Warbird Information Exchange

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Life's a Pitts

Awesome news, I may be able to see this one recovered

Great to see more birds emerging from the Navy's long term storage facility! Ones with history as well. THAT is way cool!

Great news!

How did a combat veteran Dauntless, Wildcat and Corsair end up at Glenview?

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Sure, Charles Lindbergh flew the plane... but Tom Rutledge built the engine!

Visit Django Studios online or Facebook!

If I understand what I have read correctly, the Dauntless was being pulled from combat because it was replaced by newer, better aircraft whose wings folded (taking up less hangar deck space), were faster, carried a heavier load. Wildcat, being replaced by Hellcat, Corsair....tricky to land on a carrier, have to train them somewhere. The Great Lakes were a "safe" place to practice.

The Airzoo's Dauntless, recovered from Lake Michigan, is also a combat veteran...used in Operation Torch.

John

alot of the lake michigan warbirds were combat veterans & were pulled for training as their air frames became war weary.

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Wow, great news!

From the article:

"The more than $300,000 retrieval cost is being paid for by Fred L. Turner, former chairman and CEO of the hamburger chain McDonald's Corp., as well as by the corporation itself, DeHoff said."

Who would have thought that McDonald's would ever be a major sponsor in supporting a warbird restoration or cause. Does anybody know if Turner was a combat veteran of W.W.II - specifically an SBD driver or what his connection to history is?

I'm surprised that the CEO of "Enterprise Rent-a-Car" hasn't jumped in on this restoration/recovery bandwagon yet. After all, he was the one who sponsored the History series, "Battle 360" about the life of the USS Enterprise and was a pilot on board that aircraft carrier.

Since McDonald's is now a major sponsor for the Dauntless, I would love to see that creepy-looking King from Burger King get in on the act. Can you imagine a Burger King commercial, where that creepy King is scuba-diving out in Lake Michigan and they show him recovering a Wildcat. That would be weird!

That just goes to show that even in this poor economy that there is still money to be had by aviation museum's even from the the seemingly unlikeliest of places.

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Bill Gorin
Vintage Flying Museum
http://www.vintageflyingmuseum.org
https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=57513906106

The Enterprise rental car guy gave the museum foundation millions a few years back

Fantastic, I wasn't aware of that.

From the Honolulu Advertiser article:



Baugher has this SBD-2 listed as lost off the Hornet along with its two crewmen on April 21, 1942 - just three days after the Doolittle raid - can someone verify?

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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)

Chris,

I have this SBD-2 listed twice from the USN A/C Losses microfilm.

21 Apr 42 VS-8 off Hornet, crashed at sea out of gas, crew killed.

25 Jun 42 VB-8 off Hornet, lost in East Central Pacific, no other info on how it was lost or status of crew.

Not sure if that helps or muddies the waters even more.

Mac

ANy Helldivers ever wind up in the lake?

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

"Furthermore, of the surviving aircraft of this model type, records indicate
that a total of five SBD-2 aircraft were lost in the geographical confines of Lake Michigan.
These were BuNos 2106, 2111, 2117, 2183, and a fifth Dauntless identified as 2173, which may
be a misidentification as BuAer records indicate that 2173 was lost in the Pacific during service
with Hornet=s Bombing EIGHT."


http://www.midwaysaircraft.org/DAUNTLESSreport2106.pdf

I suppose the correct story may only come out during the raising on the aircraft

I wonder if it is prehaps 2137 ?

BTW Looks like Lt John Lendo MIA 14th Dec 1944

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLDec44.htm

12/14/1944 F6F-5 70995 VF-45 USS SAN JACINTO (CVL-30) MANILA PHIL LT JOHN LENDO M



BTW Lt John Henry Lendo #121308 (if it was the same guy) was from Otter River, near Fitchburg, Massachusetts and in his youth pitched for Templeton High and later Dartmouth College (Gradulated 1941). He trained at Squantum Naval Air Station Quincy, Massachusetts and a photo of him can be found in the book Horio You Next Die! by Joseph G. Nason
Pacific Rim Press, 1987, ISBN 0930926110