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daddyairplanes

what did happen to the droptanks jettisonned over Vietnam?

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the same  happened with WWII US fighter tanks dropped over Germany

my dad and some friends converted a droptank into a boat and mounted some old stove into it

to have a "steam engine"

they went up and down the local river with that thing( rowing, of course) andmade plenty of black smoke

with the "engine"

back then ( 1946..), all clothes were usually dried outside behind the housing areas.

down by the river in this case.

the local housewifes were not amused when the local boys came by with their stinking, black smoke emitting boat.

so one night the boat was "modified" by adding several new holes.... in the bottom.

that stopped the black smoke raids.

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You have to wonder if any ever did any significant damage on impact, especially if they still held fuel at the time. I don't recall hearing a single story from any conflict about it, though.

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My grandfather had a story from WWII. He and another GI saw a USAAF plane drop a bomb in their direction and they dived for cover. When the "bomb" hit the ground it bounced, at which point he realized that is the an external fuel tank.      

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I would love to have one of those!

Well with the internet you could get a hold of them. THAT would be an interesting business to start with a VA loan!

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A small industrial park that was located near the town where I grew up, used sectioned and cement-filled drop tanks from P-47s as gate posts.  They were originally manufactured at that site.

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Falcon, yea this is good ~> www.barracudamagazine.com/belly.htm

 

Yea. pretty cool origin story huh?

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