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While wandering about the Internet, thinking of something to write about, I discovered that our own favorite tanker, Major Nicholas Moran, knows things other than tanks. He knows aircraft as well!
No wonder I like the guy.
He does an unofficial high speed tour of the National Museum of Naval Aviation. It's in two parts and watching it brought back a lot of happy memories. I also note that there are a number of new aircraft there as well. When we were there in '08, I didn't know about the aircraft out back. I guess I need to make a trip down to Florida some time in the near future.
As it's Sunday and I was feeling a bit lazy on Saturday night, I decided to give you another couple of videos from the Chieftain himself. So I give you Major Moran and his unofficial high speed tour of the National Museum of Naval Aviation -
There's a special appearance by the Blue Angels in this second part -
What's not to love?
USS SANGAMON! My favorite CVE!
ReplyDeleteWe should all have a favorite CVE, they fought hard.
DeleteInteresting I had not heard her story before. Well done.
DeleteEight battle stars, damned impressive.
DeleteAnother museum for the list. (Bucket and other)
ReplyDeleteDid you notice the dig at Dayton near the end. At Pensacola you can actually walk right up and touch the aircraft. Can't do that at Udvar-Hazy or Dayton, I guess.
Delete'Tis an excellent museum.
This one's on my list as well - as far as not touching the planes at the Fairborn museum, some unnamed people (cough) could resist touching the B2 - ''twas weird, the RAM paint, or whatever, fools the eye to. Thinking the skin is closer than it is. Brain was saying, "OK, you should be feeling the plane now!" For the last three or four inches before actually feeling it. Or so I've been told. :-)
DeleteInteresting tidbit there Tom. Technology is a wondrous thing sometimes.
DeleteIt makes me want to put on a set of aviation greens and brown shoes...
ReplyDeleteRoger that!
DeleteWow! MUST be a good museum!
DeleteIt is, very much so.
DeleteThey have a really nice exhibit on Coast Guard Aviation there too.
ReplyDeleteThe video did touch on that, however briefly.
Delete"The Army has to get it's foot in somehow."
ReplyDeleteA significant number of the Flying Tigers were commissioned in the Navy/Marines and gave up that commission. Pappy Boyington for one.
"The Army gets a second foot in....." YGBSM! The Doolittle Raid? An Army thing? Stopped watching at that point. Sorry.
Well, as to the 2nd comment, it was the Army Air Force at the time, transitioning from the Army Air Corps in June 1941, not a completely separate service, so technically he was right. Army aviation, flying from Naval ships.
DeleteSomeone's feeling sensitive this morning... :)
Just hatin' on agendas. I tend to think of the Doolittle raid as an American thing, not Navy, not Army. Neither could have pulled it off alone. That whole XXX "won the war", tends to set my teeth to grinding. As I've said before, the ALLIES won the war. Not the bomb, or the bombers, or the Marines (God love 'em), nor Submarines....They all, in toto, won the war.
DeleteSo...yeah, sensitive.
I'll just echo what Beans said. The good Major also wondered what a two-seat Me-262 had to do with Naval Aviation.
DeleteAnd to be fair, he is a soldier.
Juvat - I don't think that was an agenda-driven remark, remember he is a soldier so would tend to see things from an Army perspective. I don't think he was making any points about who "won the war," it took a lot of people to make that happen, including many who were on the other side in the Cold War.
DeleteMy Uncle Louis was in the Army, the Army Air Forces. These days it's all "One Team, One Fight," until appropriations are being discussed.
One last point, not many people know that there were soldiers, sailors, and Marines involved in the Flying Tigers. Technically speaking, they belonged to the Chinese Nationalist government while serving with the AVG. However, Claire Chennault was an Army officer before that, we learned that as kids, as to the others coming from other backgrounds, we learned that too. Folks do tend to focus on the guy in charge, whether that's good or bad, who knows?
DeleteAh, I understand what your grrrrrr-ing was about, juvat. Yes. The combined military might of the US was represented in the Doolittle raid. The Navy, the Army, the Army Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard all were involved in the raid.
DeleteAnd, yes, the Allies won the war. Most decidedly so. Right after that, some of our allies shafted us worse than our Axis enemies. Grrrrrr...
Well, truth be told, it was that situation of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" sort of thing.
DeleteAs to OldAFSarge's last point, yep, they used to teach about the Flying Tigers fighting for the Nationalist Chinese, back before the great re-writing of American History during the mid 70's...
DeleteWe learned about the Doolittle Raid, about the fall of Corregidor and the Bataan Death March, even about the Invasion of Alaska. Even learned about earlier Western Civilization, like Lepanto, the real reasons for the Crusades, and so forth.
Went home one year, came back the next year and the textbooks were changed, and not for better...
To destroy a civilization, first destroy its history.
DeleteWorking on a Joint Staff X 2 and the Air Staff (hell on earth for 18 months)sets my teeth on edge anytime service parochialism raises its head. And my own side, sometimes most of all. Micturate's me off, yes it does.
DeleteSorry, for the hubbub. I'd just finished tomorrow's post when I commented.
Ruh-roh. I sometimes forget that you had to endure the Pentagon for so long. A sore subject one might guess.
DeleteHey AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteI have been there several times, it is one of my favorite museums....and the fact that you can touch the airplanes is neat as hell...Did I say "They let you touch the airplanes...?"
It's an awesome place. I wish I had spent more time there, but the winging of my daughter was the thing that day.
DeleteIn response to touching the aircraft, is that for all of us or do they have a "NO MURPHY TOUCH PLANE" rule?
ReplyDeleteOh dear Lord, what was I thinking? He doesn't live very far from there...
DeleteActually that Connie out back has been repainted. That was one of the last two Connies the Navy flew out of NAS Glynco training ASAC and AIC officers. One went to VAQ-33 in 72, and that one came to the Museum in early 73. I know, because I was on the bird when it flew in.
ReplyDeleteAnd that right there is pretty cool. A lot of people read about history, some get to make it.
DeleteI was surprised that I was able to still recognize a lot of the air craft he showed.
ReplyDeleteI was in a few of the squadrons he was showing also. A long with the models of the air craft carriers.
Very nice museum.
Heltau
I really need to get back down that way.
Delete