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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 24, 2017 12:54:50 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 24, 2017 13:32:03 GMT 12
I'd guess the nickname Washing Machine Charlie was actually a hangover from WWII rather than the sound of the Yak's engine? That was the name that during WWII the Allied forces at Guadalcanal and then later other bases dubbed the Japanese bombers that would come over at night and drop solitary bombs to disrupt sleep. They were twins and they'd have their engines de-synchronised giving an unusual sound that sounded like a washing machine of those days, but the point of it was to confuse the listening devices on the ground that were trying to pick up their altitude for the ground.
Our Hudsons did exactly the same sort of operations, dropping solitary bombs at night over Japanese airfields to keep their troops awake, and induce stress from lack of sleep and comfort.
I reckon therefore this nickname in the Korean War probably came from old digs who remembered the original night raiders, rather than the Yak sounding like a washing machine as such.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 15:31:59 GMT 12
Wikipedia, unfortunately uncited, says "The five-cylinder engine reminded many of the US troops of the sound made by early gasoline powered washing machines earning them the name: "Washing Machine Charlie"."
They were also referred to as Bedcheck Charlie for the nocturnal nuisance raids they flew in Korea.
Excellent stuff Grant, I've been looking forward to this gallery.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 24, 2017 16:10:02 GMT 12
Well it does not sound very washing machine-like to me...
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Oct 24, 2017 16:40:50 GMT 12
My mum's 1970-ish washing machine sounded just like that during the spin cycle especially when the load was out of balance - sounded like it was about to come right through the wall!
Would like to see one of these on the NZ warbird airshow circuit
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Post by isc on Oct 24, 2017 20:54:01 GMT 12
The Americans had the "Maytag" washing machine with a small 2 stroke motor, either a single or twin cylinder, and yes it wouldn't sound too far off that, it was a fairly low speed motor isc
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Post by ErrolC on Oct 25, 2017 6:11:57 GMT 12
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2017 10:01:50 GMT 12
I was almost hoping you meant there was a Maytag display team.
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Post by davidd on Oct 25, 2017 10:26:56 GMT 12
Looks as though both aircraft sounded like washing machines, but probably very different washing machines; nevertheless the WW2 aircraft so-called were probably Bettys and the like, which were all twin-engined, and gave that typical twin de-synchronised noise (or more correctly drifting in and out of synchronisation) to be heard on many twins to this day. If you have ever watched (and listened) to the in-cockpit sound of the first NZ Mosquito (KB114?) flying out of Ardmore it is pretty obvious. Anyway, it seems that the term came into use in 1942/43 in the South Pacific, at Guadalcanal, Munda, etc. The British (and possibly Americans) seemed to have been convinced early in the war that the Germans and Japanese were deliberately de-synchronising the engines of their twin-engine bombers for the specific purpose of upsetting the Allied "listening devices", and I have read at least once (somewhere)that this was so, but no matter, it apparently had absolutely NO effect on radar returns and probably only upset the crews of the aircraft in question. As I recall from flying aboard DC-3s, drifting in and out of synchronisation was pretty normal anyway, whether the pilots were attempting to tame it or not.
David D
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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 26, 2017 16:38:26 GMT 12
Most likely, along with Bedcheck Charlie, another WW2 origin nickname which is also used to describe the Yak's actions in Korea. Not surprising considering Korea began only five years after WW2. See here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washing_Machine_CharlieThis from the Axis History Forum: |
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Yak-18 19 
Yak-18 46 
