Free Republic

On the Saturday following Thanksgiving 2013, Ms. Karen, my 94-year-old father, Bill Gressinger, and I were visiting Pima Air and Space Museum. We were in Hanger #4 to view the beautifully restored B-29, when I happened to take notice of a P-51 Mustang near the big bomber. It’s name … “Bad Angel”. P-51 Mustang "Bad Angel" in Hanger #4 at the Pima Air and Space Museum. P-51 Mustang "Bad Angel" in Hanger #4 at the Pima Air and Space Museum. I was admiring its aerodynamic lines and recalled enough history to know that until the Mustangs came into service, the...

The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the greatest fighters of World War II. Had life worked out differently, the Mustang could also have fought in Vietnam and flown against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. In fact, it might even have replaced the A-10 Warthog. The Piper PA-48 Enforcer was a modernized version of the P-51. It was the brainchild of David Lindsay, founder of manufacturer Cavalier Aircraft, who bought the rights to the Mustang in 1956. The P-51 eventually became the Turbo Mustang III. But in 1968, in response to an Air Force search for a counterinsurgency...

Retired Col. Steve Pisanos, a World War II ace who was decorated by four nations, has died, his family confirmed through the San Diego Air and Space Museum on June 9. Pisanos was 96. Born in Athens, Greece, Pisanos [sometimes spelled Pissanos] came to the United States in 1938. He joined the British Royal Air Force in 1941 and served with an Eagle Squadron until American members were absorbed by the US Army Air Forces 4th Fighter Group. Pisanos was then commissioned a USAAF lieutenant. On May 3, 1942, Pisanos became an American citizen during a ceremony in London, England,...

The public mostly remembers the North American P-51 Mustang as the fighter plane that protected Allied bombers over Germany and Japan during World War II. Overshadowed by newer jet fighters by the time war broke out in Korea in 1950, the re-designated F-51’s relative technological backwardness became a qualified blessing for close air support and battlefield interdiction sorties against the Korean People’s Army. Warren Thompson’s new book F-51 Mustang Units of the Korean War focuses on the veteran fighter’s role in Korea, and also exposes the plane’s little-known history with Australia, South Africa and the Republic of Korea. North Korea’s...

Capt. Jerry Yellin, from Fairfield, Iowa, flew the final combat mission in World War II. World War II veterans visit Iwo Jima for the 70th anniversary Mar. 21 in commemoration of the end of World War II.

The pilot of a World War II-era P-51C Mustang is OK after making an emergency belly landing at Dallas Executive Airport Wednesday morning. Dallas-Fire Rescue confirms the plane landed at about 10:30 a.m. with its gears retracted. The fighter plane's prop detached as it left the runway and came to rest in a grassy area off a taxiway. The plane is a single-seat aircraft with room only for a pilot. No injuries were reported, though the vintage aircraft suffered extensive damage, officials said. Lynn Lunsford, with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the aircraft belongs to a local flying museum. FAA...

Reuters is reporting about the Obama administration taking the Iranian side regarding a long list of violations to the interim Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) agreed to at the beginning of April as well as the United Nations Security Council resolutions by seeking to procure illicit nuclear infrastructure and refusing to cooperate with the IAEA. Despite evidence to the contrary, the Obama administration is denying they ever happened, or labeling them as inconsequential. [F]or a month now the U.S. State Department has been defending Iran from suggestions that it was on the verge of violating a requirement to reduce its...

It is likely that the P5+1 nuke “deal” with Iran will be approved soon. Military and other nuke sites which Iran has not “disclosed” will not be inspected. Nor will Iran’s nuke ties with North Korea — which P5+1 member China seems to be helping, Iran’s massive support for terrorism and abysmal human rights record be considered because they are also deemed unnecessary for “deal” approval. Sanctions against Iran are moribund and will not be revived regardless of whether there is a “deal.” However, a bronze bust of Obama may soon be displayed prominently in Supreme Leader Khamenei’s office and one of Khamenei may soon be displayed proudly in Dear Leader Obama’s...

Will "moderate" Iran be moderate in its development and use of nukes? As the Iran Scam pushed by President Obama continues to fester, there is little reason to expect actual moderation. PrologueIn November of last year, soon after the English language text of the "deal" with Iran became available, I posted One small Lurch for Obama, Giant Leaps for Iran. It pointed out that the "deal" guaranteed Iran's right to continue enriching Uranium. The preamble states: This comprehensive solution would enable Iran to fully enjoy its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the relevant articles of the NPT in conformity with its obligations therein. This comprehensive...

It's domestic politics, ideology and rejection of reality all the way down.As I attempted to demonstrate in January, the English language text of the P5+1 "deal" with Iran has a comforting preface expressing a general intention to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons. However, neither the preface nor the rest of the text even mentions Iran's continuing efforts to improve her ballistic missile capabilities, nuclear warhead development or her "undisclosed" military sites such as Parchin, where work on those projects evidently continues. No significant reductions in either Iran's nuke development or ability to produce nukes can reasonably be expected. Nor are we likely to...

Through his "charm offensive," Iranian President Rouhani got a "deal" with the P5+1 negotiators to diminish and then eliminate sanctions without significantly reducing Iran's ability to develop nukes. Today, Press TV posted an article titled Zionists seek wars of aggression. Charmin Works!Press TV is a 24-hour English language news organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran. . . . Press TV is state-funded[11] and is a division of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The Press TV article purports to be an "approximate transcript" of an interview with "Kevin Barrett, editor with Veterans Today, Madison," Wisconsin, about Western threats...

Neither the November 24th P5+1 "deal" nor the White House summary of the subsequent agreement to continue the process deals effectively with Iran's efforts to have nuclear weapons. NOTE: I tried to address much of what follows when writing earlier about the Iran Scam and have difficulty understanding why there is very little public or even official interest in the problems the deal raises. Please let me to elaborate here a bit more on why the P5+1 "deal" is a scam, why it matters and to offer some hypotheses about the lack of interest.The text of the English language version of...

Released on January 16th, the White House Summary fails -- again -- to deal with Iran's continuing development of nuclear weaponry.  Iran has blasted the summary as "one sided;" what does that mean? According to the White House Summary, What Iran Has Committed To DoOn January 20th, the IAEA will report on the current status of Iran's nuclear program, and particularly on its uranium enrichment program and the Arak reactor.  The IAEA will also report on several specific steps that Iran has committed to take by or on the first day of implementation, including: Halting production of near-20% enriched uranium and disabling the...

What does it mean? Who knows? When might we learn? Who knows? Acording to a Fox "breaking news" report, Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent -- the grade commonly used to power reactors. The deal also commits Iran to stop producing 20 percent enriched uranium -- which is only a technical step away from weapons-grade material -- and to neutralize its 20 percent stockpile. In exchange, economic sanctions Iran faces would be eased for a period of six months. During that time, the world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the...

Secretary of State John Kerry has told US lawmakers any new sanctions against Iran would risk ruining talks over Tehran's nuclear programme. He told a Senate banking committee that the US might lose negotiating partners if it imposed economic penalties. The panel has been considering a fresh package but legislators are divided on the measure. Mr Kerry has told the BBC that Iran and world powers had come "extremely close" to a deal at the weekend. Before Wednesday's closed-door meeting with senators, Washington's top diplomat told reporters: "What we're asking everybody to do is calm down, look hard at what...

Nice video clip of a P-51 and a Spitfire going through some maneuvers...pretty clear sky for Britain,*smiles* http://www.ferociousfrankie.com/video1.html crank it up

Iran said Wednesday it will present "new initiatives" at upcoming nuclear talks with the so-called P5+1 in Istanbul on April 15. Iranian state media reported that Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili would present new proposals, but did not give specifics. Jalili also warned that what he called attempts to us the “language of force” against Iran would be “useless” and would "backfire." He added that Iran believes the talks should be based on “mutual cooperation.” Representatives from the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – have made it clear they expect Iran...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Sunday afternoon with his Italian counterpart Mario Monti. Following the meeting, Netanyahu spoke to reporters and mentioned the P5-1 talks with Iran scheduled for next week. "We have seen that Iran uses the talks in order to deceive and mislead," he said. "We will follow the talks." "Our policy with regard to Iran has not changed, and that is also what needs to happen at the talks," he added. "The demands from Iran must be clear – remove the enriched [nuclear] material, stop the enrichment and dismantle the installation at Qom." Iran, meanwhile, has rejected...

1024 x 680 pixels . . . 3188 x 2117 pixels . . . via http://www.flickr.com/photos/chagood/6747365813/  

Display pilot's incredible escape from World War Two fighter as he bails out after mid-air collision at airshow A pilot had a miracle escape yesterday when he bailed out of his Second World War plane after a mid-air collision at an airshow. Thousands of people watched as the P-51 Mustang plane clipped wings at the annual display show and plummeted to the ground south-west of the former World War Two RAF Duxford base in Cambridgeshire, yesterday. Pilot Rob Davies parachuted to safety following the mid-air accident at the Flying Legends show which happened after three planes had formed a triangle...