B52 ở Georgia. Ảnh: HM
MIG21 và Atoll – K13 ở Air Space Museum tại Virginia. Ảnh: HM.
Atoll là mã NATO gọi tên lửa K13 của Liên Xô. Nguồn gốc K13 lấy từ tên lửa Sidewinder do phía Mỹ cung cấp cho Taiwain trên máy bay F86 và trong một lần đối đầu năm 1958 với máy bay Trung Quốc, họ đã bắn ra nhưng tịt ngòi, rơi xuống biển. Trung Quốc mò lên và tặng Liên Xô. Cường quốc này trộm luôn và biến thành đồ K13 bắn lại Mỹ. (Bảng chỉ dẫn). Thông số kỹ thuật: dài 2,6m, nặng 45,5kg, đầu đạn mang 5,9kg thuốc nổ, tầm bắn 8,7km. Xem thêm http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19930363000. Chính là quả tên lửa Atoll mà tôi chụp ở Viện bảo tàng VA (Chantily).
Atoll là mã NATO gọi tên lửa K13 của Liên Xô. Nguồn gốc K13 lấy từ tên lửa Sidewinder do phía Mỹ cung cấp cho Taiwain trên máy bay F86 và trong một lần đối đầu năm 1958 với máy bay Trung Quốc, họ đã bắn ra nhưng tịt ngòi, rơi xuống biển. Trung Quốc mò lên và tặng Liên Xô. Cường quốc này trộm luôn và biến thành đồ K13 bắn lại Mỹ. (Bảng chỉ dẫn). Thông số kỹ thuật: dài 2,6m, nặng 45,5kg, đầu đạn mang 5,9kg thuốc nổ, tầm bắn 8,7km. Xem thêm http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19930363000. Chính là quả tên lửa Atoll mà tôi chụp ở Viện bảo tàng VA (Chantily).
Nếu MIG21 cận chiến thật thì ai đã làm việc đó, Phạm Tuân hay Xuân Thiều, hay cả hai đều lập chiến công?
Anh Basam đã có bài chi tiết về vấn đề này, có vài chứng cứ lấy từ Wiki, một tài liệu mở trên internet, người ta dễ dàng sửa đi, làm cho người đọc cảm thấy băn khoăn không biết nguồn nào đáng tin cậy.
Báo chí nước nhà thiên về chiến thắng oanh liệt nhưng các số liêu cũng không nhất quán. Với lối viết kiểu tuyên truyền, bạn đọc ngầm hiểu, MIG 21 của Việt Nam từng bắn rơi 3 máy bay B52 (Wiki tiếng Việt phần về MIG21).
Cho đến gần đây, tôi vẫn luôn tin như vậy và thấy Wiki viết đúng.
Trường hợp đầu tiên do phi công Vũ Đình Rạng bắn trúng B-52 ngày 20 tháng 11 năm 1971. Chiếc này hỏng nặng, phải hạ cánh khẩn cấp xuống sân bay Nakhom-Phanom, Thái Lan.
Trường hợp thứ hai được phía Việt Nam ghi nhận là do phi công Phạm Tuân lái chiếc MIG21 bắn rơi tại chỗ B52 vào ngày 27 tháng 12 năm 1972.
Trường hợp thứ ba diễn ra ngay vào ngày hôm sau, 28 tháng 12 năm 1972, được ghi nhận do phi công Vũ Xuân Thiều sau khi đã bắn tên lửa mà không hạ được B-52, đã lao máy bay vào chiếc B-52.
Nhưng đọc lịch sử về chiến tranh, tài liệu của phía bên kia, thì thống kê về B52 bị bắn rơi, Bộ Quốc phòng Hoa Kỳ chỉ thừa nhận SAM2 bắn, không có chuyện MIG21 hạ pháo đài bay.
Nếu tra phần Wiki tiếng Anh, phần giới thiệu về MIG21 tương ứng, thì Phạm Tuân phóng tên lửa cách mục tiêu 2KM nhưng chưa chắc đã diệt được máy bay, bởi lúc đó có tên lửa SAM2 bắn cháy một B52, nên phi công Phạm Tuân lầm tưởng mình đã bắn trúng.
Đầu B52. Ảnh: HM
Ngoài ra, 12 ngày đêm có nhiều tin khác nhau về số lượng B52 bị bắn hạ. Phía Việt Nam nói có 34 chiếc bị SAM2 và MIG21 bắn cháy, nhưng phía Mỹ chỉ công nhận có 15 chiếc.
Có lẽ Hoa Kỳ biết chính xác chiếc nào bị bắn rơi, chiếc nào bị lỗi kỹ thuật, phi công nhảy dù, cho máy bay tự lao xuống biển hay đất liền.
Như vậy Wiki tiếng Việt do người Việt viết, rất có thể bên chiến thắng biên tập theo hướng có lợi cho mình. Phần tiếng Anh do người Mỹ biên tập, dẫn nguồn khác nên đưa đến sự khác biệt.
Nguồn Wiki mở chỉ mang tính tham khảo nên người viết cần hết sức thận trọng.
Entry này không có ý định tranh cãi về MIG21 có bắn rơi B52 hay không, hoặc Phạm Tuân và Xuân Thiều, ai là người có công bắn B52 trên bầu trời Yên Bái.
Đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp và hàng ngũ tướng không quân thời đó biết rõ hơn ai hết. Riêng Phạm Tuân biết chắc tên lửa của anh có đến mục tiêu hay không. Phía Mỹ cũng đủ tài liệu kỹ thuật để chứng minh thực tế trận chiến trên không những ngày ấy.
Nếu đưa ra bức ảnh những mảnh xác MIG21 trộn lẫn với B52 hay đuôi B52 bị MIG đâm chụp tại hiện trường thì chuyện phản lực lao vào B52 hay bị nổ do bắn ở cự ly quá gần là có thật.
Trong lịch sử chiến tranh Việt Nam, từng có nghi ngờ về chiếc xe tăng vào Dinh Độc lập, ai thảo văn kiện đầu hàng, ai là người cắm cờ trên Đồi Him Lam hay sau này ở Dinh Độc Lập, cuối cùng đã và sẽ được làm sáng tỏ, không thập kỷ này thì thập kỷ sau, hoặc thế kỷ sau. Vì sự thật chỉ có một và một mà thôi.
Như một sự trùng lặp, tôi thăm Bảo tàng Không quân Georgia đúng vào ngày 26-12-2012, 40 năm sau trận Christmas Bombing và trước mắt tôi là chiếc B52 khổng lồ.
So với MIG21, dài 15m, sải cánh 7,5m, trọng lượng 8,7 tấn, B52 dài 50m, sải cánh 34m, trọng lượng kể cả bom đạn khoảng 120 tấn, thì MIG21 như chim sẻ bay cạnh chim ưng B52.
Nhìn bề ngoài B52 kín như một cục thép đen xì. Nếu MIG21 lao vào khối sắt này thì sẽ tan từng mảnh trước khi B52 có thể bị phá hỏng.
Quan sát B52 xong, tôi tưởng tượng nó bay ở độ cao 10km, với sự bảo vệ trùng trùng lớp lớp của các loại máy bay hộ tống, tên lửa tìm diệt, nhiễu radar dầy đặc, thì tôi hiểu SAM2 hạ B52 tại Hà Nội quả là phi thường, chưa có quốc gia nào làm nổi.
Còn MIG21 tiếp cận được và lao vào mục tiêu như Vũ Xuân Thiều thì quả là thánh thần. Dẫu vậy, hãy để cho lịch sử phán xét và tìm ra sự thật.
Mời các bạn xem vài ảnh về bảo tàng máy bay quân sự lớn nhất nhì thế giới ở Waner Robins cách Macon 50km.
Bài và ảnh Hiệu Minh. Macon 26-12-2012
Triển lãm máy bay quân sự ở Georgia. Ảnh: HM
F15 Cockpit. Ảnh: HM
Trong khoang phi công của máy bay phản lực. Ảnh: HM
Một góc gian triển lãm. Ảnh: HM
Blue Bird. Ảnh: HM
B1 Bomber. Ảnh: HM
Khoang lái F105. Ảnh: HM
Khoang phi công F4 tìm diệt rada dùng tên lửa Shrike. Ảnh: HM
B2. Ảnh: HM
MIG 17. Ảnh: HM
B52 ở Georgia. Ảnh: HM
Phản ứng của Hoa Kỳ- Bắn rơi 3 Mig-21 của Bắc Việt 1972
B-52 Tail-gunner Recalls MiG Downing (Vietnam)
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs ^ | 12.27.2010 | Air Force Staff Sgt. Don Branum
Posted on Monday, December 27, 2010 8:44:19 PM by sukhoi-30mki
News: Face of Defense: B-52 Tail-gunner Recalls MiG Downing
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs
Courtesy Story
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Don Branum
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - If the landmarks here could speak, the B-52 Stratofortress bomber sitting near the academy's north gate would have quite a Vietnam War story to tell.
The crew of the "Diamond Lil," a B-52D, tail number 55-083, took off from Utapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield on Christmas Eve in 1972. The crew's mission was to bomb the North Vietnamese railroad yards at Thai Nguyen as part of Operation Linebacker II, which took place Dec. 18 to 29, 1972.
However, the Diamond Lil's crew faced enemy air power. A North Vietnamese MiG-21 raced to intercept the B-52. The bomber's tail gunner, Airman 1st Class Albert Moore, noticed the MiG's approach.
"I observed a target in my radar scope 8:30 o'clock, low at eight miles," Moore wrote six days later in his statement of claim for enemy aircraft destroyed. "I immediately notified the crew, and the 'bogie' started closing rapidly. It stabilized at 4,000 yards, 6:30 o'clock. I called the pilot for evasive action and the [electronic warfare officer] for chaff and flares.
"When the target got to 2,000 yards, I notified the crew that I was firing. I fired at the bandit until it ballooned to three times in intensity then suddenly disappeared from my radar scope at approximately 1,200 yards, 6:30 low. I expended 800 rounds in three bursts."
Another gunner aboard the B-52, Tech. Sgt. Clarence Chute, verified Moore's kill in his report.
"I went visual and saw the 'bandit' on fire and falling away," Chute wrote. "Several pieces of the aircraft exploded, and the fireball disappeared in the under-cast at my 6:30 position."
Moore's kill is one of only two confirmed kills by a B-52D in the Vietnam War and the last confirmed kill by a tail gunner in wartime using machine guns.
Following the MiG kill, Moore wrote, "On the way home I wasn't sure whether I should be happy or sad. You know, there was a guy in that MiG. I'm sure he would have wanted to fly home, too. But it was a case of him or my crew. I'm glad it turned out the way it did. Yes, I'd go again. Do I want another MiG? No, but given the same set of circumstances, yes, I'd go for another one." Moore died in 2009 at age 55.
Linebacker II brought the North Vietnamese government back to the negotiating table after earlier talks had broken down. A month after the campaign, North Vietnam and the United States signed a ceasefire agreement.
Diamond Lil continued serving long after the end of the Vietnam War. In all, the aircraft flew more than 15,000 hours and more than 200 combat missions between its commissioning in 1957 and its decommissioning in 1983. It came to the Air Force academy shortly after it was decommissioned.
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; afa; b52; mig; usafa; vietnam
Today, the bomber is located near the north gate of the United States Air Force Academy, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. (http://www.check-six.com/lib/Drinks/toast_2_the_Diamond_Lil.htm)
To: sukhoi-30mki
Bagged him a Russki pilot, eh?
2
posted on Monday, December 27, 2010 8:52:33 PM
by NonValueAdded
(Palin 2012: don't retreat, just reload)
To: 4mer Liberal
ping
3
posted on Monday, December 27, 2010 8:59:38 PM
by T Minus Four
("Vital truths were restored by God through Joseph Smith. I just can't think of one")
To: sukhoi-30mki
Another reason to read the pages of Free Republic! Great articles to show those young aspiring aerospace warriors amongst us!
To: T Minus Four
Last
combat usage On 18 December 1972, during Operation Linebacker II (also
known as President Richard Nixon's, "Christmas Bombing"), USAF B-52
Stratofortresses of the Strategic Air Command conducted a maximum effort
bombing campaign against North Vietnam. As the bombers approached the
target, SAMs (Surface To Air Missiles) commenced to explode around the
StratofortressesMcCarthy, p. 139. One bomber, callsign "Brown III",
completed its bomb run, and while turning outbound was warned that
Vietnam People's Air Force MiGs were now airborne. Brown III's
tailgunner, SSGT Samuel O. Turner, locked onto a fast approaching MiG-21
interceptor and shot it down with a burst of his four .50 caliber
machine guns. Turner became the first bomber tailgunner to shoot down an
enemy aircraft since the Korean War. His B-52 Stratofortress, tail
number 55-0676, is currently preserved and on display at Fairchild AFB,
Spokane, Washington. On 24 December 1972, during the same bombing
campaign, the B-52 Stratofortress "Diamond Lil", now on display at the
United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, was attacking the railroad
yards at Thai Nguyen. Rising for the interception was another NVAF
MiG-21, Diamond Lil's tailgunner, Airman Albert E. Moore locked onto the
MiG at 4,000 yards, and opened fire with his quad .50 caliber machine
guns. Moore's kill was witnessed by another B-52 tailgunner, TSGT
Clarence W. Chute, who observed the MiG-21 to fall away on fire. Moore
was the last bomber tail gunner to shoot down an enemy aircraft with
machine guns during war time. The last time tail gunners themselves were ever used in combat were in the Gulf War of 1990-1991, where B-52Gs were used in air-strikes against Iraqi positions in Kuwait and Iraq. However after a controversial incident wherein a missile, locked onto the signal of the tail gunner's radar, struck a B-52, tail gunners started being deactivated on all B-52s starting on October 1, 1991. No air-to-air kills were made by B-52s in the Gulf War, and tail gunners have never been used in combat since.
http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Tail%20gunner/
To: sukhoi-30mki
I knew a former Tail-gunner Vietnam veteran, and he told me that
he felt that the position was outmoded and should have been abolished.
Maybe if he had been more optimistic, he could have had results like
mentioned here in this article.
To: Fractal Trader
Can’t blame him since the odds were stacked against him. That
position was relevant in the era preceeding newer supersonic aircraft
and SAMs.
To: NonValueAdded
Let’s see, he would have been 17 or 18, born in 54 if he died in
2009(died at age 55). Man he would have been barely out of high school
and inducted into the Air Force...out of his schooling and into a tail
gunner’s position by 12/72 when the incident happened. Not doubting the
story, but man what an experience for a still then teen ager. Bet he
grew up quick!
8
posted on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:22:15 PM
by mdmathis6
(True enlightenment occurs when one discovers just how much like God, one is NOT!)
To: sukhoi-30mki
There is one other B-52 that downed a MiG. B-52D 56-0676, located
on static display at Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Washington. It
participated in the Operation Linebacker II and is credited as a MiG
Killer on 18 December 1972 when Tail gunner SSgt Samuel O. Turner downed
a MiG-21.
Like “Diamond Lil”, it’s painted black. It also has a red star near the tail, signifying the kill. However, it is not sitting on posts, but is on the ground on it’s wheels.
Like “Diamond Lil”, it’s painted black. It also has a red star near the tail, signifying the kill. However, it is not sitting on posts, but is on the ground on it’s wheels.
To: mdmathis6
Bet he grew up quick! There were many duties in the military that make you grow up real fast. Still holds true today.
I was 18 years old and had the knowledge and training to be able to arm and launch a ICBM with a nine megaton warhead on top. In the time of war I had the tools and knowledge to fix everything on that bird except for the warhead itself and the guidance internals.
I was 18 years old and had the knowledge and training to be able to arm and launch a ICBM with a nine megaton warhead on top. In the time of war I had the tools and knowledge to fix everything on that bird except for the warhead itself and the guidance internals.
10
posted on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:33:52 PM
by OldMissileer
(Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
To: T Minus Four
“Atta boy! Give ‘em the gun....”
To: GreyFriar; Interesting Times
B-52 gunner at work.
To: T Minus Four
Here’s my “Five O’Clock Folly” story from when I attended my first and last Pentagon press briefing in the early 70’s.
They give you a “Current Events” set of newspaper clippings of current news and in one of them, I notice that a MIG 21 had flown thru “a B-52 cell” (i.e. 3 planes.).
I openly asked Press Officer Jerry Friedheim (A nice guy with a bad job) whether the B-52 had fired on the MIG, and Jerry said, with a straightface, it was classified.
To which I replied: “The Communist pilot knew if he was fired on, the B-52 crewman knew if he fired on the MIG, the crew knew, the Air Force knew, Hanoi knew, so why can’t we know?”
My point was to find out if our B-52’s had A/A machine guns, esp. on the tails as it was reported that a number of models didn’t have MGs for self-defense (just as many F-4’s, esp. Recon models and Sidewinder models), didn’t - which pissed of a lot of pilots and may have cost us some of them).
I left the press briefing in a really bad mood and went up to Gen. Chappie James (also in the press office), and said, “this really is stupid”, to which big Chappie just smiled in acknowledgment.
Most press conferences are a waste of time which is why I never attended any in Vietnam at JUSPAO II. If I needed to know something, I knew who to go to for it.
Military Advisors were much more open and honest in answering questions that did not involve security.
They give you a “Current Events” set of newspaper clippings of current news and in one of them, I notice that a MIG 21 had flown thru “a B-52 cell” (i.e. 3 planes.).
I openly asked Press Officer Jerry Friedheim (A nice guy with a bad job) whether the B-52 had fired on the MIG, and Jerry said, with a straightface, it was classified.
To which I replied: “The Communist pilot knew if he was fired on, the B-52 crewman knew if he fired on the MIG, the crew knew, the Air Force knew, Hanoi knew, so why can’t we know?”
My point was to find out if our B-52’s had A/A machine guns, esp. on the tails as it was reported that a number of models didn’t have MGs for self-defense (just as many F-4’s, esp. Recon models and Sidewinder models), didn’t - which pissed of a lot of pilots and may have cost us some of them).
I left the press briefing in a really bad mood and went up to Gen. Chappie James (also in the press office), and said, “this really is stupid”, to which big Chappie just smiled in acknowledgment.
Most press conferences are a waste of time which is why I never attended any in Vietnam at JUSPAO II. If I needed to know something, I knew who to go to for it.
Military Advisors were much more open and honest in answering questions that did not involve security.
To: mdmathis6
Normal rank progression in the USAF is start as Airman
Basic (E-1,) 6 months later automatically promoted to Airman (E-2,) then
after one year time in service automatically promoted to Airman First
Class (E-3.) Promotions based on merrit after that.
Since a B-52D normally carried a single tail gunner, but a second tail gunner was onboard (a TSgt,) I'd say he was still receiving on the job training for the aircrew position.
Since a B-52D normally carried a single tail gunner, but a second tail gunner was onboard (a TSgt,) I'd say he was still receiving on the job training for the aircrew position.
To: sukhoi-30mki
As one that was stationed at RTNAF U-Tapao, 635th Combat Support
Group, during that timeframe, yes indeed, the story was known from fence
to fence.
The B-52D’s only armament was a turret in the tail, complete with windows, consisting of FOUR Browning .50 caliber machine guns!
The Twelve Day Air War, also known as Operation Linebacker II, kept me very busy. In a previous post, I mentioned the helicopter dropping crushed popcorn packing to simulate snow, on the roof of the USO.
The B-52D’s only armament was a turret in the tail, complete with windows, consisting of FOUR Browning .50 caliber machine guns!
The Twelve Day Air War, also known as Operation Linebacker II, kept me very busy. In a previous post, I mentioned the helicopter dropping crushed popcorn packing to simulate snow, on the roof of the USO.
To: KeyLargo
The last time tail gunners themselves were ever used in combat were in the Gulf War of 1990-1991Correction:
The last time tail gunners in the B-52 were ever used in combat were in
Desert Storm in 1991. The gunner position was deleted from all
remaining B-52s on 1 October 1991.
Currently there are tail/ramp gunners on CH-46s, CH-47s, CH-53s, MV-22s and CV-22s.
Currently there are tail/ramp gunners on CH-46s, CH-47s, CH-53s, MV-22s and CV-22s.
16
posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 7:57:23 AM
by A.A. Cunningham
(Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
To: zot
Thanks for the ping. Probably the last claim for an aerial gunner.
17
posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 8:52:25 AM
by GreyFriar
(Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
To: A.A. Cunningham
Were the guns removed in 1991, or did another crewmember (probably the EWO) take over the duties of gunner?
To: KeyLargo; SkyPilot; flat; unkus; ExSoldier; sheik yerbouty; Nachum; 70th Division; Gapplega; ...
I talked to a former Vietnam POW who said that Nixon’s Christmas
Bombing was felt in their POW camp. Our B-52s were bombing so
extensively, that the ground was vibrating and the POWs could feel it.
Not long after that, he said their treatment improved. Unknown to them
at the time, they would soon be going home.
I never forgot that story and the brave hero that told it to me.
Here’s an awesome video for Freeper vets:
C-141 Tail Number 60177 was the last of the 285 C-141’s built by Lockheed to leave active service. She flew 100 POWs out of Hanoi on 12 February 1973, some of them tasting freedom for the first time in six years. Each POW put their shot-down date on the face of the oxygen panel during their flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. For her retirement ceremony, some of the POWs she brought home were brought back for the ceremony and one last flight by this gracious lady. Most of them are old men now but their enthusiasm, emotions, and excitement were evident during this flight and retirement ceremony. She was then flown to Dayton, Ohio where she will spend her final days in the Air Force Museum.
A very touching video - Be sure to turn on the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BM09bxf3Ng
I never forgot that story and the brave hero that told it to me.
Here’s an awesome video for Freeper vets:
C-141 Tail Number 60177 was the last of the 285 C-141’s built by Lockheed to leave active service. She flew 100 POWs out of Hanoi on 12 February 1973, some of them tasting freedom for the first time in six years. Each POW put their shot-down date on the face of the oxygen panel during their flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. For her retirement ceremony, some of the POWs she brought home were brought back for the ceremony and one last flight by this gracious lady. Most of them are old men now but their enthusiasm, emotions, and excitement were evident during this flight and retirement ceremony. She was then flown to Dayton, Ohio where she will spend her final days in the Air Force Museum.
A very touching video - Be sure to turn on the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BM09bxf3Ng
To: ExTexasRedhead
Thank you very much, ExTexasRedhead.
To: ExTexasRedhead
Thanks, ExTexasRedhead for the video! I actually played a part in
the rescue of the POW’s out of Hanoi and haven’t seen that video. I was
a C-141 jock. Thanks again.
I could tell you a lot of stories about our flights on the C-141. One was to Kiev USSR with a presidential support mission. Nixon had just gone to China as the first modern day President to do so and turned around and went to USSR to tell them they were still our friends. We flew out of Tehran, Iran to Kiev then back with the White House communication people. I have tie tacks, pins etc with Nixon’s signature on them. Perhaps some day they will be worth something.
If you are interested in details from that trip let me know, some are very funny.
Thanks
I could tell you a lot of stories about our flights on the C-141. One was to Kiev USSR with a presidential support mission. Nixon had just gone to China as the first modern day President to do so and turned around and went to USSR to tell them they were still our friends. We flew out of Tehran, Iran to Kiev then back with the White House communication people. I have tie tacks, pins etc with Nixon’s signature on them. Perhaps some day they will be worth something.
If you are interested in details from that trip let me know, some are very funny.
Thanks
21
posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 10:55:22 PM
by Balata
(What part of 'WE THE PEOPLE' don't you understand Obama?)
To: ExTexasRedhead; Tijeras_Slim; FireTrack; Pukin Dog; citabria; B Knotts; kilowhskey; cyphergirl; ...
AVIATION PING
To: ExTexasRedhead; Tijeras_Slim; FireTrack; Pukin Dog; citabria; B Knotts; kilowhskey; cyphergirl; ...
AVIATION PING
To: Balata
As a little diversion video:
Putting a 737 together
This is some video to watch. Enjoy.
The paint job is interesting;
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=zKnsyYbfC60&feature=popular
Putting a 737 together
This is some video to watch. Enjoy.
The paint job is interesting;
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=zKnsyYbfC60&feature=popular
To: Balata; ExTexasRedhead
Thank you for a touching video and comments. I served out at Shemya, AFB, Aleutian Islands in 1977. (Still trying to figure out who I ticked off! ; )) We were there to observe the Russians. Escort them home when they came into our airspace.
C-141 was an amazing aircraft. While at Mather AFB I'd watch the jets take off, almost defying the odds. They looked jut too darn big to fly.
Appreciate your service to our country.
Smart salute!
