I got to meet Col. Boyington a few times. Both of us having been squadron commanders in the Marines we had a good appreciation for each other. But he was a hero to me, I was just some young kid to him.
My dad flew a Corsair in VMF-211 in the south Pacific. He watched this show and loved it. If you could have heard him laughing his ass off at this scene, you'd have smiled too. :D I asked him once if he knew Pappy. 'Sure I did. He was a son of a bitch.' LOL
Not a lot of people liked Pappy. Sure, he was respected but he was a real asshole. Just read his book and what others had to say about Boyington and you would see what a problem he was. Great pilot, though.
@@mauriceupton1474 Yup. Dad said he had to be aware of the roll to the left all the time. If you watch the training film here on YT for one of the early models, it's right in the pre-flight checklist--settings should account for torque (or you'll bury the left wing in the tarmac). One of the Corsair's nicknames was 'ensign eliminator' for that reason.
I became an Air Force pilot because of this. Still remember 4 years old turning down a chair, covered with a sheet, swimming googles, mom’s swimming cap, and plain loneliness while playing chair flying. It’s been 32 years of flying experience so far and still play chair flying. Thanks for this video.
I used to do that too! I used my brother's football helmet which was way too big and fell over my eyes. I haven't tried flying a chair lately but I still spin around and race swivel chairs.
Testing the rudder cables by moving the stick? So much for even the appearance of accuracy I guess. I met Pappy a few times at Brown field during vintage warbird shows. Most of his life was behind him and it showed, but it sure was a thrill meeting the guy who inspired me so much.
It's a TV show. It has nothing to do with reality. Especially the reality of how things were in the Solomons, circa 1942-43. For starters, the rudder is probably the most unimportant control surface on the airplane. Second, after you've worked control cables any time at all, you CAN judge cable tensions by feel. Another thing........although some Navy and USMC pilots theoretically had an "assigned" airplane (usually squadron commanders and execs, and the CAG on the carriers), the reality is they flew whatever happened to be available. In the Solomons, especially on Guadalcanal, there usually weren't enough airplanes to go around. So all the pilots whether Navy or USMC were on the same duty roster, ND were assigned to what airplanes were available (no matter if it was a "Navy" or "USMC" airplane.
@@bizjetfixr8352 Thank you for taking the time to impart your first hand knowledge of WWII in the Solomons, circa 1942-43. Yes of course you can feel the tension through the cables. But you can't feel rudder cables through the stick, ever. Are you a pilot? The rudder **pedals** are where you feel the rudder cables. My active duty US Naval Aviation time was considerably later than WWII, but flying is still flying. A lot of what you wrote is accurate, some of it you had to be there. Thankfully you were able to share with us.
I love these old blacksheep episodes. Some of the best TV ever. Also if I am not mistaken Red "Micklin" use to be one of Elvis Presley's bodyguards, in real life.
My grandfather learnt to fly in the 1920s because he's boss said to him you fix em, you test fly them, he was a motor mechanic and became a fighter pilot in WW2
30 years ago I worked at the Planes of Fame Air Museum at the Chino Airport, I'm sure many of you know that is where the largest collection of flying warbirds in the world is. Had breakfast with Chuck Yeager, met Neil Armstrong and all of our warbird hearos, that being said, I was in high school when this show was made and loved it. I also know a bit about all the birds in this show, (Most came from our collection for this TV series). Isn't no way in hell a North American T-6 Trainer can hold their own from a Jap Zero!
I agree - they didn't have much of a chance against a Zero under most circumstances. Think about the Australian pilots who were stuck with using the CAC Wirraway (basically the same plane) in combat through all of 1942 and into 1943 because there was nothing better available.
Maybe. Remember this show was supposed to take place late in the war. By this time Japan has practically no experienced pilots left, most of them were kids with little to no experience. It's possible a T-6 with a highly experienced pilots could hold it's own for a short period of time.
@danmccormack9747 well the fighting is around the Solomon Islands when Rabaul was still a major threat. This would be 1943 to early 1944.The Japanese were sending their carrier pilots to operate out of Rabaul, so they were still pretty good.
@@rocketguardian2001 Maybe these were army pilots. Boyington did say in his book that the army pilots were easier to deal with compared to navy pilots.
Watching the Black Sheep back in the 70's my dad and I always loved watching those dog fights between the Corsairs and the Zeros even though I knew they were SNJ's modified to look like the Zero, I only wish that the modeling companies like Revell back then had come out with a model kit of the SNJ/Zero version of the Zeke and had called it "Hollywood Japanese Zero", l sure would have bought a kit or two and have fun building them!!
@@tomsampson8084 That is correct. In fact, when NBC cancelled the show, the "reason" they gave was because they had run out of Marine Corps battle footage to use.
Loved this show as a kid. Tried never miss an episode. My dad would take me to an Army Surplus store called Old Sarges on Buford Hwy Doraville GA and I’d buy uniform, insignia, dummy 20mm and .50 Cal. shells and have them when I watched the show. Probably influential in me enlisting in the US Army.
"I got one question for you Micklin. How's a person with such a smart mouth manage to keep all their teeth?" "By being hard to hit." (Pappy slams Micklin in the gut). "Well, so much for that legend."
Robert Conrad pictured himself a real tough guy. Might have been. He did his own stunts, some not going well. The real Pappy was on set one time and took umbrage with what Conrad was saying or doing and told Conrad he would have mopped the floor with him back in the day.
@juan abee Shut up already...go cry somewhere else with that banter! Until you have actually met and talked with Pappy...you don't know jack-shit. PERIOD!
My granddaddy was a B-17 crew chief in World War 2. After the crew would repair the aircraft, the pilot would take my granddaddy and a couple of his men up in the plane, just to make sure they had done the job properly. 😁
When I was in the AF, I was in the 49th AGS/ 8th AMU, also known as the Black Sheep Squadron. MOS 462, weapons loader on the F-15. In the pilots break room were many pics of Pappy and the guys.
You know that was one ride Micklin wouldn't soon forget. Then they got picked on by Zekes and Pappy couldn't wish for the whistling death to show up fast enough. This was riveting to watch, though only a TV show from way back when I was a kid. RIP Pappy, RIP Robert Conrad.
Andy Micklin was a good character and he was a TENNESSEAN!! As was the Larry Casey character. Micklin was from Memphis area and Casey was from Tri-Cities. TN RULES! ❤️
I found two of My Late Wife's models of the F - 4 U Corsairs . I was surprised to see that they had the " Opening Photos " from the TV series " Black Sheep Squadron " on the box cover . I'm back dating one to the " Bird Cage " model with the 3 tone paint scheme that's the Dark Blue on the body then White under Wings . How's That for You Collage Boy .
Yes. It was either Revell or Monogram that issued "Baa Baa Black Sheep Special Edition" kits for both the F-4U Corsair and the Mitsubishi Zero. Initally, the Black Sheep Squadron title was used only foe episodes in early syndication. By the second season, NBC adopted the Black Sheep Squadron name for first run episodes as well.
I had one of those that I put together. I've never been good at working with tiny objects and glue so it was a real mess! No idea where it went, if I still had it I'd try cleaning it up.
Revell did the "Black Sheep" Corsair model. You can probably find one on Ebay or you can buy a Corsair model and buy the VMF-214 decal sheet separately.
@@johnrettig1880 LOL. I just kept missing where I was supposed to put the glue so there were splotches everywhere. Maybe It was me getting high off the glue-- nah, my parents only let me use the sniff proof.
I got to meet Col. Boyington at the Shafter Air Show in the 1980s (86-87 timeframe). He was selling his books at a stand so I bought one, I shook his hand, and he signed my book.
I have the three DVD sets. Universal released the first season episodes, including the TV Movie Flying Misfits that inspired the series, in two DVD sets. Shout! Factory later released the second season episodes in one DVD set.
@@sct913 You are repeating what WAS ALREADY SAID in the original thread. The guy that started the thread said it's on the FIRST TIME at 6/7pm and I added on the 11p/12a information for those who want a second dose. Is this a habit or did you just read something incorrectly?
L O L I don't think I ever seen that one I love the old show I used to watch it with my dad I think it was on about 8 o'clock at Tuesday nights we used to fly RC and he was a decorated World War II veteran from the Navy he flew in B-17 bombers he wasn't even supposed to be on the plane he volunteered because of a card game😮
Not necessarily.The SNJ had a lower stall speed than the Zero so it could have turned inside a Zero. SBD dive bombers were known to have come out successfully in a dogfight with a Zero due to their lower stall speed. AD Skyraiders also successfully shot down MiG 17s in Vietnam. Their lower stall speed allowed them to get inside the MiGs turn and shoot them down with their 20mm cannon.
Loved the Blacksheep and Micklin was bad to the bone. Saw your You Tube channel name, " Taste the Radium". I was reminded of the women who used Radium to paint the luminous strips on clocks and watches. They would tip their brushes by placing the bristles in their mouths and twisting the handle while their tongue formed the brush into a point. Can you imagine. Putting Radium in your mouth. I don t know how much most people know about radiation. I m certainly not an expert, don t claim to be but I do know more, prob way more than most. I understand radiation and elements that emit such and it took me time to get to the point where I not only know but understand whats happening and how it affects our bodies. People the term half - life means so much and can tell you how dangerous an element is. Of course what type of radiation is being emitted makes a big difference also. I d bet most people think of Uranium, no matter which isotope as dangerous to be around much less hold and that isn t so. Uranium has a half life of over 2 billion years. Yes that means it will be here forever and at first that in itself makes it sound terrible but what exactly is happening is what ever amount of a radio active element on this case we will consider U 238 since it is by far the most common and is used in ammunition and other places more apt for people to come across. If we have a pound for example. In 2.2 billion years one half will be decayed away and we re left with pne half lb. In another 2.2 billion years half of that has decayed. Point is natural decay is so slow but understand because decay is so slow it s emitting very little radiation and what is emitted are Alpha particles. Alpha particles are not able to penetrate our skin. They are helium nuclei and that s how we have it fill party balloons. Alpha particles can.be breathed in or swallowd and that isn t a good idea but just imagine how slow they are being released. Radium and Radon are different animals entirely. I don t know the half life for either but it s much much less. Radons half life is measured in minutes. Both emit alpha , Beta and Gamma . The last being photon or invisible light and it isn t safe to be around unshielded much less putting in ones mouth. Frightful!!! It is stored in our bones. If the women using the brushes lived long enough their jaw bones could have glowed. This was shameful.
That's where I got it from. Ottawa Illinois is still a hot zone. Some of the women were buried in a lead shielded casket. There was a building in Elgin (IL) where radium dials were painted when the watch factory was still open. It was a furniture store for awhile; my brother bought a mattress and box spring from there! Building's gone now. My dumb 10, 11-year-old self took apart radium painted clocks when I was a kid and tried to get them to work again!! Now that I'm 55, I'm nervous of this radium dial clock my brother thought was a great idea to bring home.
It was a simulated look at a time when the best in men was called for. They WERE the Greatest Generation. We will not see their like again. Maybe that is what they were fighting for....so we didn't need to. RIP Cousin Lem, Uncle Otto and Father in law Bill.
The T-6/SNJ was a common "hack" (general-purpose airplane for utility duties) assigned to both Army and Marine bases. It'd be used for certification flights, check rides, flying visiting generals/admirals around in to impress them, delivering/collecting pilots and other personnel, getting small spares, assorted minor missions that had minimal military significance but were an excuse for squadron pilots to get some flight time in, and of course, scaring the daylights out of unruly enlisted men.
Red west (sgt. Micklin) was a friend of Elvis presley, part of elvis's childhood friends known as the "Memphis Mafia". He got his start in acting as Elvis's stunt double in movies.
😂 lol its amazing how the trainer gets hit but when it lands theres no bullet holes to be seen?? Lol a bit like an irish cat when it goes it buries itself !!! Lol
