THE WARBIRD'S FORUM
The Zaandam sails again
The Flying Tigers traveled to the Pacific on half a dozen different steamships, most often on a vessel of the Holland-America Line. I'm enchanted to find that Holland America is now part of Carnival Cruises. What's more, at least one of its floating palaces bears a name that would be familiar to pilots and technicians of the American Volunteer Group. In September 1941, the original
Zaandam delivered six pilots to Singapore, from where they made their way to Burma. Four more pilots, plus nine who'd become check pilots for the Chinese Air Force (most of whom later joined the AVG combat squadrons) arrived on
Zaandam's second voyage in November.
On September 25, a much fancier ship bearing the same name will depart from Vancouver for Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti, returning to San Diego two months later. Read more on the Annals of the Flying Tigers.
Target Hong Kong and Tom Hanks on a destroyer
Reviewed on the
Warbird's Book Club this month are a first-class history of the US Navy warplanes against Japanese-occupied Hong Kong and an oldfashioned war movie starring Tom Hanks as skipper of a destroyer escorting a convoy to Britain while a German "Wolf Pack" does its best to sink them. In both cases, you'll cheer for the good guys.
In the meantime, ask your representatives in Congress to speed up aid for Israel and
Ukraine! -- Daniel Ford
And welcome to the forum!
Here are a thousand or so files on airplanes, pilots, and the wars
of the past hundred years, grouped under these headings: