Rememberance

I have a proposal that the vintage Vehicles and Aircraft section still maintain the heading but have the 2 persons tragically taken when they had a hang fire in that Tank Destroyer on the range not long ago dedicated to that forum.
It is only fitting that we do this stuff to pass on the legacy of what they tried to preserve for future generations.
It is only minor change still having the vintage Vehicles and Aircraft section in the header and their names either before or after.
As from the feedback on the incident they were both well known and liked by allot of people and the military collectors across the USA.
Just a suggestion placed on the forum for comment as I am sure the moderators will see where I am coming from with this. Thanks for your time.

Hello Cinders,

I was unfamiliar with this incident and googled it finding this article (below). I'm posting it here so that anyone not familiar can see what happened.

WW2 tank explodes on Oregon gun range leaving 2 dead outside Bend | Daily Mail Online

Respectfully,

Jonathon/Drift

Added memorial dedication to the forum's description... :cheers:

Regards,
Doug

Thoughtful idea. Thanks for the addition.

Thank you very much Badger as I feel sure the families concerned will be pleased and perhaps heartened to know that this site has ensured their names and legacy will not be lost in the fog of time.

That is terrible news CINDERS, and I had not heard about it. Thank you for the dedication and it's fitting here.
Thank you Doug!

We all love preserving military history to educate others, but it is also inherently dangerous. Even firing an old rifle can be dangerous. People keep shooting LOW NUMBER 1903's when they are known to explode, and a safer Higher Number 1903 is relatively inexpensive.

We lost this 'sister-ship' BT-13 of our local aircraft a few years ago when it stalled into a flat spin during a training flight. These vehicles and aircraft were dangerous when they were brand new over 60 years ago, and they would 'Bite You' back then.

Both Pilots were killed. I had made friends with the trainee months earlier, and I was talking to him the week before this crash and he told me the 'Training Pilot' was "Trying to kill both of them". The trainee was a very accomplished commercial pilot who had flown several other CAF aircraft for years, but he needed to be checked out in the BT 'Vibrator'.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1qbbxziz-1.jpg

When the Manchester the precursor to the much vaunted Lancaster was being used they had more losses in training and aborts from missions than that of enemy action in one pilots phrase if you lost and engine in a Manchester the plane immediately assumed the flying properties of a brick.
Even the OTUs for the Lancasters suffered appalling losses due to accidents, what we have to remember they were really just kids young adults 18-21 flying machines with no power assisted controls all by muscle imagine how much force a spinning Lanc could put on the rudder panels, ailerons and elevators
The Allies had a job to do and a very nasty affair was going on in Europe such was the urgency to cover the losses from operational sorties things had to be done and the losses accepted.

Harlan I am sorry for the loss as it touches every one, maybe the pilot should have listened to the inner voice and cancelled the flight.
I will recommend you get a copy of a book Harlan called "Fate Is The Hunter" By Ernest Gann have a good read and let me know what you think as there are some very scary moments in that book but the first 3-4 pages dedicated to his "Friends their wings forever folded" will impress on you as it did me what a harrowing life they led there are some real hairy moments and some real humorous times enjoy it I did.

Thanks for the book info CINDERS. I just ordered it from Amazon as well as a book by Doolittle and another by Bob Hoover. They were inexpensive and I'm sure I'll enjoy them!

When I did my initial search for the book title and author I realized they also made a movie in 1964 'loosely' based on the book Ernest Gann wrote. Mr. Gann hated the Holywood version of his book and he didn't want his name associated with the movie. I was thinking about ordering the movie until I read what Mr. Gann thought of the movie. I know that you can't always rely on 'Wiki' but this example looks like Mr. Gann was serious saying he didn't want to be associated with the movie. I'd rather read the book than watch a movie 'based' on the book to begin with.

Below are two search results... The movie trailers are funny to me in that it shows the 'Movie cockpit' to be MUCH larger than real life, as was done on most movie cockpits in the past. Even in the C-47/R4D/Goonie Bird/ DC-3, Dakota, etc, the actual cockpit is cramped with little space between the pilots, but in the movies they usually depict a cockpit nearly as large as the family room in my house. ;)

Fate Is The Hunter Ernest Gann - - Yahoo Search Results

Fate Is the Hunter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks again CINDERS,
~ Harlan

I just watched the trailer and gads I will not be watching the movie as even the trailer looked far removed from the actual book, that movie belongs in Bollywood...............
Why directors do not follow the books actual story line has me beat as the book is quite sensational without all of Hollywoods loops and spins.....