Before 9/11...There Was 7/28

Found this while surfing around. Never knew of it but the similarities to 9/11 footage are amazing.

No, it's not a terrorist attack nor is it a conspiracy but it is truly fascinating footage of an age gone by.

At 9:49 a.m., Lt. Col. William Smith mistook the tallest man-made structure on the planet for nothing when he banked his B-25 bomber into it. The plane hit so hard that one engine shot all the way through the building, out the other side, and landed on the roof of another building the next block over. Still, that happened on Saturday and the building was open again on Monday. People were probably sitting at their desks, smoking cigarettes and doing paperwork with smoldering hunks of plane laying all around them.

People on the ground helping each other, mention of firefighters battling the blaze, the plane...all so similar as to be eerie.

A very interesting aspect (at least to me) is the reporting style and studio orchestra in the background.

And a miracle happened that day as well:

"July 28 1945 -
Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a plunge of 75 stories inside an elevator, which still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall recorded"

From the Empire State Building to the Trade Towers...

ETA: Just thought I'd add this after reading a few posts. Not being an airplane expert, I of course rely on google.

B-25



Jude11

a reply to: jude11

I didn't know it made it through the building. I always thought it was a small plane but its not that small

originally posted by: gmoneystunt
a reply to: jude11

I didn't know it made it through the building. I always thought it was a small plane but its not that small

Not small by any means.

A jet by the standards of the day I believe.

Jude11

I wonder if the B25 used gasoline?

Hmmm.

S&F op.

I had heard about this crash before but its the first time i have seen that video of the reporting at the time.

Very interesting to look at how different it was back then.

a reply to: gmoneystunt

The B-25 was a medium bomber. Compared to the heavy bombers of the day it wasn't very large. The maximum takeoff weight of the B-25H was 35,000 lbs compared to 65,000 of the B-17G. The B-17 was about twice as large.

It wasn't exactly small for the time, but it was by no means a large aircraft either.

a reply to: xuenchen

The B-25 uses AvGas. Usually 100 octane LL.

a reply to: jude11

Yep!



Makes you think!

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: xuenchen

The B-25 uses AvGas. Usually 100 octane LL.

Thx for all the info.

Just added this to the OP.

Hope I got it right.



Jude11

a reply to: jude11

Yep, that's one of the few still flying. I got to fly on one of them. Fun ride but those old reciprocating engines scare the hell out of you on the ground.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jude11

Yep, that's one of the few still flying. I got to fly on one of them. Fun ride but those old reciprocating engines scare the hell out of you on the ground.

I imagine there would have been a few heads lopped off in the old days.

Glad I got it right...Thx.

Peace

a reply to: Zaphod58

I think AvGas as we know today wasn't developed until the 1940s. So it could have been what was being used when this happened. But what was the fuel before modern AvGas?

I miss the red. Less fouling from that when compared to the blue. Didn't hurt that it was cheaper too.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

It was similar to current AvGas, but the cleaner stuff we use today didn't start seeing use until the 40s. You could use the previous stuff in modern planes without much trouble.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

It was similar to current AvGas, but the cleaner stuff we use today didn't start seeing use until the 40s. You could use the previous stuff in modern planes without much trouble.

Can you expand on this?

Red...Blue?

Curious.

Jude11

a reply to: jude11

The Red was 80/87, with 0.14 g/L of lead, and TEL added to it. It was used for low compression engines.

Blue is 100LL, with 0.56 g/L, and TEL. It's the most common out there.

We used to sell 100LL to people that would drag race at the local strip. They'd mix a 5:1 gas to AvGas mix for more power and cleaner burns.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: jude11

The Red was 80/87, with 0.14 g/L of lead, and TEL added to it. It was used for low compression engines.

Blue is 100LL, with 0.56 g/L, and TEL. It's the most common out there.

We used to sell 100LL to people that would drag race at the local strip. They'd mix a 5:1 gas to AvGas mix for more power and cleaner burns.

Strangely enough...I understood that.

Thx

But i grew up on purple farm gas. JK

You most likely know it was a dye for ID only. Not relevant I know but I was curious about the aviation fuels.

Jude11

a reply to: jude11

Yeah we use red diesel for the reefer units that I pull. If it goes into the truck tanks, big fine.

a reply to: jude11

Yup, just for ID. Other than red/blue the only other color I've heard of is green for 100.

There are also other markers, such as the diameter of the fuel port and nozzle. Putting the wrong fuel in is no good.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

Yeah, you can plug the injectors and damage the engine. And that gets a touch expensive.

There's actually yellow, green, purple and a couple other colors.