only intended to use a .30 in the nose.

The NMUSAF B-26G nose also has extra framing in the lower section and a centerline frame on top that I don't believe was ever a feature of production Marauders. I'm assuming the nose on the Museum's plane is made up of several curved wedge sections, necessitating the extra framework. It's not my intent to complain..the Marauder is one of my all-time favorite aircraft, and it's great to see one preserved at all! I was especially pleased when the Museum installed a complete tail gun position on her a few years ago.

Incidentally, Flak Bait also had an extra fixed .50 firing through the nose on the lower right side..I'm not sure, but I think this was standard on later Marauders.

SN

Fantastic photos in this thread!!!!

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

You must mean "HAROLD JOHNSON"......not Bob....who did aerobatics in a Ford Trimotor.

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President National Waco Club
Curator for the Waco Historical Society Air Museum
Writer for VINTAGE AIRPLANE, SKYWAYS, BARNSTORMERS.COM EFLYER

Interesting just noticed that the old CAF B-26 "Carolyn" had the same style nose as the NMUSAF example.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

Probably made using the same method as the NMUSAF example. IIRC the CAF Marauder had a "solid" nose when they got it, among all the other exec mods.

SN

cries every time he sees a B-26 or a P-61 not flying.....

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