Warbird Information Exchange

Hey Scott,

Sorry for the long delay in posting photos of our B-29 nose section. She is real rough but is certainly better than nothing.

If anyone happens to have any photos of this B-29 intact or in service please let me know.

Here is a brief on her history:

According to her history card, this B-29 was built at the Martin Omaha plant in Nebraska and was accepted by the Army Air Force on March 30, 1945. She was sent to the Third Air Force and was assigned to the 326th AAF Base Unit at Macdill Air Force Base in Florida. On November 27th, 1945 she was transferred to the 4105 th Base Unit of the Air Technical Service Command at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona for Storage. She was stricken off the record on June 23, 1951.

Supposedly this B-29 was used by the Army Air Forces Motion Picture Unit for training films on the B-29. She then was used by the movie studios for war films that needed a B-29. She was a star in the movie Above and Beyond, Wild Blue Yonder and made her last film debut as the Enola Gay with Patrick Duffy in 1988. She languished in the back lot of Universal Studios and was going to be scrapped if it weren't for a kind hearted studio worker who told the Museum of Flight about her fate.

The Museum was given permission to remove the nose section in the form of "get it out of here or we will cut it up for scrap".

The Museum of flight decided that it was excess to their needs and struck a trade deal with the famous aviation author and historian, Nick Veronico. Vintage Aircraft entered into the trade with Mr. Veronico and acquired the B-29 nose. 

Here is a link to her web page:

http://www.twinbeech.com/b-29nose.htm













If anyone has any B-29 parts please keep us in mind as we sure could use anything. We have the nose and tail turret compartments and we simply need to find the parts in between! That's all!

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To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Very cool Taigh! Thanks for posting those. What a neat project!!! You made my day!!!

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Very, very cool!

You have a complete section 0-218! Very impressive!!!


Four sections left.., some wings, vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizers and some engines.., and you are ready to head off into the sunset!!

HAH!!!!


Thanks for sharing!

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S.

Neat!

Were those sections cut out for camera work?

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

Visit Django Studios online or Facebook!

You mentioned a B-29 tail section. Was that the one that was on Ebay a few months back?

Thanks for sharing the pics.

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

I'll bet Taigh was "woolin" them on aquiring those turrets they got layin around!

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tracers work both ways

...that would make a pretty cool boat.

Yes, the missing parts were removed for camera access. The whole rear pressure bulkhead is removable as is the left side of the fuselage. Cool for making movies but not so great for having an intact pressure compartment.

There is a great movie still from Above and Beyond, as I recall, that shows Robert Taylor sitting in the pilots seat in the B-29. Just behind him you can see some of the cuts that were made in this very nose section. A long time ago when the full B-29 was sectioned up it was used as a full fuselage for training films and movies. Sadly the forward pressure compartment is all that remains.

We haven't done any restoration to the nose section as we are collecting parts and waiting for a movie rental of some sort to show up to help provide funding. I wish I could expend company resources to work on it but since restoring it now would only create a negative cash flow, she will have to wait in the wings (pun intended) until the timing is right.

The tail section we have is not the one that was on eBay recently. The eBay one belongs to a friend and and is stored in a hangar here at Stockton.

Sgt Hawk,

I am not sure what you mean "Woolin" them about the turrets. If you are referring to the turrets in the photos above they are ours and are on display in our small museum.

We are always looking for other turrets, aircraft armament, bombsights radios, radar etc. We like to make it all operational too.

I will gladly engage in any 'Woolin' to find more turrets or gear for our museum collection!

_________________
To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Didn't know those were yours. We all know that your the turrett oficianado. Just figured if they weren't yours you would be negotiating to aquire. Those have to be hard to reproduce and the parts extremely difficult to locate. I'm originaly from Sparta Ill (small town USA) and when you mentioned on a previous thread that you had one stored there, I was floored!

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tracers work both ways

From the glass HALF FULL outlook ('cause I drank the first half... )

BLESS their hearts for saving what they did!

If y'all need what I have been told is a B29 bomb-hoist maybe we can work something out if'n you have any B17 parts.

Such a deal we will make for you because I am NEW in town!

SPANNER the thrifty

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

HEY! I thought you "gave" me that hoist. Oh, yeah--I don't have any need for it anymore..........

Just kidding, Don. Hope you make a good trade for that hoist.

Scott

You couldn't fit it in the Mooney and when you didn't come back for it...
Regards to Miss Ellie SVP

SPANNER

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Understood. Elly says "hi".

Yeah I could use a B-29 bomb hoist. I have a B-29 bomb rack here and it would fit on the back of it. Does it have the mounting on it too? Can I get a picture of it?

I have lots to trade,
Taigh

taigh@twinbeech.com

_________________
To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Additionally, the B-29 Squadron has (or had) a bomb hoist they aren't using either. You might want to holler at Dave Miller if any of you are interested in it.

Gary