Sunday, April 15, 2018
R.I.P. Art Bell 1945--2018
We are profoundly saddened with the news that the creator and original host of Coast to Coast AM, Art Bell, has passed away at the age of 72 at his home in Pahrump, Nevada.
Thursday, April 05, 2018
Eye-Opening WW-II Facts
The “Greatest Generation” sacrificed and did all of this:
On average 6600 American service men died per MONTH , during WW2
(about 220 a day).
The Douglas plant in Long Beach produced a completed B-17 every 6 hours.
People who were not around during WW2 have no understanding of the
magnitude. This gives some insight.
276,000 aircraft manufactured in the US .
43,000 planes lost overseas, including 23,000 in combat.
14,000 lost in the continental U.S.
The staggering cost of aircraft in 1945 dollars.
AT-6 $22,952. C-47 $88.574.
B-17 $204,370. P-38 $97,147.
B-24 $215,516. P-40 $44,892.
B-25 $142,194. P-47 $85,578.
B-26 $192,426. P-51 $51,572.
B-29 $605.360 PT-17 $15,052.
From Germany 's invasion of Poland Sept. 1, 1939 until Japan 's
surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 = 2,433 days.
America lost an average of 170 planes a day .
A B-17 carried 2,500 gallons of high octane fuel and carried a crew
of 10 airmen.
9.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed.
108 million hours flown.
460 thousand million rounds of aircraft ammo fired overseas.
7.9 million bombs dropped overseas.
2.3 million combat flights.
299,230 aircraft used.
808,471 aircraft engines used.
799,972 propellers.
WWII MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT..........
Russian Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik 36, 183
Yakolev Yak-1,-3,-7, -9 31,000
Messerschmitt Bf-109 30,480
Focke-Wulf Fw-190 29,001
Supermarine Spitfire 20,351
Convair B-24/PB4Y Liberator/Privateer 18,482
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt 15,686
North American P-51 Mustang 15,875
Junkers Ju-88 15,000
Hawker Hurricane 14,533
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk 13,738
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 12,731
Vought F4U Corsair 12,571
Grumman F6F Hellcat 12,275
Petlyakov Pe-2 11,400
Lockheed P-38 Lightning 10,037
Mitsubishi A6M Zero 10,449
North American B-25 Mitchell 9,984
Lavochkin LaGG-5 9,920
Grumman TBM Avenger 9,837
Bell P-39 Airacobra 9,584
Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar 5,919
DeHavilland Mosquito 7,780
Avro Lancaster 7,377
Heinkel He-111 6,508
Handley-Page Halifax 6,176
Messerschmitt Bf-110 6,150
Lavochkin LaGG-7 5,753
Boeing B-29 Superfortress 3,970
Short Stirling
2,383
The US lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and support personnel plus 13,873
airplanes --- inside the continental United States . There were
52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving fatalities) in 45 months.
Average 1,170 aircraft accidents per month -- nearly 40 a day.
It gets worse.....
Almost 1,000 planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign
climes. But 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on
combat missions (18,418 in Europe) and 20,633 due to non-combat causes
overseas.
In a single 376 plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down.
That was a 16 percent loss rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England.
In 1942-43, it was statistically impossible for bomber crews to
complete the intended 25-mission tour in Europe.
Pacific theatre losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to
smaller forces committed. The B-29 mission against Tokyo on May 25,
1945, cost 26 Super Fortresses, 5.6 percent of the 464 dispatched from
the Marianas.
On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII,
about 220 a day. Over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat and
another 18,000 wounded. Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead,
including those "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned.
More than 41,000 were captured. Half of the 5,400 held by the
Japanese died in captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands.
Total combat casualties were 121,867.
The US forces peak strength was in 1944 with 2,372,000 personnel,
nearly twice the previous year's figure.
Losses were huge -- but so were production totals. From 1941 through
1945, American industry delivered more than 276,000 military aircraft.
That was not only for US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but also for
allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and Russia.
Our enemies took massive losses. Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe
sustained hemorrhaging of 25% of aircrews and 40 planes a month.
Experience Level:
Uncle Sam sent many men to war with minimum training. Some fighter
pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than 1 hour in their assigned
aircraft.
The 357th Fighter Group (The Yoxford Boys) went to England in late
1943 having trained on P-39s, then flew Mustangs. They never saw a
Mustang until the first combat mission.
With the arrival of new aircraft, many units transitioned in combat.
The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle. Go fly 'em."
When the famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47s to P-51s in Feb
44, there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition. The
Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to
fly 51s on the way to the target."
A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die." Many bomber
crews were still learning their trade. Of Jimmy Doolittle's 15 pilots
on the April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before
1941. All but one of the 16 co-pilots were less than a year out of
flight school.
In WW2, safety took a back seat to combat. The AAF's worst accident
rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a
staggering 274 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. Next worst were the
P-39 at 245, the P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. All were Allison
powered.
Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. The B-17 and B-24
averaged 30 and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours respectively --
a horrific figure considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's
major mishap rate was less than 2.
The B-29 was even worse at 40 per 100,000 hours; the world's most
sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently
needed to be able to stand down for mere safety reasons.
(Compare: when a $2.1 billion B-2 crashed in 2008, the Air Force
declared a two-month "safety pause").
The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Although the R3350 was known
as a complicated, troublesome power-plant, only half the mechanics had
previous experience with it.
Navigators:
Perhaps the greatest success story concerned Navigators. The Army
graduated some 50,000 during WW2.
Many had never flown out of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar"
for a war zone. Yet they found their way across oceans and continents
without getting lost or running out of fuel - a tribute to the AAF's
training.
At its height in mid-1944, the USAAF had 2.6 million people and nearly
80,000 aircraft of all types.
Today the US Air Force employs 327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000
civilians) with 5,500+ manned and perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft.
That's about 12% of the manpower and 7% of the airplanes of the WW2
peak.
SUMMATION:
Another war like that of 1939-45 is doubtful, as fighters and bombers
have given way to helicopters and remotely-controlled drones, e.g.
over Afghanistan and Iraq. But within our living memory, men left the
earth in 1,000-plane formations and fought major battles five miles
high, leaving a legacy that remains timeless.
On average 6600 American service men died per MONTH , during WW2
(about 220 a day).
The Douglas plant in Long Beach produced a completed B-17 every 6 hours.
People who were not around during WW2 have no understanding of the
magnitude. This gives some insight.
276,000 aircraft manufactured in the US .
43,000 planes lost overseas, including 23,000 in combat.
14,000 lost in the continental U.S.
The staggering cost of aircraft in 1945 dollars.
AT-6 $22,952. C-47 $88.574.
B-17 $204,370. P-38 $97,147.
B-24 $215,516. P-40 $44,892.
B-25 $142,194. P-47 $85,578.
B-26 $192,426. P-51 $51,572.
B-29 $605.360 PT-17 $15,052.
From Germany 's invasion of Poland Sept. 1, 1939 until Japan 's
surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 = 2,433 days.
America lost an average of 170 planes a day .
A B-17 carried 2,500 gallons of high octane fuel and carried a crew
of 10 airmen.
9.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed.
108 million hours flown.
460 thousand million rounds of aircraft ammo fired overseas.
7.9 million bombs dropped overseas.
2.3 million combat flights.
299,230 aircraft used.
808,471 aircraft engines used.
799,972 propellers.
WWII MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT..........
Russian Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik 36, 183
Yakolev Yak-1,-3,-7, -9 31,000
Messerschmitt Bf-109 30,480
Focke-Wulf Fw-190 29,001
Supermarine Spitfire 20,351
Convair B-24/PB4Y Liberator/Privateer 18,482
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt 15,686
North American P-51 Mustang 15,875
Junkers Ju-88 15,000
Hawker Hurricane 14,533
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk 13,738
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 12,731
Vought F4U Corsair 12,571
Grumman F6F Hellcat 12,275
Petlyakov Pe-2 11,400
Lockheed P-38 Lightning 10,037
Mitsubishi A6M Zero 10,449
North American B-25 Mitchell 9,984
Lavochkin LaGG-5 9,920
Grumman TBM Avenger 9,837
Bell P-39 Airacobra 9,584
Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar 5,919
DeHavilland Mosquito 7,780
Avro Lancaster 7,377
Heinkel He-111 6,508
Handley-Page Halifax 6,176
Messerschmitt Bf-110 6,150
Lavochkin LaGG-7 5,753
Boeing B-29 Superfortress 3,970
Short Stirling
2,383
The US lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and support personnel plus 13,873
airplanes --- inside the continental United States . There were
52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving fatalities) in 45 months.
Average 1,170 aircraft accidents per month -- nearly 40 a day.
It gets worse.....
Almost 1,000 planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign
climes. But 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on
combat missions (18,418 in Europe) and 20,633 due to non-combat causes
overseas.
In a single 376 plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down.
That was a 16 percent loss rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England.
In 1942-43, it was statistically impossible for bomber crews to
complete the intended 25-mission tour in Europe.
Pacific theatre losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to
smaller forces committed. The B-29 mission against Tokyo on May 25,
1945, cost 26 Super Fortresses, 5.6 percent of the 464 dispatched from
the Marianas.
On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII,
about 220 a day. Over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat and
another 18,000 wounded. Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead,
including those "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned.
More than 41,000 were captured. Half of the 5,400 held by the
Japanese died in captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands.
Total combat casualties were 121,867.
The US forces peak strength was in 1944 with 2,372,000 personnel,
nearly twice the previous year's figure.
Losses were huge -- but so were production totals. From 1941 through
1945, American industry delivered more than 276,000 military aircraft.
That was not only for US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but also for
allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and Russia.
Our enemies took massive losses. Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe
sustained hemorrhaging of 25% of aircrews and 40 planes a month.
Experience Level:
Uncle Sam sent many men to war with minimum training. Some fighter
pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than 1 hour in their assigned
aircraft.
The 357th Fighter Group (The Yoxford Boys) went to England in late
1943 having trained on P-39s, then flew Mustangs. They never saw a
Mustang until the first combat mission.
With the arrival of new aircraft, many units transitioned in combat.
The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle. Go fly 'em."
When the famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47s to P-51s in Feb
44, there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition. The
Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to
fly 51s on the way to the target."
A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die." Many bomber
crews were still learning their trade. Of Jimmy Doolittle's 15 pilots
on the April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before
1941. All but one of the 16 co-pilots were less than a year out of
flight school.
In WW2, safety took a back seat to combat. The AAF's worst accident
rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a
staggering 274 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. Next worst were the
P-39 at 245, the P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. All were Allison
powered.
Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. The B-17 and B-24
averaged 30 and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours respectively --
a horrific figure considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's
major mishap rate was less than 2.
The B-29 was even worse at 40 per 100,000 hours; the world's most
sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently
needed to be able to stand down for mere safety reasons.
(Compare: when a $2.1 billion B-2 crashed in 2008, the Air Force
declared a two-month "safety pause").
The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Although the R3350 was known
as a complicated, troublesome power-plant, only half the mechanics had
previous experience with it.
Navigators:
Perhaps the greatest success story concerned Navigators. The Army
graduated some 50,000 during WW2.
Many had never flown out of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar"
for a war zone. Yet they found their way across oceans and continents
without getting lost or running out of fuel - a tribute to the AAF's
training.
At its height in mid-1944, the USAAF had 2.6 million people and nearly
80,000 aircraft of all types.
Today the US Air Force employs 327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000
civilians) with 5,500+ manned and perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft.
That's about 12% of the manpower and 7% of the airplanes of the WW2
peak.
SUMMATION:
Another war like that of 1939-45 is doubtful, as fighters and bombers
have given way to helicopters and remotely-controlled drones, e.g.
over Afghanistan and Iraq. But within our living memory, men left the
earth in 1,000-plane formations and fought major battles five miles
high, leaving a legacy that remains timeless.
Sunday, April 01, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
The Tallest Tower in South America
Amazon Tall Tower Observatory
![]() |
Click image to enlarge |
See the Web Page and more photos
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Still Photos
Click here to see some of my long lost photos
I was given some of these but most of them I have taken.
Happy New Year ...... Jack
I was given some of these but most of them I have taken.
Happy New Year ...... Jack
See my Videos
Click the below link to See my latest videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/wbotx/videos?view_as=public
https://www.youtube.com/user/wbotx/videos?view_as=public
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Monday, March 12, 2018
The More You Know
Make do with what you've got
and you won't need what
you have not.
The above was the theme of a class that I taught while in the army.
Here is another:
The more you know
The more you know
you don't know.
and you won't need what
you have not.
The above was the theme of a class that I taught while in the army.
Here is another:
The more you know
The more you know
you don't know.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Scenic Shots each day
Monday, February 26, 2018
Teachers with guns ?
I'm not so sure that I would want teachers with guns. I think I may be dead today if they were armed when I was in school. I may have heard bang bang in stead of "Jack get to the study hall".
image from:
http://theguningtonpost.com/oregon-school-board-lets-teachers-carry-guns/
Thursday, February 22, 2018
My Wife said
My Wife said that Presidents day was over, so put something else on your Blog.
This photo taken by the local newspaper. It was taken in the 1970s When I was EC for Ripley County. I have thousands of pictures that I enjoy looking through, This one brings back a lot of memories for me.
![]() |
Click to enlarge |
This photo taken by the local newspaper. It was taken in the 1970s When I was EC for Ripley County. I have thousands of pictures that I enjoy looking through, This one brings back a lot of memories for me.
........ Jack WB9OTX
Monday, February 19, 2018
Washington's Birthday -- Presidents' Day ?
Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States, who was born on February 22, 1732. It can occur between February 15 through February 21 inclusive colloquially, the day is also now widely known as Presidents' Day and is often an occasion to honor the incumbent president and all persons who have served as president, not just George Washington.
Read MORE
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Thursday, February 08, 2018
K8FAC FRANK A CASTRONOVO
I ran across the K8FAC QRZ page and found it very interesting. It made me think of myself some 50 years ago. I have copied a paragraph for you to read here. But you can read more about him HERE
I started with a Heath Kit HW16, a 40 meter dipole and a home brew 3 element 15 meter Yagi beam from old TV antennas. I was WN9GOA back then
------------------------------- What fun it was ......... Jack WB9OTX
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is From K8FAC:
While I consider my Yaesu and Elecraft radios, and all similar modern transceivers, to be technical wonders that make ham operations a pleasure, I also have a liking (some might say a masochistic one) for "boat anchors"-- ham-speak for classic vacuum tube equipment from the 1950s and 60s-- and I often go on the air with one of the entry-level, antique transmitters/receivers in my modest collection. Currently I have a Heathkit DX-20, a Knight T-50, and a Drake 2B receiver and I partner these with a manual key and a simple dipole to create a typical novice station from times long-gone. Making contacts with a 60+ year-old, rockbound antique transmitter, and a comparatively unembellished receiver can be a challenge, but it can also be fun. Technical shortcomings notwithstanding, this old equipment still works, and it's a nostalgic trip back in time for me to assemble the station that I wish I'd had, but couldn't afford, when I was a high school student in the late 1950s. No semi-conductors or printed circuits spoken here--just lots of colorful separate components, shiny soldered point-to-point connections, hot glowing tubes, jumping analog meters, hefty Bakelite knobs, brick-heavy transformers, lethal voltages and clunky steel cabinets. Don't get me wrong, I would never give up the ease-of-operation, reliability and versatility provided by my modern equipment, but still, if only for the sake of knowing how far we've come, it's unfortunate that few new hams will ever have the experience of tuning a tank circuit, or operating rockbound on a single frequency, or getting a pink "love note" from the FCC for spurious emissions, or using a key with 400 volts across the exposed contacts, or chasing a drifting station on a simple SWL receiver, or heating the entire shack (and perhaps toasting a finger) from a dozen or more glowing tubes. Yes, it did take more effort to make a contact with a boatanchor, but I think there was a correspondingly greater sense of acheivement that came with success. Those old rigs may demand our full attention, but they also connect us with the history of ham radio, and the romance and folklore of wireless communication in general. Too, there is something almost tactile in the way that they give the operator a "feeling" for the emitted signal, and a deeper understanding of what is happening from key to antenna. Here's a picture of my fully-functional, all CW, vintage station. Typically running between 25 and 35 watts of output power to a dipole antenna, this station can, and still does, work the world.
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Saturday, February 03, 2018
'Super blue Moon'
A blue moon occurs when a full moon happens twice in one calendar month, and a supermoon occurs when the Moon is closest to the Earth.
'Super blue blood Moon' seen around the world
See more Photos
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Groundhog Day
The second of February every year
Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular American custom of Groundhog Day, held on the second of February every year. Tradition dictates that if a groundhog sees its shadow that day, there will be six more weeks of winter, though such a prediction seems a sure bet over much of the groundhog's North American range.
From: nationalgeographic
Thursday, January 25, 2018
THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER
This one is a little different...
Two Different Versions...
Two Different Morals…
OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE OLD STORY:
Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'
Black Lives Matter stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, We shall overcome.
Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake.
Ex-President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Trump, President Bush, President Reagan, and Christopher Columbus for the grasshopper's plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Ant Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them, because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug-related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize and ramshackle the once-prosperous and peaceful neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be careful how you vote in 2018 and 2020
I've sent this to you because I believe that you are an ant!
You may wish to pass this on to other ants, but don't bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn't understand it, anyway.
Author is unknown
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Just a few Friends
See anyone you know ?
Click the below link to see.
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/105974274631821525519/album/AF1QipPPB_lZdM0XMQ-QE2VQ7tQzSQSyAHVTliriMPL1?source=pwa
*** Flash ***
I have just added over one hundred new photos to this album - So look again, you may be there.
If you have a photo you would like in this album, Email it to me.
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