German Guncam footage

[the lancaster kicks ass]

nice pics, you get a good idea of the size of the ball turret in the fourth one as well

Originally Posted by evangilder

I found some shots of the O2 bottles in my collection. Some of these are mine, some are from others. The B-17 had several O2 bottles under the floor, so they were not as visible in normal viewing. Whereas on the B-24, they were obviously more visible in the aft section.

While there seems to be a question as to which oxygen system they used, O2 generators or bottled, they had bottles inside. Needless to say, when hit by an incendiary round, it adds extra explosive effect. A nightmare scenario.

I've seen lots of shots of WWII bombers in action from inside the cabin, and I never saw O2 bottles like that. Are you sure these were used during combat?

[wmaxt]

One of the major problems of thr P-400s in the pacific was their inability to fly above 10,000/12,000ft because the O2 sys was the British low pressure system and not compatable with the American high pressure filling equipment.

[Erich]

the oxygen bootles were there while in combat. punch in B-24 oxygen bootles on google search and there are several statements/links about cannon rounds and exploding Oxygen

[lesofprimus]

Very bad news gents.... I have read about this before, and from the reports and eyewitness accounts, when the HEI rounds hit these tanks, it turned the cabin into each mans own version of Hades....

As someone who has blown up many different things WITH many different things, I get a very bad visual from this discussion guys.. Gives me the chills thinking about it.....

[evangilder]

Yes, these were used in combat. Keep in mind that these aircraft are restored to be exactly as they were in the days they were flown in combat. These groups are big sticklers for being authentic. The only non-original gear they allow in is the updated radios/comm gear.

You are right Les. The thought of an exploding O2 bottle scares the living bejesus out of me.

[lesofprimus]

Ive blown them up before in demo work and training..... I cant fathom what it'd be like in an enclosed, cramped area like that..... There'd be red goo all over the inside of the fuselage.....

Bad dreams dude.....

[evangilder]

I've never seen a tank blow, but I can imagine it would be something else. Oxygen is one of the primary components needed to make fire.

[plan_D]

Well, it is the fuel of fire. AVPIN (Lightning, quick start, fuel) is so dangerous because it actually produces its own oxygen, you can't put it out.

[Erich]

I can fill you in with first hand accounts, or maybe I won't. chilling it is, terrible and even gross by our standards. No time to think but just act.

A still from the very first film on this multi-page thread. A B-24 feels the effects of a SturmFw attack

[lesofprimus]

I think itd be great to post that info erich.... I wont be reading it, but I think it could be useful for some here that truly cannot gauge what modern combat can do to the human body...

I myself have seen enough to last 3 lifetimes.....

[Erich]

I understand Les fully............

maybe I will.

A B-24 on 27 September 1944. one still from a film clip. the a/c is attacked on the right side and the Fw 190 pilot slides over on the bombers left side, takes out the tail gunner and then tears the wing and engines apart on the left with his M rounds. the right inner engine is hit so bad that it nearly burns off the wing, a very strange vapor cloud immerges

That's a fuel fire Erich.

As for the tanks, it appears you are right the tanks were present. However, by 1944, and perhaps earlier, they were low pressure oxygen tanks and in fact also had nitrogen in the air.

I'm trying to find more details, but I think the O2 generators fed O2 tanks, which then provided O2 to the crew. The tanks could not be filled while being used. I'm sure they were nasty when hit, but not nearly so much so as high pressure bottles.

I'll be searching on this a bit more, I need to find the page where I read about the use of O2 generators in WWII.

=S=

Lunatic

[Erich]

note the vaporizing cloud where the inboard right engine should be. also the small fire on the left inboard engine..........

I'll see if I can get this enlarged into the wmv format in a month or so.

[evangilder]

If I can offer a word of advice when researching on the web; always double check the info. I have seen things on the web that can be directly contradicted on another web site. When I prepare presentations, I typically use anywhere from 8-12 sources for about 8-10 typed pages of info. It takes longer to get the info, but nothing is worse than presenting wrong info.