Vultee Vengeance

[renrich]

I would not start this thread if I had not seen so many list this AC as a favorite and if I could find a thread to attach this to. Was playing golf Monday at a public course which is situated next to the airport at Prescott, AZ, called Love Field. Scattered thunderstorms and showers about and the AC were landing to the north. I looked up and an AC on final going right over our head was almost certainly a Vultee Vengeance. I thought perhaps it might be the Vultee Valiant trainer but it was much larger than an SNJ which I see all the time in the pattern and had the big offset square topped vertical stabiliser. I was amazed that an AC that scarce would have a flying example. Does anyone know about this airplane? I told the guys I was playing with about what had just flown over our head and they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. LOL Obviously not WW2 AC buffs.

 

[buffnut453]

There's only one Vengeance left in the world, and that's sitting in a hangar in Australia. Can I have some of the pills you're taking?

 

[GregP]

Too bad you didn;t get a pic! Maybe next time ...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Too bad you did not get a pic. It can't be a Vengenance. Unless I am mistaken there is only one, and that is in Australia. I have heard that there are 2 more that are being restored in Australia as well, but that is not confirmed.

 

[Capt. Vick]

"renrich" I will not dissmiss your account out of hand, seeing as I just saw Elvis the other day, but the most telling feature of a Vultee Vengeance, especially one "on final going right over our head", would not be the vertical stabilizer but the optical illusion of the outer wing panels having a forward sweep to them. This should have jumped out at you immediately as "different" and is brought on by the fact that the leading edges of the inner wing panels have quite a degree of sweep-back to them and join outboard of the landing gear with the main wing section whos leading edge is straight (neither swept back or forward). Do you recall seeing that?

 

[renrich]

I appreciate all your comments. It does seem unlikely that an airplane like that was landing here although a lot of warbirds do show up here from time to time. I am not exactly a neophite when it comes to identifying AC. The plane was on final and not directly above us and I got a good look at the profile as well as an angled view from below but not what could be called a good plan view. The AC looked larger than an SNJ and the Valiant and the SNJ are of similar size while the Vengeance is somewhat larger. I got a good view of the vertical stabiliser with the square top and the trailing edge of the rudder was well forward of the trailing edge of the elevators, like the Corsair. The distance from me to the plane was probably around 150 yards. AS youall may or may not know there is an aeronautical university here called Embrey-Riddle and we get a lot of interesting AC buzzing the golf courses.

I have tried to check online and there is little info about flyable Vengeance's. Perhaps it was a Valiant(BT13) that has been modified. I have seen them modified to resemble Vals. But it sure looked big. I may have been having hallucinations as someone kept moving the greens and my approach shots never seemed to hit where I aimed them.LOL

 

[renrich]

I still cannot verify a sighting of the Vengeance at the Prescott airport a couple of weeks ago but: Yesterday, Monday, golf again at the golf course next to the airport. Number 10, par four, 417 yards. I hit, for me, a long driver and am standing in the fairway waiting for the other guys to hit their shots to the green as I was the long driver. I hear the sound of a radial engine approaching. Not the harsh, piercing noise of the AT6 I saw take off earlier, but smoother, more subdued. I see this low winged monoplane coming directly at me. At first I said Hellcat. I had seen a pair take off about a year ago. No, too small for a Hellcat and did not sound like an R2800. As the AC got nearer, I thought it can't be but it looks like an A6M. No way, maybe one of those T6s modified to look like a Zeke. The AC went right over me and I had a plan view of the bottom of the plane. Tapered wings with rounded wing tips. Red meatballs painted on the bottom of those wings. Horizontal stabilizer rather forward on the fuselage not directly below the tail fin. The plane banked and dropped his landing gear to start a short steep final, almost a carrier approach and I got a good side view. Got to be an A6M. I was so distracted I almost missed the green with a wedge. I spent the rest of the round until number 17 wondering. On 17 I hear a big radial and look toward the runway where takeoffs are taking place. A low wing monoplane is climbing. The A6M, can't be, sounds like an R2800 and then I see that tall square topped vertical stabilizer and the small bubble cockpit. An F8F. He milks up the gear, honks his nose up and begins about a 45 degree climb. That R2800 is blasting. Right behind comes the A6M. Not as steep a climb. They disappear to the south. After the round I go to one of the FBOs. Walk in and ask if there are any airplane guys there, They say yes and I ask if an A6M was flying around there today. They say , yep and one guy gets out photos he has taken of it on the ground. I say was it some kind of replica? They say, no, one of four flying ones left in the world. I ask if he took off with a Bearcat. They say, yep and you should have seen the fuselage of the Zeke. Oil streaks from nose to tail. It was like seeing a ghost with those red meatballs on the wings.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Oh man, that sounds cool as heck!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Possible is was a Nanchang CJ-6? They kinda look simular.

 

[renrich]

It was cool. I had seen an A6M on the ground in Dallas back in the late 80s but never seen one flying. I have a book, "The Great Book of WW2 Airplanes" and reviewed the portion on the Zeke. It has profiles and plan views of the Zeke 52. Sure looks like the plane I saw. I will try to find info on the CJ6 and compare. However the guys at the FBO were positive it was a Zeke. They told me that when those warbirds land to come over and usually the pilot is fine with walking out and getting a close look. The security there is not as tight as at a larger airport. Looked up the CJ6. Not even close. The pictures on the ground taken by the FBO guys show a 3 blade prop. CJ6 has a 2 blade. Wing shape is not close. It was a real Zeke or a perfect replica.

 

[tomo pauk]

Lucky you, ren.
Me, the nearest planes to see are Canadair water bombers overflying my home while I'm typing this; they grab the sea water perhaps 200 meters away from where I am now then putting out some bush fire.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Sorry, I meant instead of the Vultee Vengence.

 

[debbiekielb]

Hi Guys,
I'm the daughter of a Pearl Harbor Vet. Dad had gone to Hawaii in 1939, was due to be discharged Dec 10, 1941. Obviously that didin't happen. However, he was discharged before the end of WW2 (home was Youngstown, OH) and went to Allentown, PA where he was a line supervisor for Vultee building the Vengeance. That is all I know about what I call "Dad's airplane." I have been trying to find out more and stopped looking when I heard there were none left cause they were all shot down in Burma. Somebody told me that perhaps I'd find one at the RAAF museum in the UK. Interest got stirred up again last night during a WW2 discussion, so I Googled the plane and ended up on this forum.
I received my A&P in 1993, built B-747's for 3 yrs 1996-99, got laid off and never saw an aviation job again after 9-11-2001. I'm familiar with Embry-Riddle and have been to Love Field. Has there been any more news about that Vengeance siting?? I'd love to hear. Besides, if there is an original Vultee Vengeance out there somewhere, my dad's signature just might be on the paperwork!

 

[Messy1]

Hi Guys,
I'm the daughter of a Pearl Harbor Vet. Dad had gone to Hawaii in 1939, was due to be discharged Dec 10, 1941. Obviously that didin't happen. However, he was discharged before the end of WW2 (home was Youngstown, OH) and went to Allentown, PA where he was a line supervisor for Vultee building the Vengeance. That is all I know about what I call "Dad's airplane." I have been trying to find out more and stopped looking when I heard there were none left cause they were all shot down in Burma. Somebody told me that perhaps I'd find one at the RAAF museum in the UK. Interest got stirred up again last night during a WW2 discussion, so I Googled the plane and ended up on this forum.
I received my A&P in 1993, built B-747's for 3 yrs 1996-99, got laid off and never saw an aviation job again after 9-11-2001. I'm familiar with Embry-Riddle and have been to Love Field. Has there been any more news about that Vengeance siting?? I'd love to hear. Besides, if there is an original Vultee Vengeance out there somewhere, my dad's signature just might be on the paperwork!

Welcome to the forum. Be sure to introduce yourself in the Basic section. That may get you more exposure to the forum and get you some more info that you are looking for as members check there daily for newbies. Would love any stories or info your father might have had on his experiences during Pearl Harbor and WW2.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Very cool, welcome aboard Debbie