Maintenance & Restoration

Legacy Posts · 12-12-2002, 05:56 PM

Back in WW II, I was working for Ronson when we got a call from the Army Air Corps. It seems one of their P-38 Lightnings was experiencing a problem with the cockpit cigarette lighter. The Air Corps mechanics had given up and asked Ronson to send an engineer to fix it.

Being the junior engineer on staff, I was volunteered to go. The flight across the Pacific was uneventful, though interminable.

On the ground at Wake Island, I was unable to reproduce the problem. The Colonel in charge of the 97th Fighter Squadron, being an accomodating sort, arranged for me to go along on the next mission.

That was hair raising. Let me tell you, those Japanese were shooting back.

On landing, I reported to the Colonel that I wouldn't be able to help. I told him, "I'm a wick man, you have a flint problem."

:laugh :splat

Legacy Posts · 12-13-2002, 08:23 AM

I know you're a Ronson guy, but Zippo made good lighters too. (Can't recall which brand saved more lives during WWII by deflecting bullets.)

Fast forward fifty years:

Zippo has just marketed a lighter that's perfect for RV folks. It's an big upgrade from the el cheapo stick lighters that we all have used to light water heater pilots, range burners, barbeques and campfires. It's called the MPL (for multi-purpose lighter.) Two different finishes, from about $15-$20. Worth it for the quality and the fact that I was always swearing at those ones that came from southeast Asia. Got ours on the internet, but they should be stocked in WalMarts (jewelry dept.) and similar stores by now.

Legacy Posts · 12-13-2002, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Orginally posted by George Cathcart

I know you're a Ronson guy, but Zippo made good lighters too. (Can't recall which brand saved more lives during WWII by deflecting bullets.)

George,

Only the old guys remember the Ronson and Zippo (or cigarette lighters for that matter).

I wonder how many of us on this board are still smoking, I doubt it's even ten percent.

It was the Zippo that deflected bullets, but the Ronson saved more lives. It wasn't wind proof, so the guy had to duck his head to light his cigarette in the foxhole. The Zippo guys could light up in plain sight of snipers.