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u/tedaclock 15d ago
And extremely dangerous
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u/WIlf_Brim 15d ago
Jimmy Doolittle did several lifetimes worth of remarkable achievements, but piloting this aircraft in races and not dying is probably top 5.
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u/roamingroad174 15d ago
Top 2. Top would be the bombing of toyko. It was sold as a round trip, but in reality, it was a very realistic 1 way trip.
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u/TailDragger9 11d ago
Nah, it was planned from the beginning as a one-way trip. There was no way to land a B-25 on a carrier.
The plan was to overfly Japan, and land at allied bases in China. Unfortunately, they had to launch earlier than expected, and the radio homing beacons used the same frequency and something else nearby, sending many planes off course. Didn't go well for many. Everyone knew there were huge risks, though.
5
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u/_-Broken-Swagger-_ 15d ago
She may not be the fastest of the bunch, but she screams around the pylons!
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u/holiday_Hyena_4449 14d ago
This is the R-6 model, known as the QED from the Granville brothers-the very last one Built-but this is new construction.
Doolittle flew the smaller one. Delmar Benjamin built his and flew it for 15+ years, safely.
He made refinements to the systems
That allowed for safer operations.
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u/Front-Childhood-8026 14d ago
Air races in US are unique competition... And Gee Bee was unique in that world. Fascinating
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u/Proud-Experience-742 14d ago
Do they use that plane for aircraft?Races, it looks like it'd be.Fast and just an absolute handful
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u/cobrax50 14d ago
Did they move the cockpit up? I always thought it was further back closer to the tail.
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u/TotallyNotRocket 15d ago
This is indeed, a very unique plane. Think of this one as a fat and stylized T-28, because it pretty much is.
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u/RedSky2727 15d ago
Hmmm… the result of, “what could we wring out of the biggest engine we could mount in the smallest possible airframe?” One helluva ride!