Category: X-Plane - Original Aircraft
B17 Flying Fortress

File Description:
The B17 is arguably the best known heavy bomber from WWII. Followed closely by it's direct successor the B29 SuperFortress it symbolizes the best of WWII's heavy Bombers. The B17 was one of the planes that barely made it into the war. In 1934 the then very small Boeing company had a prototype four engined bomber design called the B-299 but it had not been ordered by the US military. It had suffered several serious setbacks in it's design competition including a crash during a fly-off. Boeing continued work the plane and eventually secured a small service test order and the troubled early history of the bomber began. The B17 and bombers like it were planes created as "strategic bombers". The essential idea was that a strategic bomber should be able to carry a very large payload for long distances. The military had come to the realization that bombing technology was by nature imprecise even with new advances like the American Norden sight, and what was required was a large number of bombs delivered by large number of planes to assure that a target was destroyed. Although the Germans actually had a decent "smart bomb" and the British built specialty bombs, neither was reliable, so it seemed the best idea was just to blanket the target with bombs. An American extension to this concept was that of a self-defended bomber. Bombers could be built so tough and with so much defensive armament, it was thought, that they could simply fly to the target, drop bombs, and if necessary fight their way through fighters to get home. There would be security in the large number of bombers in formations, and the defensive capability would allow bombers to fly during the day for better accuracy in drops. It was to this design concept the B17 was built. Early experiences in the war with B17's and B-24's could only be termed as disastrous. Loss rates of up to 25% showed the concept of unescorted bombers in daytime to be entirely wrong. Escort fighters were a necessity for success. It soon became apparent that with fighter cover the B17 really was an unparalleled strategic bomber. Success for the B17 shot up dramatically, and it's initial design specifications of huge amounts of armor and gunner positions served it well when fighters did make it close in. The Fortress had enough strength to stave off attackers until escorts showed up, and it became legendary for the incredible punishment it could take and still make it home. Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress Wingspan: 103 ft. 9 in. Length: 74 ft. 9 in. Height: 19 ft. 1 in. Engine: 4 x Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone rated 1,200 hp. Loaded Weight: 65,500 lb. Maximum Speed: 287 mph. Service Ceiling: 37,500 ft. Combat Radius: 1,000 miles Armaments: 6,000 lbs. of bombs, 12 x .50 cal. machine guns

Filename:	B17_Flying_Fortress.zip
License:	Freeware
Added:	23rd March 2003, 15:42:16
Downloads:	3,543
Author:	Robert App
Size:	761.49 KB

Category: Flight Simulator X - Aircraft Repaints, Textures and Modifications
P-47D 334th FS "Miss Plainfield"

File Description:
This folder contains a repaint for the A2A Wings of Power III P-47D Thunderbolt, representing P-47C 42-7945 flown by Lieutenant Spiros 'the Greek' Pisanos of the 334th FS, 4th FG, Finschhafen, New Guinea, 1944. Born in Athens, Greece, in the suburb of Kolonos, on 10 November 1919, Spiros Nicholas "Steve" Pisanos, the son of a subway motorman, came to America in April 1938, as a crew member on a Greek Merchant ship. Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland and unable to speak English, Steve found his way to New York City, where he worked in bakeries and restaurants. As he earned money he started flying lessons at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 1940, he setled i Plainfield, New Jersey, his adopted home town, and continued flying lessons at Westfield Airport. He earned a private pilot's license and, although still a Greek national, in October 1941 he joined the British Royal Air Force sponsored by the Clayton Knight Committee in New York City. Steve began his military flight training at Polaris Flight Academy in Glendale, California. Upon graduation, Pilot Officer Pisanos was transferred to England where he completed RAF Officers Training School at Cosford, England and OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Old Sarum Aerodrome in Salisbury. Pilot Officer Pisanos was posted to the 268 Fighter Squadron at Snailwell Aerodrome in Newmarket flying P-51A's. He later transferred to the 71 Eagle Squadron, one of the three Eagle squadrons in the RAF, comprised of American volunteers flyin Spitfires at Debden RAF Aerodrome. When the USAAF 4th Fighter Group absorbed the American members of the Eagle Squadrons in September and October 1942, Pilot Officer Pisanos was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. On 3 May 1943, Lt. Pisanos was naturalized as an American citizen in London, England, becoming the first individual in American history to be naturalized outside the Continental United States. Flying his first mission in his P-47 "Miss Plainfield" out of Debden Aerodrome with the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Lt. Pisanos, "The Flying Greek," scored his first victory on 21 May 1943, when he downed a German FW-190 over Ghent, Belgium. by 1 January 1944 he had become an ace with five confirmed victories. On 5 March 1944, he obtained his 10th victory and while returning from that B-17 escort mission to Limoges and Bordeaux, France, Steve experienced engine failure in his P-51B and crash-landed south of Le Havre. For six months he evaded the Germans and worked with the French Resistance and the American OSS sabotaging the German war machine in occupied France. Lt. Pisanos returned to England on 2 September 1944, following the liberation of Paris. Upon returning to the United States, Captain Pisanos was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio. He attended the USAF Test Pilot School and subsequently served as a test pilot at Wright Field and Muroc Lake, California, testing the YP-80 jet aircraft. During his career in the USAF, Steve graduated from the University of Maryland, attended the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. In December 1973, after a distinguished thirty years of service in the United States Air Force, he retired with the rank of Colonel. Repaint by Jan Kees Blom, based on the paintkit by Martin Catney

Filename:	P47D_334th_FS_Miss_Plainfield.zip
License:	Freeware
Added:	14th March 2009, 10:55:44
Downloads:	730
Author:	Jan Kees Blom
Size:	7.17 MB

Category: Flight Simulator X - Aircraft Repaints, Textures and Modifications
Consolidated PBY-5A VB-126 #20

Images related to this file:

File Description: A repaint for the Aerosoft PBY-5a Catalina in the colors of PBY-5a #20 (BuNo 7277) of VB-126 as it looked during a rescue operation on the Greenland ice cap in 1943. On 5 november 1942, a C-53 en route from Iceland to Greenland was reported missing off Greenland's east coast. Four days later, a B-17F, en route for England was aked to to keep a lookout for the missing plane, but it crashed on the ice cap. The crew of suffered only minor injuries, and they soon received food and other supplies that were dropped on the ice. Unfortunately, they had landed in a heavily crevassed part of the icecap, making an evacuation difficult. On 28 november, a USCG Grumman Duck, flown by Lt Pritchard, managed to make a wheels-up landing on the ice and brought out two of the crew. The next day, a ground rescue team arrived on the dite as well, and things looked good.... One crew member and a rescuer died when their sled disappeared in a crevasse, and later the same day, Lt. Pritchard's Duck disappeared as well, with a crew of three. On 6 december, an attempt was made to evacuate the B-17's navigator, Lt. O'Hara, who suffered from gangrene in his feet. One member is the rescue party fell into an crevasse, and the motorsled they were using broke down, so the men had to dig in and wait for help. The days continued until over christmas, but morale was kept high with airdrops whenever the weather permitted. A rescue by sled became impossible however due to bad conditions and heavy snows. Lt.Col Balchen, who had used a PBY the previous summer to rescue the members of the B-17 'My Gal Sal' (currently under restoration in Ohio) of the ice, and was now in charge of the rescue operation, proposed to try the same here. The last summer, the PBY landed on a melt water lake on the icecap however, this time he wanted to belly land the PBY, and nobody knew if the hull could withstand such a battering. In the meantime, a ski-equipped T8P1 aircraft tried the same, but dispappeared over the east coast. The crew members were found five days later in a rubber dinghy. The Navy finally gave permission to try an attempt with the PBY. and two PBY-5a"s were send to airfield BW-8, to wait for the right weather. On 5 febuary 1943, Lt Bernard Dunlop succesfully bellylanded BuNo 7277 / 20 (the above paintjob) at the motorsled camp, and the three survivors were taken on board. It has frozen solid in the ice, but after two hours of hard labor, the crew managed to free the PBY and it took off. Now only the three crew members still at the original site needed to be rescued. A ground rescue party was sent to the wreck to transport the survivors to a spot where the PBY could land, but bad weather prevented any flying until 17 march. On that day, Lt. Dunlop landed on the ice, dropping off Lt.Col Balchen and the rescue party, who reached the wreck the following day. The weather closed in again until finally, on april 5th, Lt Dunlop landed his PBY for the third time on the ice cap. All hands were taken on board, but after five attempts to take off, the starboard engine caught fire. The blaze was extinguished, but repairs were necessary. The next day, they managed to take off, but without the rescue party, to lighten the load. 149 days after their crash, the B-17 crew was finally clear of the ice. It wasn't until 18 may that the last member of the rescue party was finally evacuated, making this a six and a half month rescue operation... Repaint by Jan Kees Blom, based on the paintkit by Aerosoft

Filename:	Consolidated_PBY5A_VB126_20.zip
License:	Freeware
Added:	13th July 2018, 20:33:17
Downloads:	134
Author:	Jan Kees Blom
Size:	10.19 MB