Aircraft walkaround vol 67: North American B-25J Mitchell

Subject: North American B-25J Mitchell 43-28059 Apache Princess

Location: Fantasy of Flight Museum, Florida, USA, 2012.

Comments:The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation (NAA). It was named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories. These included a few limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces' F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and AT-24 trainers. The B-25J could be called a cross between the B-25D and the B-25H. It had a transparent nose, but many of the delivered aircraft were modified to have a strafer nose (J2). Most of its 14–18 machine guns were forward-facing for strafing missions, including the two guns of the forward-located dorsal turret. The RAF received 316 aircraft, which were known as the Mitchell III. The J series was the last factory series production of the B-25. Total production of the J series reached  4,318 units.

Engine walkaround vol.20: Allison V1710

Subject: Allison V1710

Location: USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 2014; Fantasy of flight museum, Florida, USA, 2013

Comments: The Allison V-1710 aircraft engine was the only indigenous US-developed V-12 liquid-cooled engine to see service during World War II. Versions with a turbocharger gave excellent performance at high altitude in the twin-engined Lockheed P-38 Lightning, and turbosuperchargers were fitted to experimental single-engined fighters with similar results. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) preference for turbochargers early in the V-1710's development program meant that less effort was spent on developing suitable mechanically-driven, centrifugal superchargers for the Allison V-12 design, as other V-12 designs from friendly nations like the British Rolls-Royce Merlin were already using. When smaller-dimensioned or lower-cost versions of the V-1710 were desired, they generally had poor performance at higher altitudes. The V-1710 nevertheless gave excellent service when turbocharged, notably in the P-38 Lightning, which accounted for much of the extensive production run.

Military aircraft vol.78: McDonnell-Douglas F15C Eagle

Subject:	McDonnell-Douglas F15C Eagle
Scale:	1/72
Manufacturer:	Academy
Price(December2015):	US$20,00
Construction:	Out-of-the box construction.
Extras:	Caracal decals CD72013 F15C Air National Guards; Eduard "remove before flight tags" photo-etched parts.
Comments	After more then 30 years of modelling, this is my first F15 Eagle in any scale. I used teh academy kit because it is inexpensive and already in my stash just waiting to be built. Fit is ok, but academy decided to use the same molds for the single and the double seat versions. This left the kit with some fit issues around the cockpit. Once this part was solved, the rest of the kit went well. I painted it with tamiya acrylics. As i had some problems with academy decals before, i decided to go with the Caracal Models set for ANG's F15C. The decals performed very well over a coat of future. I finished it with  Humbrol matt coat..

Aircraft walkaround vol.66: Douglas AD (A-1) Skyraider

Subject: Douglas AD (A-1) Skyraider

1. Douglas AD-4N (A-1D) Skyraider Reg 126979 c/n 7779
2. Douglas AD-5 (A-1E) Skyraider S/n 132598

Location: AD-4N (A-1D): Air and Space Museum, Le Bourget, France, 2015; AD-5 (A-1E): USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 2014.

Comments:The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly AD) is an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career; it became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.It was operated by the United States Navy (USN), the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam (VNAF), and others. In U.S. service, it was finally replaced by the LTV A-7.

The Douglas A-1E displayed at the USAF Museum was originally a US Navy aircraft. Transferred to USAF, it was flown by then-Major Bernard Francis Fisher (Colonel, USAF Retired) on 10 March 1966 when he rescued a fellow A-1E pilot shot down over South Vietnam in the midst of enemy troops, a deed for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The aircraft was severely damaged in combat in South Vietnam and was returned in 1967 for preservation by the then-US Air Force Museum. It is the only surviving US Air Force Medal of Honor Aircraft.

1) AD-4N (A-1D):

 

2) AD-5 (A-1E)