IMPORTANT UPDATE: Indeed I do feel stupid now.. because I was all wrong. It's real and that IS a 'DC-4E' flying over Manhattan in 1939. And it's memorable because the photo is by Margaret Bourke White.
Initial searches for the triple tail plane got me nothing. Accidentally ran across another photo of that model which made me look harder.
The whole story which explains my confusion, here
But I was right about about the helicopter. She WAS in a plane to take the shot.. And it would'a been nice if the article told us the whole story.
In my defense I objected because I flew aircrew in DC4 (R5D)'s at Navy Transport Squadron One (VR-1) And the planes I flew in were way uglier and smaller than that one. And btw, once it landed it needed a prop rod under the tail to keep it from assuming 'wheely' position if as few as 3 people went aft.
Of even more interest: That very plane ...
...was sold and shipped to Japan in 1939. Its fate unclear, faded away in the advent of W.W. II. Later it became clear that it was bought to support Japanese studies into a long-range bomber.
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My original post, if you care.
Slide #1 of a series with fairly ordinary pictures from the past.
Pretty cool huh? Certainly wasn't an easy task... BECAUSE
That is NOT A DC4, it's a Lockheed L-44, precursor to the Constellation. Note the triple tail and sleek looks, Then find an actual picture of a DC4
It's obviously NOT 1939. Neither plane was in the air at that time May be 1944 but probably later.
Who said it was taken from a Helicopter? First commercial choppers were built circa 1942 and were too unreliable to be flown over large cities with no place to set down. I wouldn't want to do it.
Taken from ordinary plane with high wing, most likely.
So, if you find three grave errors in the very first page, why bother with the rest.
Then I found the one about a soldier encountering a baby moose in the woods.
Do yourself a favor.. The first two pages set it up... the next 38 are filler gibberish. Change the number in the url bar to 40 and you'll see a rather unusual but NOT RARE story of a lost baby moose
attaching itself to the first animal it found.
- Note that some of the pics show stock shots.. for no reason. Pretty sure Estonia doesnt have its soldiers wearng US flag patches.
I felt stupider after -once again- falling for a hook I thought might be interesting.
