hesham said:
Hello Dynoman.. I remember this engine project very well as my leadman and myself did all of the sheet metal work and alot of the control fitup. If I remember right we had to rework the nacelle because the engine was rotated 90 degrees. Project was alot of fun to do.
On a tangent:
The Army’s only air to air kill since WWII was done with a .50 cal in Vietnam
Ever since the formation of the US Air Force and the subsequent Key West Agreement, the Army has only been allowed fixed-wing aircraft for a limited scope of uses, namely reconnaissance, and medical evacuation purposes. While rotary aviation has filled many of the roles concerning transport...warisboring.com
Not sure it's the only kill (I think there was at least one during the Korean War) but interesting none the less.
Interesting idea. If it could handle the recoil and had enough ammo to be useful it probably would have helped in some situations in Southeast Asia. IIRC the more obstinate types in the USAF would throw a fit about any sort of armament on the Army birds, but was there ever any sort of acceptance (official or otherwise) of some limited armament on them? After-all, you can argue that WP rockets are just for marking targets, and if some poor bastards just happen to be standing next to that target that's their fault and not the Army's. I'm not sure how you could justify the guns though. Only to be used returning fire at whatever is shooting up at the observation aircraft? That one probably wouldn't work.
The Air Force brass HATED the army planes having anytype of weapons.
