"Unbroken" a movie of the life story of Louis Zamperini, Olympian, bombardier shot down in the Pacific, and prisoner of war in Japan

 Laura Hillenbrand wrote Unbroken over the course of 7 years, and 70+ interviews, the biography of an extraordinary U.S. Army Air Force officer, Louie Zamperini, who was shot down over the Pacific, chased by sharks while floating for more than a month on a raft, and imprisoned in a hellish Japanese POW camp. Amazingly, the guy survived it all and lived to 93. Before the war, he was a track start that set a record in the 1936 Olympics

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20440835,00.html

Zamperini was a world-class distance runner by the time he graduated from Torrance High School. His athleticism won him a track scholarship to USC, and at 19 years old, a spot on the 1936 US Olympic team.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/07/03/louis-zamperini-1936-olympian-world-war-ii-pow-dies-at-97/

built for the military to haul bomber parts

The engine was set on a slide out rack... becuase they hadn't yet worked out tilt cabs

Found on http://steampunkvehicles.tumblr.com/post/75867863614/steampunkvehicles-truck-for-hauling-bomber

An American pilot in a Spitfire, taking recon photos of Berlin, sees the home movie made of his emergency landing about 80-90 years later

Thanks Robert!

WW2 rail gun... ginormous

found on http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/

belly tank bug, Iwo Jima

"7th Air Force men used a little imagination, discarded belly tanks, plus a small engine to make this improvised car. They have nicknamed it The Bug.", Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, 12 June 1945

found on http://historicaltimes.tumblr.com/

a rare pilot, he had aerial dogfights and won, with German, Japanese, and Italian opponents. Canadian Wg Cdr Davidson

There on his Typhoon are the kill flags for the Japanese, Italian, and German enemy planes. He lived til old age peacefully on a farm

Found on http://historicaltimes.tumblr.com/

P38 in the background with the pilot arriving in captured german car

Found on http://historicaltimes.tumblr.com/

it started with one rivet, and ended up costing 1 million British pounds

A joke 40th birthday present led to Martin Phillips setting out to achieve his boyhood dream.

Martin had talked about restoring a Spitfire fighter aircraft for so many years that his friends finally clubbed together to buy him his first piece.

But it wasn't a propeller, wing or engine which set the £2.5m project rolling. It was a tiny "pop rivet" — suspended on a string in a huge cardboard box.

Now, some 13 years later, the 53-year-old businessman from Exeter has not only completed the mission of rebuilding the heroic Battle of Britain fighter plane but also realised his dream of seeing the Second World War aircraft take to the sky once more.

Mr Phillips spent years of his life meticulously restoring the iconic fighter plane to its former glory in his Langford warehouse, outside his home in Newton St Cyres, near Exeter.

He has travelled the world in a desperate search for spare parts, expert knowledge and inspiration – although one of its wings comes from a Spitfire which crashed near Exeter Airport and lay for decades in a hedge near a pub until it was salvaged. Mr. Phillips sourced the main fuselage from a scrapyard in South Africa,

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Martin-s-Spitfire-returns-sky/story-18013935-detail/story.html



photos from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270031/Businessman-spent-1m-restoring-Spitfire-scrapyard-10-years-ago-sees-fly-again.html

WW2 mileage ration sticker and info

you received stamps and other various paperwork that had to be filled out in order to get your fuel. An “A” sticker was issued to the general public. The “B” my was if your job was considered vital to the war effort. This meant you would be allotted up to eight gallons a week.

There were six different window stickers and even a “R” one for farm vehicles. These were a part of everyday life. So much so they became part of popular culture, like at the end of this classic Bugs Bunny when his crashing plane doesn’t crash because it runs out of gas. Why, because he only had an “A” sticker.

 An interesting yet lesser known fact is that the rationing wasn’t really created to control fuel consumption, but was there to help save on tires. Gasoline could be made domestically, but rubber trees don’t grow here (at least not in mass quantity). That raw material came from Asia, which of course was controlled by Japan at the time. That’s why if you look closely at the paperwork you’ll see a lot of references to mileage and tire inspections. There was even a national speed limit of 35 MPH put in place to help curb tire wear.

 Found on http://familyephemera.tumblr.com/post/73744494852/rationing-was-a-way-of-life-during-wwii-from

I didn't realize that Petrolicious was also posting about the rationing, but they focused on Canadian and European

found on
http://www.petrolicious.com/wwii-era-gas-ration-coupons-remind-us-how-lucky-we-are

my friend Tris has her parents WW2 ration book, and let me take photos of it:

WW2 Stewart - Warner awards banquet invitation

Found on http://familyephemera.tumblr.com/post/78860383807/glued-into-my-grandma-alices-scrapbook-is-this

nose art, yeah, that is cool... but this is cooler

how to field assemble a P 47 Thunderbolt.... awesome training film, skip the first 3minutes 30sec

skip the first 3minutes 30sec

Found on http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/uncrating-field-assembly-p-47-thunderbolt-fighter-1944.html

there is only 1 working Tiger 131 tank that is operable still existing, and a movie "Fury" (not released yet, with Brad Pitt) got it on loan

photo from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2123736/Back-70-years-mighty-Tiger-tank-Only-surviving-example-works-restored-wartime-specification.html

it was captured by the smallest margin of luck, a shell from a British Churchill tank damaged the turret just enough to keep if from turning, making the tank useless... and so it was captured, from the African campaign of WW2, and sent to England so any weaknesses could be found and exploited by the Allies.

It was named Tiger by Ferdinand Porsche, and was exceptionally deadly, one Tiger took out a record 22 opposition tanks in one battle in Russia, and one tank commander had a total of 168 enemy tanks destroyed

It's home is the Bovington tank museum in Dorset England.

The movie can be learned about on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2713180/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

Coolest thing of the day, WW2 beer run, kegs strapped to Spitfire wings, chilled to perfection, then delivered to the troops

An English brewery donates a sizable amount of fresh beer for the troops fighting in Normandy and a unique delivery method is created, strapping kegs to the underwings of Spitfires being shipped to forward airfields. Flying at 12,000 feet chills the brew to perfection. The troops love it, but the British Ministry of Revenue and Excise steps in and informs the brewer that it is in violation of law to export beer without paying taxes on it. End of “authorized” beer runs. June 13, 1944.

G-d Da-- bureaucrats.  Found on http://volksrat23.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/booze-run.html

a B 29 is nearing the end of it's restoration, in Wichita Kansas. Named "Doc" for one of Snow Whites dwarves, it was found in the Mojave where it had been baking for 40 years

Jeff Turner, chairman of the non­profit group Doc's Friends, said the goal of flying Doc to Oshkosh in 2014 is in sight, but as much as $2 million more needs to be raised to make it happen. The Doc project has been in Wichita since 2000, but only this year was it turned over to the new 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation. That lengthy gestation may be attributed to the stewardship of project organizer and founder Tony Mazzolini, who wanted to ensure any foundation taking on Doc had the right vision. "I needed to make sure I put the aircraft into the right hands for the future,'' Mazzolini explained. When refurbished, Doc will be only the second flyable B-29 in the world.
It will take an estimated $7 million to $9 million to finish the restoration, get the plane flying and secure a hangar, Turner said. “None of us are professional fundraisers,” Turner said. “We’re looking for people who want to step up.”
As the Air Capital of the World, Wichita has the aviation expertise to see the project through, officials said. “The aviation infrastructure here is very good,” Sarver said. “There’s a lot of talented people with the skills we need.” Still, the project needs volunteers with specific skills, such as aircraft electricians, sheet metal mechanics, another inspector and those with radial engine experience.
From : http://www.kansas.com/2014/01/01/3206432/hopes-high-that-restored-b-29.html

for more: http://www.b-29doc.com/

Margaret Bourke White was sent to cover the 8th Bomber Command in WW2, here are a couple of her photos

Photos found on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294284/WWII-color-Rare-photos-1942-Flying-Fortress-bombers-heroic-crews-The-Mighty-8th-Command.html

sunk just shy of arriving where the Allied Forces needed her cargo of bikes, trucks, and trains, the SS Thistlegorm is a diving wonder in the Red Sea

Found on http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/wreck-ss-thistlegorm-egyptian-red-sea.html

B 24 being restored in Australia for 19 years is now taking longer to restore than it's hanger building will last, and needs a new hanger to finish restoration

Full story at http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/b-24-liberator-restoration-australia-home.html

Quirky fact, it was being used as a chicken coop in Moe Victoria in 1995 when found 

Relics of WW2 at Popondetta ( New Guinea ) airport, are a B-25 Mitchell bomber and a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.

Found on http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/world-war-2-relics-papua-new-guinea-travelogue-in-1980-by-bwana_brown.html

the Lonesome Polecat, was raised from a Swiss lake in 1952, put on display, and scraped in the 1970's because it hindered a building development

The plane sank largely intact to the bottom of the lake, where it stayed until 1952, when it was raised, restored and exhibited around the country. In 1966, it travelled to St Gallen, where a businessman planned to build a “bomber theme park”.

 This never materialised, so in 1970 the plane went on display in St Moritz. But after a few years it was blocking a building development; since no buyer could be found, it was turned into scrap metal despite being of historical value.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/warbirds-crashed-switzerland-wwii.html