More added...Some Vintage USAF Museum pics 1960's?

Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:01 pm

There are quite a few photos from the USAF Museum in my inherited collection. My friend John Van Dyke was the photographer. The quality is not very good... a combination of a cheap camera, cheap processing and time.

I don't know if these photos are all from the same visit...something tells me they may not be.

I'm also not sure of when they were taken...The opening frame says 1967 but the XB-70 is pictureda and it did not arrive until later...

Here's a few to start.

Last edited by Ztex on Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:09 pm

A few more...

First off What the heck is this?

Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:15 pm

What is it?

Its a German contraption, kind of a gyrocopter glider kite. It was carried on UBoats and was launched and towed by the sub with a REALLY BRAVE SAILOR flying it and his job was to look for ships for the UBoat to attack. I've never seen pics of it in action, but it must have been interesting.

Mark H

Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:19 pm

it's called a kolibri german for butterfly i believe

Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:42 pm

tom d. friedman wrote:it's called a kolibri german for butterfly i believe

kolibri = hummingbird.

Saludos,

Tulio

Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:39 pm

Great pics! Shows you how far they've come putting some of those birds back into military stock configuration. The Fw-190 pics appear to have been taken in the "new" museum building, which I believe opened in '71.

SN

Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:14 pm

i new it had wings!! :wink:

Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:59 am

[quote="Ztex"]A few more...

First off What the heck is this?

[quote]

Its a Focke Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze.

Dave

Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:53 am

So were all of these taken after the 1971 "new" building opening or were some taken earlier?

Thanks for the info on the roto kite thingy...do you think they took volunteers for that duty? Yikes

Here's the rest of the pics.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:55 pm

Was that P-51 repainted as something else? I don't recall ever seeing that one before.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:51 pm

b-18 bolo & p-39 in post ww 2 usaf insignia!! man their accuracy standards were a far cry back then from what they are now thank god!!

Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:25 pm

Great pics!

I had no idea the first Ryan Verti Jet still existed. The second one is here at the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:33 pm

Django wrote:Was that P-51 repainted as something else? I don't recall ever seeing that one before.

Yes, I believe it is painted up as "Shimmy IV" nowadays.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:47 pm

About half of those appear to be the old outdoor display area outside the "old" museum at Patterson Feild. The rest look like the taxiway outside the current facility.

Tom: The B-18A has since been restored to its original configuration, complete with the funky glass nose. The Bell bird in the pic is actually P-63..currently painted as a "Pinball" target plane. I shot these pics a couple of months ago...

Django: The markings on the P-51 were completely bogus. She's since been repainted in accurate "Checkertail Clan" markings.

Love the "Old School" pics..keep 'em coming!

SN

Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:28 am

Love these "old" pix.

I have been a "Friends" member for over 2 decades and have lost count of the number of visits I have made, and have not been happy with everything the NMUSAF has done (hate the black hangars)...
But, this is still THE Warbird museum & collection in the world.
Is there another really large aviation museum, warbird or otherwise, where you can see such a high percentage of their collection on display in one place?
An amazing Aviation Mecca.