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So the person interviewed, Lt. Col. William A. Shomo, a 26 year Air Force veteran, Medal of Honor Winner (with 6 kills in one mission) with several thousand flight hours in various combat aircraft (to include the P-39) is just making this up?!?!? But you "read" about this?????
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This makes a lot more sense.I have readthat the additional belly armour was only fitted in the recon model. It was made of aluminum, and IIRC it was about 3' x 4' and weighed 75 lbs. Also IIRC it was located about where the outline shows it in the image below.
edit: added the image below
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I'm thinking along these lines, too.I'd b willing to bet "750" lbs is a typo for 75 lbs.
THEN SAY THAT TO BEGIN WITH!!!!So show me the 750lb piece of armor. All the rest of the armor on the plane weighed about 250lbs. Didn't say Shomo was incorrect. The writer may have been mistaken.
I believe it was documented that Shomo and his wing man (Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb) may have come across a flight of very green pilots on a training mission, thus the lack of aggressiveness of the fighters, IIRC 3 of the Japanese fighters actually fled the engagement.And yet Shomo flew P-39Qs for a year with zero VC. All his scores came flying the F-6D (7 total. 6 in one mission). I'm wondering where he developed his successful engagement skills versus the Zero.
Likely correct. Steel armor one inch thick weighs about forty pounds per square foot. Seven-hundred fifty pounds of armour 0.25 in thick -- which is thick for aircraft armor -- would cover 75 square feet, far larger than likely.I'd be willing to bet "750" lbs is a typo for 75 lbs.
A win is a win.I believe it was documented that Shomo and his wing man (Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb) may have come across a flight of very green pilots on a training mission, thus the lack of aggressiveness of the fighters, IIRC 3 of the Japanese fighters actually fled the engagement.
I never would have thought of that.What if you just removed all the pilots from the P-39s?
I think you have cracked it.What if you just removed all the pilots from the P-39s?
I believe one Tojo was in the flight - maybe the instructor or senior pilot?I remember Shomo and his wingman came across a flight, of I think Tonys, as a cerimony escort. It has been about 40 years since I read about it and I couldn't begin to find which book and verify my memory, but what stands out is his wingman landed first and was berated about his leader making repeated victory rolls.. He told those watching what happened and of his own victories and when asked why he had not made victory rolls of his own, he said that he had just checked out in the Mustang and was not sure how.
And back in the mists of time I have a sort of memory that totalled up all the weight reductions, fuel cells, guns, ammo, armour etc that were also about 750Lbs, of which some could have been belly armour. From the drawing posted, if that weighed 750LBs it must have been inch thick steel at least.75 pounds would certainly be more realistic.