R3D-2 US Marines, S & P design, PacificWinds recoloration

[Wyvern]

Very nice build of an interesting aircraft.

Wyvern

[Don Boose]

I have communicated with my retired USMC CWO-4 son, who confirms that he had two tours with VMGR-152, the descendant of the outfit to which Kacper's airplane belonged. He writes, "I know very little about the R3 and R5's..but I did manage to get about 50 hrs in the C-117 [R4D] and a fam flight in a C-119 . . . BTW .. I think the original "Flight of the Phoenix" used a C-119 from VMR-152 which I know has nothing to do with this discussion, but wanted to increase your knowledge of Marine Aviation."

Butelczynski - The device shown in the image in Carlos's post #6 looks to me like a Browning M1917A1 water called machine gun mounted on an M3A4 utility hand cart.

I've never heard it referred to as a "ma deuce," but that might have been a Marine Corps term.

Incidentally, the M1917A1 was still being used as late as 1962 at the Fort Benning, Georgia, Infiltration Course where soldiers crawled under barbed wire while live machine gun fire zipped overhead. I did that myself during the Infantry Officer's Basic Course at Fort Benning in the summer of 1962 and noticed the water-cooled Brownings. One of the sergeants at the range told me that they used those guns because they were reliable, accurate, and could be counted on to shoot straight.

Don

[Vinalssergio155]

Butelczynski,Wyvern,Thank you very much for visiting here.
Don Boose, again thanks for so much information. This forum is great, we not only learn everything related to the hobby, here we learn many things. Thank you very much.