-=>> Quoting Jay Hanig to Jim Dawson <=-
 JD>> BT-13s used in the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora." It was painted
 JD>> the
 JH>> I thought they used highly modified T-6s for that movie.
 >         I thought that was the case as well.  The BT-13's have a longer
 > nose like the Japanese A6M2, but they all have fixed gear as
 > far as I know.  The Harvard has a shorter nose, but it's got
 > the retractable's needed to simulate a Zero.  On the other
 > hand, weren't both the Japanese Kates and Vals both fixed gear
 > also?
Vals, yes (fixed), Kates no (retracts).
I fly them both in my Warbirds flight sim .. and they're remarkably good 
turners, by the way, just about on a par with the famed Zeke (A6M3).
I tell ya, it's a real thrill, leading a squadron of Kates in on the deck, 
trying to sneak in below the capping F4F's, watching the superstructure of 
the escorts getting clearer and clearer .. and then toggling off that fish 
and watching it run straight and true!
But you sure can die easy:  the Kate didn't have any nose guns at all (just a 
gunner in the back with a real popgun) .. and the val's single nose .50 cal 
and rear gunner isn't gonna scare anyone too much either :-)
Now the SBD (it's modeled too, although we don't have any US torpedo bombers 
yet) is a lot tougher, turns well too .. but nothing like the kate and Val.
And that's another thrill too, that you just can't match out in the real 
world any more:  rolling a heavy dive bomber over on her back, dropping dive 
brakes and chopping the throttle, fixing that wide carrier deck in your front 
windscreen, and coming on down through the ack, waiting to toggle that 
thousand pounder ...
Yessssss, preciousssssss .. I sure like Warbirds :-)  Great place for a flier 
/ history buff.
Toad <- Warbirds handle
---
---------------