Some of the 4th FG and a lot of A-2s

[B-Man2]

...and just to follow up about cowboy boots, here's Don wearing his. I've probably posted it before but it's such a wonderful image and one of my favourites so to hell with it, here it is again!

PS - That's how you wear an A-2 boys and girls

Couldn’t agree more Tim.
Now if I just had a waist that size

 

[Smithy]

Couldn’t agree more Tim.
Now if I just had a waist that size

I don't know Burt but you're a pretty trim fellow judging from your photos!

It really is a bloody wonderful photo. Along with the one of him in Mae West after his big tussle with the 190s, they're my favourite photos of Blakeslee.

 

[Smithy]

Dude of the Day...

Sidney Wood the deputy CO of the 4th towards the end of the war along with his crew, Rod Lonier and Bob Easley.

 

[B-Man2]

Wood really fills out that A2.
Compared to the other two guys he looks like a pretty big boy.

 

[Smithy]

Wood really fills out that A2.
Compared to the other two guys he looks like a pretty big boy.

I'm not sure how big he was Burt but he was in the cavalry in the late 30s before transferring to the USAAC so chances are he was a well built fella.

Here he is posing for an official snapshot...

 

[B-Man2]

I'm not sure how big he was Burt but he was in the cavalry in the late 30s before transferring to the USAAC so chances are he was a well built fella.

Here he is posing for an official snapshot...

I missed “Dude Of The Day”. One of my favorite posts . Glad your back ..... Dude!!

 

[Smithy]

I missed “Dude Of The Day”. One of my favorite posts . Glad your back ..... Dude!!

Thanks buddy, I missed my mates around here as well!

Hope to see you up in this neck of the woods if that holiday planning works out, and if it does there's a couple of cold beers and a moose dinner waiting for you

 

[Smithy]

Dudes of the Day...

And what a cracking image of A-2s we have here with the 4th. This is 334 in July 1944:

 

[B-Man2]

Now there’s a bunch of guys it would have been a blast to go out and have a few drinks with.....

 

[Smithy]

Guaranteed a sore head at the end of it Burt!

 

[Smithy]

First off I'm trying to restore some of the images that were lost in this thread from my Imgur shenanigans but there's some brand spanking new ones coming up and some which I don't think have been seen before.

But in the meantime let's have a few Dudes of the Day...

This one is a fantastic image and is the pilots from 334 preparing 3 pigs for a squadron barbecue. If you're one of those who carefully lay your A-2 down nice and flat and freaks out about someone eating something within 10 yards of you when you're wearing your A-2 then this image is not for you...

 

[Brettafett]

Came across this... If this was posted before... sorry
Howard Hively 4FG and Duke.

 

[Smithy]

Haven't posted on here in an absolute age so it's probably time to rectify that.

Goody has always been one of my favourite characters of the 4th and although this photo contains no A-2 I felt like posting it anyway as it's a classic image...

And just to cover the A-2 side of things, here's Goody passing the time in dispersal playing patience (must have cleaned everybody else out in poker)...

 

[Cocker]

Excellent pictures, thanks Smithy!

 

[Smithy]

Excellent pictures, thanks Smithy!

You're welcome mate. If the old brain is not too fuzzy I seem to remember you were reading Goody's "Tumult in the Clouds" last year. Did you finish it and what did you think? I've read it a couple of times and find it a great read and quite evocative of the period and the characters in the 4th.

Sadly I never met the chap but he was apparently the most lovely fellow.

 

[Brettafett]

Love the pics and loved Tumult... Read a few times. Still a lot of the 4th I have not read...

 

[Smithy]

Hi Brett,

Grab a copy of Troy White's "Adventures of the 4th FG" if you haven't already and all of Frank Speer's books are well worth a look-see as well whilst I'm about it.

Tumult is a classic though, one of the very best.

BTW mate that Dubow of yours from Platon is really looking the biz now, damn nice jacket. I've sworn myself off any new ones until I wear the bejesus out of what I already have, but if I was itching for a new A-2 that would be the one I'd be going for. Must say though that my AVI is really starting to look rather nice with some hard wear and I'm a sucker for the Bronco pattern.

 

[Brettafett]

Tim, Adventures of the 4th is high on the list... I will look into Speer's books also. Was Blakeslee ever involved with a book?
Regs the Dubow... Yes... Loving it. Man, I wore it the entire week! Btw... I succumbed. I've ordered a russet version
I don't need another jacket, but, well...
My new AVI Bronco should have been with me this week. Watch this space

 

[Smithy]

Tim, Adventures of the 4th is high on the list... I will look into Speer's books also. Was Blakeslee ever involved with a book?
Regs the Dubow... Yes... Loving it. Man, I wore it the entire week! Btw... I succumbed. I've ordered a russet version
I don't need another jacket, but, well...
My new AVI Bronco should have been with me this week. Watch this space

Brett you're a classic!

Looking forward to seeing the new AVI and the russet Platon job.

Book-wise, Blakeslee was unfortunately never involved in any books about himself. He's arguably the person in the 4th who most needs a biography written. I don't mind saying it here, Blakeslee, Goody and Vic France are the pilots from the 4th that I am most interested in.

It's surprising that a book about Blakeslee hasn't been written, although I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Troy White isn't at the moment working on it or has it planned.

 

[Smithy]

One more photo of Goody in an A-2.