general patton's planes

[tom d. friedman]

i'm currently reading " THE PATTON PAPERS 1940-1945" by martin blumenson, copyright 1974. while it's common knowledge that patton owned & flew a stinson for the pre ww 2 u.s. military manuevers to observe his troops in action, in the book there is numerous mention of him as having his own personal b-25 mitchell while in north africa. are there any pics out there of this b-25 or his stinson?? i've heard his stinson is still around & is a flyer. any truth to that??

[RyanShort1]

I don't know about it still being around, but in the film we'll be showing at Cannon on May 10th, there's some footage of him around and stepping into his plane! The film isn't out yet. They're trying to get it on the History Channel, but don't know if they will take it. I've been able to preview a copy and am working to try and get the producer to get me some copies. If I get permission to sell them, I'll be promoting them quite a bit.

Here's a sneak preview:



It's a good film.

Ryan

[Forgotten Field]

If you do a google search for Patton and Stinson 10, you will find an article about him floating around the internet. He purchased a Stinson 10 in 1940 to fly around the maneuvers. He was considered a valuable asset (political and military) so was ordered to take a pilot with him. The pilot was named Paul Tibbets. This was during the time that the Army was trying to get L-birds into its forces. It was a big bunch of political BS as the AAC did not think liaison or observation aircraft were necessary.

The video capture shows a 14th Liaison Squadron L-5. 6C is their squadron code. Sometimes he flew with a Sergeant Pilot in an L-5, but usually he flew in the squadron C-78 with the commander of the 14th. That photo is post August 11th somewhere in France.

[RyanShort1]

Do you happen to know if there are any pictures of that C-78?

Very interested if you can find one.

Ryan

[tom d. friedman]

did his stinson have civie markings?? or military?? i always thought it was a private purchase.

[Django]

Paul Tibbets flew Patton around? Wow!

[Second Air Force]

In General Patton's book "War As I Knew It" he speaks of the usefulness of liason-type airplanes. He mentioned that he always tried to go to the front lines in an open vehicle so that the troops saw he was willing to be up front with them where the lead was flying. He often used his airplane to go back to the rear because he felt it was very injurious to morale for his men to see a leader "retreating" from from the combat zone.

Scott

[Forgotten Field]

I haven't found any photos of Patton and the C-78. But it was a squadron-assigned aircraft, so it would have 6C squadron codes.

[tom d. friedman]

the b-25 would be the holy grail..... any pics of that???

[bipe215]

Was the Patton's Stinson 10 a civilian ship? I was surprised to find that there were a few military Model 10's built called 'YO-54''s. They were not successful. I flew a Model 10 years ago and it was the worst climbing airplane I have ever flown.

Steve G

[Vital Spark]

Paul Tibbets flew Patton around? Wow!

Probably good training for later, less volatile cargo!

[Forgotten Field]

Patton bought his own Stinson 10. The US Army did buy YO-54's but it was unrelated to his own purchase- they were purchasing and trying everything.

[tom d. friedman]

has anyone ever seen the classic pic of patton with his classic war face scowl while in an army airforce b-3 leather / fleece lined jacket?? that jacket was given to him by general jimmy doolittle. a classic picture that really describes the patton battle personality.