Early PBY

Assigned to Utility Squadron 2 (VJ-2). I guess the clock at lower right is there to tell us the photo was taken at 0845.

Stearman N2S (3393) Taxiing in at NAS Pensacola

Crew of an S-3 Viking of VS-37 bask in the glorious 1980’s sunshine of NAS Whidbey Island.

Pacific Northern Airlines Super Constellation N114A at Juneau Airport in the early 1960’s.

P2V-7 of VP-1

NAS Whidbey open house in the early 60’s. This aircraft (145913) served with VP-1 from ’59-63, went to VP-2, and was written off in a crash on Kodiak Island in ’64. Check out the Pepsi-Cola truck on the right.

Martin T4M-1

Martin (#7874) torpedo bomber at NAS Pensacola. A good airplane for the 1920’s, the T4M stuck around until the late 30’s. As the portholes on the side suggest, you could actually get up and walk around inside. It was said that a T4M torpedo truck took off, cruised, and landed at 65 knots.

Coast Guard R8V-1G from CGAS San Francisco

You thought I was going to say HC-130, but when this photo was taken, the (ahem) “Tri-Service aircraft designation system” had yet to implemented. Serial number of this R8V-1G was 60-0311.

F-5E Tiger & RF-4C Phantom

Sharing the spotlight at a late 70’s open house, this F-5 (73-0881) is from the 58th Tactical Training Wing at Luke AFB. Interesting in that it carries the insignia of the 405th Tactical Training Wing, also at Luke. I can’t find any record the 405th flew the F-5. Maybe they briefly did so? Maybe some guy slapped on the wrong sticker. The Photo Phantom is from the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Bergstrom AFB.

The Northrop Gamma sure was a beaut.

McDonnell F2H-2P Banshee of VMJ-1 – Marine photo reconnaissance squadron

A very wrecked B-26 litters the tundra somewhere in Alaska

Project Rough Rider

The Lockheed T-33 literally came in all shapes and sizes. This one (53-5404) is from Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, and says “Project Rough Rider” on the nose. For a good reason too: It flew in to storms to measure the effects of hail. Though the insignia is that of Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), above it are the letters “AFSC”, the successor of ARDC. Apparently they hadn’t gotten around to putting on the new insignia. B-52’s of the 17th Bomb Wing are in the distance.

It says “Whisperjet” on the nacelle…

…but ‘whisper’ and ‘727’ are two words rarely used in the same sentence, or for that matter, the same month. But hey, it’s a great plane, and he’s having no trouble catching up with the Super Constellation photo bird. (No whisperer there either).

Korean War B-29

B-29 enlisted aircrew says “cheese”.

B-29 42-94084 at Barksdale Field in 1945

Early days of air refueling

B-50 hooks up to a KB-29P during air refueling tests over Puget Sound. (Bainbridge island in the background). This B-50, 49-265, was eventually converted in to a tanker itself. The KB-29, 42-93921, started life as a bomber but never saw combat.

Looks like a B-17, but it’s a Coast Guard PB-1G

Under new ownership

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Captured at the war’s end, and hauled to the USA, were these former Luftwaffe airplanes, a Junkers JU 88, a JU 290 bomber, and a Henschel HS 129 attack aircraft. The JU 88 has the insignia of the 86th Fighter Squadron (USAAF) on its nose. Must have been their guys who took it for a prize or were flying it. Photos taken at Freeman Field, Ind.

Boeing 247 departing Boeing Field, 1933

The smokestacks around the field back then could easily spell disaster.

B-17F “Bad Penny” turns up.

Obviously, the aircraft ran it to grief. “Penny” ( 41-24480) was part of the 91st Bomb Group at Bassingbourn, England, and was used as the camera ship for the 1943 film “Memphis Belle.”

Hollywood B-36

Now, I looked high and low to identify this B-36 unit. Great looking insignia, but my investigation revealed that this particular aircraft was used in a movie, and that the insignia is fictitious. Not a bad looking insignia though. This aircraft, 49-2652, when not leading a glamorous Hollywood life, was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Wing at Fairchild AFB, WA.

Boeing 247, Billings Airport in Montana

PBY Catalina, VP-71 “Black Cats”

Pistol cleaning time in a PBY

My first thought was that the man on the left was the aircraft’s navigator using a drift sight. (One can be mounted at the waist blisters.) But nope, he has a gun.

The legendary “Planemobile”

The post-war brainchild of Daniel Zuck and partner Stanley Whitaker, the Planemobile was what Zuck envisioned as part of a future world with “an airplane in every garage”. This would lead to less congestion on the road and shorter commute times. There was an additional benefit: Given that this was the Cold War era, Zuck foresaw his Planemobile’s mobility as a means to disperse the population thus making it less likely they would be vaporized in a nuclear attack. That, is one of the most unique sales pitches in both aviation and automobile advertising history.

The really great news is that this historic aircraft is now restored and on display at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. I have visited that fine museum a few times and if you have not gone, go.