NAME | TP | - | M# | SER | - | BLK | - | MF | SERIAL # |
AF |
BG |
BS |
SC | RCL/# | V#-P | PHOTO CREDITS |
DRAGON AND HIS TAIL, The |
B |
- |
24 |
J |
- |
190 |
- |
CO |
44-40973 |
5 |
43 |
64 |
~ |
973 |
00-5 | LIFE |
Kingman, AZ - Artist: S/Sgt Sarkis E. Bartigan
Info Contributor -
Gerson
Lopes
After return to the United States at
Kingman, AZ. When the plane was on the island of Ie Shima (after the
war ended), General Kenny, commander of the 5th Air Force,
wanted to keep the plane and fly it back to the United
States. The plane was equipped with "synthetic"
rubber tires, which was a brand new deal back then, and the
General wanted "real" rubber tires on the plane when he
took it back to the States. So he literally "scoured"
the pacific in order to find the real rubber tires, and had them
flown in to Ie Shima and fitted onto the plane. After a thorough pre-flight, he took off in the
plane for a check-out flight, wherein, all went well, and they
were to return to the island and leave the next day. Upon
landing, one of the damn rubber tires blew-out and the plane
skidded off the runway and crashed!
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Best Web. Published on Veterans Day 11/11/97. Last
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27-Mar-2021