Saturday, August 03, 2019
front license plates
Why are only some states requiring front plates... what's the point?
Any car from a state that doesn't issue a front plate can legally drive in a state that requires a front plate... so, there it is, quite usefully driving around ignoring the stupid front plate requirement.
And - active duty military do not have to change to the license plates of the state they are stationed in... so, there vehicles will be driven around legally for years in that state.
Any car from a state that doesn't issue a front plate can legally drive in a state that requires a front plate... so, there it is, quite usefully driving around ignoring the stupid front plate requirement.
And - active duty military do not have to change to the license plates of the state they are stationed in... so, there vehicles will be driven around legally for years in that state.
Let me take a moment to applaud Target, or Target's marketing and publicity dept, (whatever, whoever deserves the applause) for being the 1st store I've heard of to make some kids in wheelchairs a Halloween selection of costumes!
For kids in wheelchairs, there’s a princess dress and carriage, or a pirate outfit and ship. Target’s designers put a lot of thought into making these costumes easy to assemble and put on. The outfits, which cost between $20 and $25, have openings in the back that make them easier to put on. The ship and carriage wheelchair covers, which cost $45 each, are designed to fit easily onto wheelchairs of various sizes using a hook-and-loop closure.
By providing easy, off-the-rack adaptive costumes, Target is leading the charge in becoming more inclusive, and its efforts could also push the rest of the industry to step up and do better. American consumers spend $9 billion a year on Halloween, with an estimated 68% of that going to costumes. Many big-box stores stock their shelves with dozens if not hundreds of new costumes every year. It’s not that hard to add adaptive costumes to the mix.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90384817/target-just-launched-halloween-costumes-for-kids-with-disabilities
This '57 Maserati 300S was raced 4 times in 1957 by Fangio, who scored 4 first place finishes with it before his team manager sold it for a fantastic profit to a wealthy Brazilian playboy who had no interest in racing the car. He only wanted to flip it after Fangio officially retired from racing, for a ridiculous profit
The current Mercedes-Benz high mileage champ is Gregorios Sachinidis, a Greek taxi driver who holds the known record of more than 2.8 million miles in his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D.
When Sachinides bought the 1976 model in 1981 it already had 500,000 kilometres on the clock.
Sachinides clocked up the kilometres driving round the streets of Thessaloniki, but also made hundreds of journey to Belgrade to transport medical supplies during the war in the Balkans.
He changed the engine three times but the car kept going strong.
He was so pleased with his car he wrote to DaimlerChrysler boss Juergen Hubbert to thank him personally for the outstanding service.
https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/heritage/events_community/overview/feature/id-689a3e9630b9d210VgnVCM2000007d184335____/pdf-highmileageaward
https://allaboutdieselz.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-highest-millage-mercedes-benz-with.html
https://www.expatica.com/de/last-ride-for-mercedes-taxi-with46-million-kilometres-on-clock/
Drivers
receive a traditional Star and Laurel Badge and handsome display certificate in a formal presentation folder. Awards are presented at five vehicle mileage milestones.
Award Milestones
155,000 miles (250,000 kilometers)
310,000 miles (500,000 kilometers)
466,000 miles (750,000 kilometers)
621,000 miles (1,000,000 kilometers)
1,000,000 miles (1,610,000 kilometers)
so, meanwhile, in Newcastle, this was going on. I'd like to know what happened to set these people into action before the video clip starts
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7294447/Terrifying-moment-road-rage-driver-rams-man-pole.html
He's been arrested and had a preliminary court hearing which seems to have been for the purposes of decided what charges would be used at trial, and what level offenses would call for what level of court.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/man-appears-court-over-alleged-16675092
Friday, August 02, 2019
Hold on... what? Dominoes used Deloreans? I haven't even heard of one painted white, much less one painted in ANY company colors or symbols Thanks Jim!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/1820223358124272/
https://www.motor1.com/news/78484/hungry-for-nostalgia-the-dominos-pizza-delorean-is-for-sale
It was a PR tool for Domino’s in the ‘80s, then the guy who owned Dominoes (founder Tom Monaghan) put it in his private car museum (244 cars) before the Delorean was auctioned off in 1992, and then it went through some owners before being purchased by the current seller in 2002 and was in Arkansas until another sale in 2016
There are about 8200 miles on the odometer.
Jim G emailed me the following info:
In 1972, Domino’s used late model 1965-69 Corvairs to deliver Pizza.
These cars were put together by Modified Sports Cars of Ann Arbor, Mich. The business was owned by Dave and Steve, two motor heads who both owned ’65-69 Corvair coupes, who convinced Domino’s the ’65-69 Corvair was ideal for them because as unwanted and out of production used cars.
They were cheap to buy and the 80-110hp air-cooled engine with the Powerglide trans was almost bullet proof and easy on gas. The back seats were filled with a custom built, insulated aluminum box with lid to keep the pizzas warm. The driver’s loved them and Domino’s was quite happy too. They were painted white.
Dave and Steve both owned ’65-’66 Corvairs highly modified for street and track racing. Dave had an Engineering Degree and a Penske blue with yellow trim 1965 Corvair Corsa with twin turbo set-up and much modified suspension for racing. Steve had a dark blue ’66 Corsa with a Mid-Engine Z-28 302 with glorious white headers that curled up and out the back like race cars of the day.
It was great to look over my shoulder and watch the fully independent suspension work! What great rides they were. And the white Dominio’s Corvair Pizza cars made a great impression on the Ann Arbor college campus delivering those Pizzas!
Bonneville is still getting ignored by the BLM, the State of Utah, and the Governor of Utah.
The money collected by BLM in fees from racers does not go to restoring the race area.
“Bonneville is the only racetrack in the world where the racers have to take care of the track" “LandSpeed” Louise
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/08/02/vandals-tear-up-bonneville-salt-flats-but-theres-a-silver-lining
And Al pointed out in the comments another truth, quite astutely, "Probably the only track where the racers are more concerned about the environment than the Government"
“Bonneville is the only racetrack in the world where the racers have to take care of the track" “LandSpeed” Louise
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/08/02/vandals-tear-up-bonneville-salt-flats-but-theres-a-silver-lining
And Al pointed out in the comments another truth, quite astutely, "Probably the only track where the racers are more concerned about the environment than the Government"
The 1953 Eleganté was a one-off concept car built by Harry Birdsall and Joe Mascari using a custom, coach-built body on a 126-inch Cadillac chassis. The car originally cost $30,000 to build in 1953
all of its hardware was made of bronze, which was plated in 24 karat gold, and gold anodized aluminum.
https://www.facebook.com/HistoricVehicleAssociation/posts/2823924294290430
Henry Ford built 3 land speed race cars, and won a crystal punchbowl. It was auctioned off with his personal effects in '51.
A young — and poor — Henry Ford won the punch bowl after besting heavy favorite Alexander Winton, founder of Winton Motor Carriage Co., in a 10-lap race on Oct. 10, 1901, at the Detroit Driving Club in Grosse Pointe, Mich.
The bowl was never supposed to belong to Ford. Race organizers presumed Winton would win, so they let his promotions manager select the bowl as Winton's would-be trophy because, it was believed, it would look good in the bay window of his Cleveland home.
"Henry Ford was a nobody, virtually unknown even in Detroit, and Winton was the best-known racing driver in the U.S.," said Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford
In 2003, California Ford dealer Jim Burke offered an Expedition SUV, valued between $35,000 and $40,000, to anyone who could find the bowl. No one came forward, and Burke died in 2006.
The Ford Motor Company would really like to have that punchbowl in the company trophy case. Probably not enough to pay you for it though...
Mr. Ford curtly offers “There is no reward,” he said.
Mr. Ford also concedes that the punch bowl could “very well be under our noses and we don’t even know it.” Only 12 years ago, during a restoration of its 1901 Sweepstakes replica racecar, Ford Motor discovered that it was, in fact, the actual car driven by Ford to victory in 1901.
The Sweepstakes,
The Arrow
and the 999
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/01/31/ford-renews-search-for-the-punch-bowl-won-in-the-race-that-helped-kickstart-the-company/
https://www.autonews.com/article/20180128/RETAIL03/180129778/have-you-seen-this-punch-bowl
https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/edsel-ford-ii-wants-the-family-punch-bowl-back/
Léa Seydoux and a '70 Super Bee
in 2015’s Spectre, Léa Seydoux played Dr. Madeleine Swann opposite Daniel Craig’s James Bond, after smaller roles in Tarrantino’s Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (2010).
She also landed a lead role in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.
http://mansfinelife.com/2016/02/02/gorgeous-lady-of-the-week-lea-seydoux/
one of Indian's first-ever racing and factory-built superbikes capable of 120 mph, once owned by a renowned South American racer was garaged in the 1930s. It was recently found in Uruguay, and now it's heading to auction
It was originally imported to Uruguay by a racer named Lucchese, who intended to race it in South America. Finding no class of competition to equal its performance, the motorcycle was used in exhibition races and the like until sometime in the 1930s, when it was stored in a garage.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/29236/105-year-old-indian-board-track-racer-worth-big-money-unearthed-in-south-american-barn-find
https://silodrome.com/indian-8-valve-twin-board-track-racer/
https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0819-381022/1914-indian-board-track-racer/
This 17 year old moron who denied this was dangerous driving? Only got 1 year suspended license... wtf? (thanks Steve!)
Ryan Lamb, 18, was heading to Sundown Festival, near Norwich, last September when he crashed on the "Stag" roundabout on the A11 at Attleborough, Norfolk.
Lamb, who was 17 at the time, denied driving a motor vehicle dangerously, but was found guilty at Norwich Magistrates' Court.
The defendant, of Willow Park, Beck Row, Suffolk, was disqualified from driving for 12 months, ordered to retake his test and pay £310, plus an £85 victim surcharge.
Three people were hurt in the crash but none
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-49206600/a11-attleborough-flying-van-driver-banned-for-a-year
A Missouri woman whose Toyota 4Runner was stolen from a gas station with her phone, and credit cards inside, tracked it to an Applebees, and stole it back
After a grueling 48-hour mission tracking her smartphone's GPS location, then tracking the spending activity on one of her bank cards paid off...
After a tip off from a gas-station worker that three women who had got out of Reno's car were eating at a nearby Applebee's restaurant, Reno called the police, and while she waited got back into her car.
short editted news station version above, longer (and louder, so turn your speakers down) version below
https://www.insider.com/missouri-woman-car-stolen-steals-back-2-day-tracking-saga-2019-7
Fageol’s Supersonic/Pataray
For the short period of time that the Fageol Supersonic existed as the Fageol Supersonic, it wowed the world. All ray gun spaceship cool and unlike anything else on the road, it could do no wrong.
Built by master craftsmen, it lapped Indy at incredible speeds and attracted media attention like a Hollywood starlet in the days before Motoramas and car magazines.
And then, it disappeared, torn apart and rebuilt and split into two, its history obscured and obfuscated, and only now is its full story coming to light as its successor, the Pataray, is getting prepared for public display once again.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/05/31/split-apart-stolen-and-misidentified-fageols-supersonic-pataray-led-a-tortured-existence/
I suppose there is no connection, but the similarities in it's creation and overall look reminded me of the Phantom Corsair
notice the similarity of the front bumper horizontal slats, long hood, aero dynamic 2 seater layout... sure, the Fageol has big wheel well humps... but both have useless headlights, split windshield, and fender skirts.
the Phantom Corsair was 1938, the Fageol was 1948
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/03/1938-phantom-corsair.html
what a strange decision in tires
what the hell? White walls on a Cheetah? Did Huggy Bear take it to the tire shop?
https://www.facebook.com/HistoricVehicleAssociation/photos/a.2614318785250983/2614320638584131/?type=3&theater
only at a car show will a pairing this weird happen.
if you tried to get two people as different as these vehicles, to stand next to each other, what would you have?
Sean Connery and Jim Carrey? The Queen of England, and Rhea Perlman?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvMTFY4BBs-/
Here's an interesting little old car I haven't seen before, the Hoffman X-8... a rear engine prototype made off the grid!
Roscoe "Rod" Hoffman was an independent engineering consultant in the 30s, and not much is known about this car, but the body is a unibody made of steel stamped out by Budd, and the engine is a 60-degree water-cooled overhead-valve X-8.
It was made to explore a takeover bid for the Hudson Motor Car Company way back in the 30s, by some guys named the Fisher brothers, who came up with a shell corporation called the Norwalk Corporation, who were looking for a halo car as a means of showing the rest of Detroit they had big ideas for the Hudson brand, so they hired Hoffman to go to town on a design for an advanced automobile.
That entire situation flamed out, and Hoffman held on to this car until 1961 when he gifted it to Brooks Stevens, with whom Hoffman had collaborated on the fiberglass-bodied Porsche-powered Paxton.
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/06/20/despite-lingering-mystery-of-its-origins-rod-hoffmans-x-8-receives-automotive-heritage-award
this is the latest National Historic Vehicle Association feature vehicle, that will appear on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to be displayed and preserved throughout history as the 26th car on the HVA registry
The 1966 Volkswagen Deluxe Station Wagon was originally owned by Esau and Janie B. Jenkins, Civil Rights pioneers who dedicated their lives to helping the people of Johns Island, South Carolina, and beyond.
A historic and visual part of the story of civil rights pioneers seeking prosperity in a time of adversity in the racially charged times of the late 60s, in the South East, and is still owned by the Jenkins family.
The Jenkinses drove the VW extensively until October 1972, when, as a passenger in another vehicle, Mr. Esau was severely injured in a car accident. He died on October 30, and the VW was soon parked in the garage. When the family home was enlarged in 1974, the Jenkinses moved the VW into the back yard, where it began a long, decaying slumber. Mrs. Janie just couldn’t let it go.
Over the following decades, exposure to the elements, the salt air of the island, and multiple hurricanes took their toll on the VW. Corrosion set in, the right front door rusted off completely, and the A-pillar collapsed. The bus gradually sank into the earth. Long after Mrs. Janie’s death in August 1998, the old VW bus sat.
B.R. Howard and Associates, Inc. and The NB Center for American Automotive Heritage have been entrusted us to stabilize the condition of the "Microbus" to bring it out of the yard it had sunk into after being parked that one last time.
"This microbus became a fixture in the South in the 1960s as the Jenkinses, a family that went above and beyond to change their community and the nation for the better, made major strides in their community to combat racial inequality, were successful entrepreneurs, and inspired numerous civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Maxon says.
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/07/30/apollo-12-astronaut-corvette-civil-rights-vw-van
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/08/07/1966-volkswagen-bus-civil-rights-movement-foot-soldier
Thursday, August 01, 2019
why in the world did someone store away a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 truck? They only put on 735 miles since getting it home, and doesn't that seem odd? After all, they lost money on it, and didn't profit, but still had to store it.
This is a Quad Cab 4×4 stored since new by Country Auto Center in Plymouth, Indiana, before its recent acquisition by the selling dealer in Illinois with a clean Florida title.
The truck is finished in Solar Yellow over a gray cloth interior, and power is from a 5.9-liter V8 paired with a four-speed automatic transmission and a two-speed transfer case. The truck features a period bed cap painted to match the body as well as a Mopar drop-in bed liner and rubber floor mats.
The bed is fitted with a period Jason bed cap featuring sliding side windows and a headliner painted to match the body. A plastic Mopar drop-in bed liner has also been installed. Silver 16″ Sport alloy wheels are mounted with Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires. Power windows, locks, and mirrors were fitted from the factory as well as a factory CD/cassette stereo, an overhead trip computer, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and a fold-down center armrest with coin and small item storage. Mopar rubber floor mats protect the gray carpeting and factory carpeted floor mats are included.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/29223/someone-just-paid-22000-for-a-735-mile-2000-dodge-ram-1500-pickup-truck
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-dodge-ram/
In 1939, Cpt. Zbigniew Szostak defended the Polish sky on PLL "Lot" airplanes against the Germans, however, the Poles were out matched, and to avoid German slavery, he managed to get to France and join the Polish army/air force created by General Sikorski, and got a B 24! (thanks Marcin!)
In the summer of 1944 the Polish squadron had 12 planes, 9 Handley Page Halifax aircraft, and 3 B-24 Liberator machines.
He was a very good officer, and though pilots after 50 combat flights were typically retired from combat flights to train new pilots, Capt Szostak already had 108 combat flights in total... and then the Warsaw Uprising happened
The pilots, after crossing the Carpathians, were advised to find the Vistula line as quickly as possible and follow it north until the capital was seen. Then the problem for dropping supplies was that the city buildings made places for the drops harder to see, in addition, planes over the capital were particularly exposed to the fire of anti-aircraft artillery directed by searchlights.supply parachutes and the probability safe drops in the right place.
The women who fought in the city were often responsible for the signals and markings of the supply drop zones, and holding flashlights, they laid on the ground creating pre-arranged geometric figures, allowing pilots to quickly distinguish the drop zones
A B 24 (KG 890GR-S) was loaded with supplies to drop into Warsaw for the resistance, and since Stalin wouldn't allow allied forces to land on his airfields, the planes were heavy with fuel and supplies, light on ammo, and though it made it to the drop, the entirely Polish crewed B 24 was easily targetted by the Germans due to the clear night skies, and single flight path to and from Krasinski Square in Warsaw, and the plane and crew crashed in Nieszkowice Wielkie, none survived.
In December 1946, General Iżycki, commander of the Air Force in the West, handed to Zbigniew Szostak's parents the decoration of his son, the Golden Cross of the Virtuti Militari IV Class Order and the Cross of Valor, fourth decoration. In the Polish air force in the West, none of the airmen managed to achieve such a large number of distant combat flights in the most difficult conditions.
The faithful replica of the legendary Liberator KG 890GR-S is today the focal point of the exhibition of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
The 1: 1 aluminum model was built in 2006 on the basis of the bomber documentation provided by the Americans and interviews with 1586 Squadron aviators and mechanics. The original parts of the machine were also used in the replica.
http://nieszkowicewielkie.szkolagminabochnia.pl/patron/
http://polska-zbrojna.pl/home/articleshow/9131?t=Ostatni-lot-Liberatora#
https://wmeritum.pl/ziemi-wloskiej-polski-powietrzna-pomoc-dla-walczacej-stolicy/151425
With the help of the Allies, Polish, British, American, Canadian, New Zealand and South African pilots flew for the fighting Warsaw. In August and September 1944, 280 supply runs flew for Warsaw: 170 planes from Italy, 110 out of Great Britain as part of the Frantic VII operation.
Airplanes dropped over 200 tons of supplies - weapons, ammunition, food and medicines.
From this it is estimated that the insurgents collected between 60 and 90 tons. The flights were long and dangerous because Joseph Stalin did not allow Allied machines to land at Soviet airports.
The American planes were to drop the containers in three different places: Mokotów, Żoliborz and Sródmieście. The exact locations were marked with white, a hundred metres long sheets spread over the roofs and streets.
At about 0030 the ten-minute-long airdrop started; those watching from the ground thought at first that it was a paratroop drop. Numbers of colourful parachutes painted he sky. It aroused enthusiasm among the insurgents and an increased artillery fire on the part of the Germans
147 pilots died in the missions or lost, including 59 Poles. 30 planes were also dropped, out of which 11 from the Polish 1586 Squadron.
For more on the Polish efforts via American planes, look up the 61FS with commander Francis Gabreski
it was not easy to find these, which are the best I could find of the nose art on this plane, if anyone knows what these mean, these mission symbols, and can help inform me (us!) that will be appreciated..
Also I could NOT get any photo with a better view of the nose art on EITHER of these B 24s, both seem to be winged figures (Death maybe? Azreal? Grim Reaper?) riding a bomb. In the very top photo, I certainly need someone to say what that triangular design is
https://4generals.blogspot.com/2018/10/polskie-akcenty-w-blood-red-skies.html
https://forum.odkrywca.pl/topic/352323-malowanie-liberatora-w-mpw/page/3/#comments
http://www.sppw1944.org/index.html?http://www.sppw1944.org/powstanie/powstanie_zrzuty_eng.html
Warsaw, Krasinski Square, August 15, 1944, 2:30 am.
A group of women with flashlights in their hands stood in the shape of an arrow on the square. They stood silently, listening carefully. Among the cacophony of shots and explosions they tried to catch the sounds of the approaching allied bombers. They lived to see it.
From the side of Miodowa Street with every second a steady noise of Liberator's engines was growing. The machine was approaching from the Vistula river, flying literally just above the roofs of the houses. Suddenly the pilot pulled it up. Probably he wanted to gain height so that the container parachutes could open and the load fell on the ground undamaged.
About two hundred meters before Krasinski Square two German cannons concentrated their fire on the bomber. Their staff didn't even have to use spotlights - the flying plane was perfectly visible in the ghostly glow of the burning city.
The German fire was accurate. The women waiting for the airdrop on Krasinski Square heard the sounds of bullets hitting the Liberator's hull. The bomber then leaned on the left wing and collapsed on Miodowa Street.
The airdrops of weapons and ammunition for the insurgent Polish were not carried out only by Polish crews in Liberators and Halifaxes, the English, Canadians, South African Air Force, and Australians were also taking part in the supply drop flights over the burning city.
On September 18, 1944, about a hundred "Flying Fortresses" B-17 appeared over Warsaw, which dropped 1284 containers, from which less than 300 fell into the hands of the insurgents...
The Polish 1586 Special Purpose Squadron took part in the operation, created on the basis of 301 Bomb Squadron "Pomeranian Land", British bomb squadrons 148, 178 and 624 (in their ranks, apart from the British, the aforementioned Australians and Canadians also flew) and two bomb squadrons of the SAAF South African Air Force.
Sunday, 13 August 1944, was a beautiful, sunny day.
On the runway of the airport in Celone near Foggia, Italy, Liberators belonging to the SAAF were loaded up. A short flight awaited them, they were to fly to Brindisi, about 200 kilometers to the southeast.
After reaching their destination, the crew commander and the navigators went for a briefing to the hq of the 178th Bomb Squadron of the RAF. When they entered the extensive Operation Room, the first thing they saw was a huge map of Europe hung on the wall. A thick, black, zigzagged line connecting Brindisi with a city in the north was writhing on it. When they came closer, they read the name "Warsaw". Warsaw? What the hell for? Are we supposed to bomb Poles?
A British officer soon told them what was going on. This time they won't fly with bombs, but with supply for the insurgents. The Africans did not believe their ears. One and a half thousand kilometers in one direction, a flight over eight countries, mostly over the area occupied by the Germans! These are missions for suicides or lunatics!
None of them managed to get a single word of protest out of themselves. They were penal soldiers who looked into the eyes of death more than once, not only during the war, but also in their homeland. If there is an order, then it must be carried out as well as possible. At the same time the ground staff was loading containers with weapons, ammo and meds for the Warsaw insurgents into the Liberators. Each bomber took twelve longitudinal metal containers weighing about 150 kilograms each.
In the late afternoon, ten Liberators decorated with the emblem of the 31st SAAF Bomb Squadron, an owl against the background of a crescent with the Latin motto "Absque metu" or "No fear", headed out first headed for Albania then lowered the flight over Hungary - there were German radio stations there. Then the bombers gained altitude, flew over the Tatra Mountains and again lowered the flight ceiling in order to avoid meeting German night fighters.
Bravura and tragedy
The fighting, burning city could be seen from afar. A powerful glow illuminated the sky, and the pilots from South Africa thought that this is probably how hell looks like... Without any problem they found the Vistula and lowered the flight almost scrubbing their belly on the waves. The navigator started to count bridges.
The crews of British and South African bombers, who did not know Warsaw, found the drop points by "jumping" the bridges on the Vistula River. They had instructions according to which, for example, after "jumping over" the third bridge, they were to turn left and look for orientation signs in the form of flashlights or bonfires arranged in circles, squares or arrows. Usually women - nurses or messengers - took care of setting the signs.
Finding a drop site in a burning city was like finding a needle in a haystack. Poles and Africans circulated until they found the agreed signs. Many South African pilots were hunters. In their homeland they hunted and now, over burning Warsaw, they also waited for a "sure shot" - the right place to drop containers. Unlike the British, they also flew very low, just above the roofs of the houses. It protected them to some extent from the fire of anti-aircraft artillery, but it made it difficult to find the place of the airdrop. The British, restricted to the "King's Regulations" flew high, making them easy targets for German gunners.
On that first night over Warsaw the South African pilots lost two planes. Lt Kettle's Liberator was hit so hard that the pilot decided to land in an emergency at Okęcie. The crew survived, but was taken prisoner.
Another of the South African Liberators, heavily shot by the Germans, set off on his way back, but after several minutes his first pilot suddenly got up from behind the wheel and, not saying a word, left the cockpit, went to the bomb chamber and jumped out with a parachute. The second pilot, Lieutenant Christopher Burgess, took over the helm, but he knew well that he would not be able to reach the base in Italy with such a damaged machine. So he directed Liberator to the east and landed in an emergency near Kiev. The Russians interned the crew, but after some time they released them.
The next day seven South African machines took off to fly over Warsaw. This flight was much more difficult - they knew what kind of hell they were flying to. Two crews paid for it with their lives.
The Liberator led by Lt Hooey was to drop the containers on Krasinski Square. At 2:30 a.m. they passed the Silesian-Dabrowa Bridge and turned left. It was over Miodowa St when the shells of German anti-aircraft artillery started hitting it, and it crashed just behind the barricade erected by the insurgents a dozen or so days earlier. Fuel from the tanks placed in the wings ran to all sides and started a violent fire.
The crash zone was immediately swarmed with insurgents. One of them was the famous post-war sports commentator Bohdan Tomaszewski - during the Uprising he was a Home Army soldier with the pseudonym "Maly". The crew members were DOA, and immediately removed from the wreckage. They were buried in the courtyard of the present theatre school, and in 1947 they were exhumed and moved to the Rakowicki Cemetery in Cracow, where they are still resting today. In Warsaw, on Miodowa Street, there is a plaque commemorating the death of the heroic crew.
Another Liberator with a South African crew hit by German anti-aircraft artillery crashed in Praga. Also in this case, the whole crew died on the spot. On the way back to Italy, near Otwock, a third bomber with an African crew crashed. Two pilots died and the rest were interned by the Russians.
Changers
Two nights later, the 31st Squadron got another blow - three crews did not return from the flight to Warsaw again. One was attacked by a German fighter near Cracow. The bomber took such a beating that it exploded in the air. Only the co-pilot, Lieutenant Johannes Groenewald, managed to save himself. The severely wounded man landed on a parachute and was taken over by a Home Army unit. After recovery, he fought for seven months in the Home Army unit and was handed over to the British.
Two other Liberators were shot down near Cracow and Tarnów. In just three days, the 31st SAAF Bomb Squadron lost half its crews and was withdrawn from further flights, as was the British 178th RAF Bomb Squadron.The role of the 31st Squadron was taken over by the 34th SAAF Bomb Squadron, which had a winged torch and a Zulus motto in its emblem - "Intlasela Zasebusuku" - "Striking at night".
It was not until after the fall of communism in Poland, in 1992, that the opportunity arose to honor these brave bomber crews. About 60 of the air crew from supply missions to Warsaw received awards and medals from Poland.
The history of crews and their missions over insurgent Warsaw is still kept alive in South Africa. It is difficult to find a pilot of the South African Air Force who has not heard of them. This history overshadows all other SAAF achievements during the war. Not the fighting of Italy in Ethiopia, not the North African campaign against the Nazis or fighting in Italy - it is the supply flights to Warsaw that are the most historically significant for the pilots from South Africa. To this day, they are still universally respected.
for 3 documentaries, about 30 minutes apiece, which show interviews and recreations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIz8zYjmRLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjwAER__YWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNB8DTEltA
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/us-warsaw-uprising.html
Thanks Marcin!