Warbird Information Exchange

This showed up on the Fire Aviation website today. I only have a few not very good pictures of the tank installation on one of these airplanes. H&P tank installations should be the same as HV. This picture by Sledge 39 is from the Fire Aviation posting. I’d like to help with this search and will do some research, but if anyone has good pictures for this project the email address is at the top of the post below. In case it shows up coded, the address is:

<fairchildboxcar@gmail.com>

https://fireaviation.com/2023/12/09/his ... tanker-87/

IMG_6219 by tanker622001, on Flickr

Here are pictures from a link to the museum on moving the Boxcar

IMG_6237 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6238 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6239 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6240 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6241 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6242 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6243 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6244 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6245 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6246 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6247 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6248 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6249 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6250 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_6251 by tanker622001, on Flickr

That is a nice series of photos!

Lovely photos! Do they have a full history of this aircraft?

quemerford, this is the best that I can do on the history of Tanker 87 at the moment. Maybe, some old Hemet Valley people can fill in the blanks

From the Museum website

IMG_6272 by tanker622001, on Flickr

A link to the museum website

https://amcmuseum.org/news/c-119b-flyin ... ss-report/

And from Geoff Goodall’s excellent history of Air Tankers


IMG_6273 by tanker622001, on Flickr

A link to the H section of Geoff Goodall’s Air Tanker history

https://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-dir ... kers4.html

This page from the history isn’t much help. From Aero Union the airplane in question is 48-352

IMG_6277 by tanker622001, on Flickr

A link to this page

https://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-dir ... ersa1.html

It's probably a bit of a long shot, but off the top of my head, the two people that might be worth contacting are Christoper Adam of the TBM Avengers Archive and Ruud Leeuw. The latter has visited Greybull a number of times and may have had contacts with a number of old airtanker guys through his website.

I believe N13746 was part of that whole airtanker scandal, so maybe there are some documents that were created as part of that that might have some details. Or, actually, has Mr. Krepil requested a copy of the aircraft records for the airframe? The form 337s might show any modifications that were performed.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Larry,

I've seen a lot missing from the museum's history of the aircraft, and some incorrect dates. This is how I interpret the aircraft's record cards:

Fairchild C-119B s/n 48-352 for ConAC Project CNC-9PC-98
Available 25Oct49
Accepted 25Oct49
Delivered 29Mar50

To 314th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), Smyrna AFB 30Mar50 (Sewart AFB from 24Apr50)
(Maxton AFB TDY 24Apr-09May50)
To 316th Troop Carrier Group (Medium), Sewart AFB 13Jul50
To 314th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), Sewart AFB 22Aug50
Deployed to 314th Troop Carrier Group (Medium), Komaki AB 10Sep50
Arrived Komaki AB 14Sep50
To 314th Troop Carrier Group (Medium), Ashiya AB 18Sep50
To 13th Air Repair Sqn FEAMCOM 26Jul51 (depot modification)
To 314th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), Ashiya AB 01Aug51
Sent to Betchel, McCone & Parsons, Birmingham Alabama 20Nov52
Enroute stop at Sacramento Air Materiel Area, McClellan AFB 09Dec52 (transient maint)
Arrived Betchel, McCone & Parsons, Birmingham Alabama 24Feb52 (contract maintenance)
Unscheduled stop 803rd Air Base Group, Davis Monthan AFB 10Jan53 (transient maint)
Back to Betchel, McCone & Parsons, Birmingham Alabama 17Feb53
To 314th Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), Ashiya AB 24Oct53
To 483rd Troop Carrier Wing (Medium), Ashiya AB 01Nov53
Sent to 2233rd ARFC (AFRES) Mitchel AFB 27Oct54
Enroute stop at Sacramento Air Materiel Area 05Nov54 (transient maint)
Arrived at 2233rd ARFC (AFRES) Mitchel AFB 14Nov54
To 2253rd ARFC (AFRES) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 17Apr55
To Betchel, McCone & Parsons, Birmingham Alabama 15Dec55 (contract IRAN)
Converted to C-119C 23Feb56
To 2253rd ARFC (AFRES) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 05Mar56
To 2259th ARFC Detachment (AFRES) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 01Dec57
To Aircraft Engineering & Maintenance Co, Oakland 24Jun58 (contract work)
To 2259th ARFC Detachment (AFRES) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 15Sep58
Unscheduled stop 3415th TTW Lowry AFB 28Oct58 (transient work)
To 2259th ARFC Detachment (AFRES) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 23Nov58
To 758th Troop Carrier Sqn (Medium) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 19Dec58
Unscheduled stop 839th Air Base Group, Sewart AFB 23Jun59 (transient work)
To 758th Troop Carrier Sqn (Medium) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 15Jul59
To Fairchild Aircraft, Saint Augustine 01Dec60 (contract work)
To 758th Troop Carrier Sqn (Medium) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 02Feb61
To Fairchild Aircraft, Saint Augustine 17Sep62 (contract work)
To 911th Troop Carrier Group (Medium) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 17Jan63 (combat support unit aircraft)
To 459th Troop Carrier Wing, Greater Pittsburgh IAP 10Mar63 (combat support unit aircraft)
To 911th Troop Carrier Group (Medium) Greater Pittsburgh IAP 31May63 (combat support unit aircraft)
To MASDC Davis Monthan 03Dec66 (excess to Command)
Declared excess 04Dec66

Here's some footage from the 1982 movie The Junkman featuring 48-352 as Tanker 87 (26:30 to 26:54):

https://youtu.be/rU4_V9P0wno&t=1590

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

There are a few interior shots in this thread from a couple of years ago...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=72255

_________________
Neal Nurmi

---Wingman Photo---