I realize that the P-51 CoG was moved but,

[horseback]

Originally Posted by majorfailure

And then one negative G manuvre and all that ash and cigar(ette) rests become airborne and float around in your pit - only to dirty up on your nice tidy uniform or worse.
But for smoking breaks, sounds credible, and ashes out of the "window", why not. Maybe the real reason why the P-39 had wind-down windows...

Now we know the real reason pilots wore those goggles, and why ashtrays would probably be designed to have some sort of cover. "Tidy uniforms" could not be a high priority in aircraft equipped with relief tubes, much less anywhere in the South Pacific or CBI theaters.

About making an ashtray out of an old beer can, let's remember that beer cans in the 1940s were not made of thin aluminum; that started in the late 1970s as I recall, and up until that point crushing an empty beer or soda can with one hand (or against your own forehead) would have been a clear display of physical strength (or high pain threshold)...

You would have needed some specialized metalworking tools easily obtainable at most airfields and some idea of what you were doing.

cheers

horseback