Jump to content
Logging In to USMF has changed from using your USERNAME to requiring the EMAIL ADDRESS associated with your USMF account. Click to read more.

The aviation graveyard...Kingman, Az.

Sabrejet

By Sabrejet,
in MILITARY AIRCRAFT & AVIATION

 Share

Recommended Posts

Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Equally sad! To them back then it was just so much scrap metal...to us today, priceless historic warbirds!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lee Ragan

Lee Ragan

Posted
Posted

Sad reminders of the passing of the greatest generation. Most of the crewmen who manned these great old planes are also gone. It's sad to see how great this country once was when we stood up for freedom and socialism was the enemy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jack's Son

Jack's Son

Posted
Posted

Did ya pick up any "souvenirs" JS? ;)

Sadly Ian, I went to the old cafe at the airport for lunch while visiting a manufacturing plant as part of a business trip. One of my colleagues suggested having a burger there and looking at old pictures. We ran across two old timers who flew these birds during the war and after listening to their stories, they took us out to see the planes.

At that time in my life I was more interested in my career then the stories, or the history. I just wanted to get out of the sun. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I think I'd have got me a cutting torch and promptly removed a shedload of those complete nose-art panels!! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
J_Andrews

J_Andrews

Posted
Posted

My USN vet uncle told me of a 20-man work detail in California in 1945 that used four D-7 Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy "hundreds" of Lewis guns (many in crates with accessories, never used) and even more Krag and Enfield M1917 rifles (per his description). They arrived in dump trucks, that tilted their beds and moved slowly forward, to spread the guns on the ground, then two dozers abreast and another pair behind ran over them. Then they repeated it, coming back the other way. If their OIC (ensign) approved of the results, the dozers then heaped the debris in a pile and the base fire dept sprayed the piles with used motor oil and avgas and set them ablaze. Unc and his workers were sent away then....later finding out that the firemen freely scavenged the wreckage. This was at an "Outlying Field" air strip in the Oakland area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

What a criminal waste of US taxpayer's dollars...let alone the historic loss! I once saw an RAF training film from the 50s which showed obsolete Spitfires being used as strafing targets on the ranges. :o Surviving Spits change hands today for in excess of $1,000,000! Such is hindsight!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Just think...your grandmaw's skillet or your neighbour's Airstream trailer might have been over Berlin or Tokyo! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Colour image of the spectacular "The dragon and his tail" nose-art, briefly seen in the YouTube vid. Gone forever! :(

post-8022-0-65130700-1376649660.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
38Driver

38Driver

Posted
Posted

What a criminal waste of US taxpayer's dollars...let alone the historic loss! I once saw an RAF training film from the 50s which showed obsolete Spitfires being used as strafing targets on the ranges. :o Surviving Spits change hands today for in excess of $1,000,000! Such is hindsight!

 

If they'd saved them all they wouldn't be worth anything. Those folks were trying to move on with their lives and so many obsolete airplanes etc where just junk. There was no romance about it as they'd lived it.

 

One of the phrases I absolutely hate is "The Greatest Generation." It does that bunch a great disservice as it makes them bigger than life. They were just people dealing with an unimaginable horror. The kids going to Afghanistan are just as 'great' as they are just as human.

 

In our desire to have heroes we lose sight of their humanness.

 

I'm as guilty as the next guy if not worse in building up the vets as bigger than life. I spent from 1980 to 1985 tracking down Spitfire XII pilots and was lucky enough to get over to England for the first reunion of 41 Squadron. I'd only seen those guys in photos and they were all 10 feet tall in my mind. I'll never forget seeing photos taken at the reunion that I was in. At 5'10" I was taller then all of them. They'd become teachers, businessmen, contractors etc. Most wore glasses. None had X-Ray vision.

 

In the end the realization that they were just like me, made what they'd gone through and accomplished that much more amazing. But it also made me realize that any generation faced with that kind of horror would react the same.

 

As for the stuff they went to war in, as a WW2 vet said to me again last week. They were all trying to get as far from the war as possible. Looking back did them no good. They wanted to go forward. Saving every last piece of WW2 was not progress to them just a reminder of something bad.

 

Thankfully as they got older there was a time to look back and reflect. But that's something every generation does too as they get older.

 

Kinda makes you wonder about us folks spending all this money on WW2 stuff. I laughed when I saw that M1 helmets were produced for about 90 cents a piece. I bet they had no idea how crazy it would get :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
38Driver

38Driver

Posted
Posted

Colour image of the spectacular "The dragon and his tail" nose-art, briefly seen in the YouTube vid. Gone forever! :(

 

That's the Collings Foundation B-24J that wore that scheme for a short time. So it's not the actual wartime Dragon. Had a chance to take a flight in the Collings bird. Quite the experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lee Ragan

Lee Ragan

Posted
Posted

I think I'd have got me a cutting torch and promptly removed a shedload of those complete nose-art panels!! ;)

One civilian worker did just that at a boneyard in Arkansas. The Commemorative Air Force has the nose art pieces he saved in their museum in Midland, Texas. It's supposed to be the largest original WWII nose art collection in the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabrejet

Sabrejet

Posted
  • Author
Posted

One civilian worker did just that at a boneyard in Arkansas. The Commemorative Air Force has the nose art pieces he saved in their museum in Midland, Texas. It's supposed to be the largest original WWII nose art collection in the world.

 

He did? Must be a sight to behold. Well done that man!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
hink441

hink441

Posted
Posted

But it also made me realize that any generation faced with that kind of horror would react the same.

I don't think I agree with this statement. I wish every generation was as good as our best, but I don't believe it is true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
m1ashooter

m1ashooter

Posted
Posted

Ian my friend, Yes I'm still in love with them and I always will be. I have had the honor to be a member of the 5th Bombardment Wing (SAC) that once was known as the Bomber Barons of the 5th Bomb Group and a pround Pirate of the 400SMS whose lineage was that of the 400BS of the Jolly Rogers of the 90th BG. Many of the planes we saw are from those two Bomb Groups.

 

Its funny when one went down it was normally not said 0005 went down but to the crews the name of the plane was what was painted on the nose.

 

Its interested to see the chopper blade. It appears to be the same blade used to chop up my beloved B52's during the recent crime against us USAF guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...