Warbird Information Exchange

I'm still happy.....the UH-1 and the Cobra that were there giving rides are hanging out at the Kissimmee Air Museum until Friday when they go home. I haven't really been up close to either type in years and have enjoyed checking things out on them all day .

I'll retract some of my statements about the T-6. Its not as sexy as a P-51 or P-38 etc, but it was purpose built for the military and I do believe I have read about the Mosquito squadron before. The T-6 unlike the L-17, most of the other L birds and even the O-2 (which did see combat) was built solely for the military, while the L-17, which is the Ryan Navion A and the O-2, which was the Cessna 337 was built mainly for civilian but the military took some also in their inventory. It is hard to say if the "O-2s" and various L birds we see at airshows are actual O-2s and L-17s etc and not just C337s and Navion As painted like a warbird. I guess I am just kind of bored though of the T-6, they are at every warbird airshow and you almost never see less than at least 4. Sun N Fun must have had 15 + the 11 from Geico and Aeroshell.

I have to watch also when I say "aircraft that saw combat" because all the B-17s left flying never saw combat other than fighting forest fires

I wish I had taken the UH-1 ride when they were at New Smyrna Beach last week - that was a pretty scenic ride for $60. The Cobra ride there was longer and twice as much cost at NSB vs. Sun N Fun, still more than I can afford

Hopefully sequestration is over next year and the weather forecasts are better - then we can judge how good warbird/military is at Sun N Fun next year.

I understand that , its just that they had round motors , and I love round motors

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

agreed. They do sound great in the air.

L-birds saw combat in every theater of combat in WWII. Aside from the C-47 and P-40, I can think of fewer American made aircraft that have as widespread of a WWII combat history than L-4s and L-5s...

L-5s in particular: Italy, ETO, PTO, South Pacific, SEAC, Occupation Forces in ETO and PTO, Burma, FG/BG Hacks, Army, Navy, USMC, RAF, Korea, Malaya... Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Saipan, Tinian, Battle of the Bulge, etc.

Hey Karen! See what he said about O-2s!

T-6's have been addressed...

The above is said in good humor. I understand what you were implying (i.e. common types), but as an L-bird freak and T-6 pilot, I couldn't let it slide

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Taylor Stevenson

The North American B-25 Medium Bomber served in every theater of combat in WWII is one of those few

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

It is a P-63, a different aeroplane altogether with very little other than the cockpit doors interchangable between the two types.

Especially since next year will be the 4 decade anniversary! Wonder if anything special is planned? More warbirds?

Ok I have no excuse for screwing that one up.

But how many of those O-2s are really O-2s and not just painted Cessna 337s? There were 2,500 Cessna 337s built of which only about 500 were actually O-2s. Someone could just slap some paint on a Cessna 337. The same goes for a lot of the L birds, which had their civilian counterparts. There were 2 Cessna L-27 Blue Canoes - or were they just Cessna 310s painted to look like Blue Canoes?

Hey I saw plenty of RV-8s painted like Mustangs there too, but that doesn't make them warbirds.

You really know how to make friends in the warbird community I do know at least one of the O-2s there was "real" military (not mine). And I will put the combat history on mine up for your inspection any time.......and it has a funny paint scheme which not many novices understand. However, it happens to be accurate for a 23 TASS Nail "Night Bird" that it was.

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Karen's O-2 is an excellent original example. As are quite a few of the examples that frequent Oshkosh... Can't speak for SNF...

Karen,
I can't remember... Does yours still have all the cool radios in the back or did you take them out to save weight? I know you had them at one point. Too cool, regardless!

Boeing666,
As a minor correction. The L-5 had NO civilian counterpart. It was developed from the ground up as a military aircraft.
One of my L-5s flew dozens of missions behind Japanese lines in Burma as well as has documented missions where British and Chandit wounded were evac'd from the front lines. It flew SAR, aerial supply drops, wounded evac, ammo/medical supply runs, etc. If that's not combat history (e.g. "warbird"), I dont know what is.

Once again, the above was said in the sake of education.

(P.S. Personally, if I had an RV I'd put it in a SEAC Spitfire scheme... and I'd be darn proud of it!)

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Taylor Stevenson

I'll leave the details to the O-2 experts, but there would be a handful of things I'd look for that an O-2 has that a 337 wouldn't: hardpoints and the associated cannon plugs, radio rack (or evidence of removed rack), instrument panel setup, UHF/FM, etc antennas (or evidence of removal), additional window panels on right door, and (on later models) the enlarged left side pilot's window. I'm sure there is more for the trained eye - probably would make a good seperate thread.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

FYI, 83 L-17A models were built by North American for the Army and National Guard using FY 1947 funds and another 163 L-17B models were ordered from and built by Ryan after they acquired the design. I have always understood that the term warbird meant any aircraft that saw military service, in any role. My 2 cents.

Randy

Taylor....radio rack is not installed...have it all with radios however I have chosen to use the weight saved for "girl bags" and tools...LOL

Ken - good observations for recognizing military 337 A models.

Randy - so correct. For Boeing666, my Father flew L-17s, L-19s and L-5s in combat during the Korean Conflict. He also flew L-5s, L-4s and some other Ls in combat during WWII.

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