AT6 or Dauntless airframe in barn in Daisetta ,Texas

[carlisle1926]

About ten years ago I went to look at a 1918 White truck that was tucked in a barn in Daisetta, Texas, after I found it in a newspaper ad. The guy said his father had just died and no one had been in the barn after it was boarded up in the 1950's. When I tore the side of the barn out to go in with flashlights, I saw the airframe of either a AT6 Texan , Bt13 , or an SBD Dauntless . The shape of the wing root/center section suggested to me that it was a Dauntless, but it was very dark and at the time I just knew it was WWII and my heart was about to explode over it. It was missing the wings and the engine. The guy gave me the usual I'm going to fixer up and it ain't for sale routine. I went back there probably twenty times trying to buy it . One day I noticed the property was for sale and when I contacted the owner he said he had sold the airframe already. The property was sold shortly after and poof my dream was gone.
My question is, does any one have any clue as to what happened to this airplane?

I ended up buying the rusted down 1918 White truck several years later for $300. There was also a 1940's/50's Century wood utility boat in there. The roof had been leaking for years and all of this stuff was rotted.

Last edited by carlisle1926 on Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Rocketeer]

That would really be worth investigating if that was a real SBD Dauntless.

[carlisle1926]

I'm hoping that the airframe went to a collector that is doing something with it, instead of it going to the local scrap yard. This is one of those " The one that got away " stories that bugs me to no end.

[carlisle1926]

Also, if I remember correctly, this guy said that his family had gotten this airplane from a small landing strip near Hardin or Hull, Texas. With the missing engine and the fact that there were a lot of farms in the area, I tend to believe that this was a BT13 or BT15. Most likely the engine would have been removed to use on a Stearman crop duster. But, still it could have been a Dauntless.

[Jollygreenslugg]

One thing with many barn stories is the inevitable 'upgrade' of whatever type it is.

In Australia, the joke seems to be that "a bomber" is a chunk of Anson, while "a Spitfire" is half an Anson!

I'd laugh if someone was sure that they'd seen a Harvard, only to find later that it was a Mustang!

A bit different in this case, but some stories I've heard have been good...

Cheers,
Matt

[carlisle1926]

I just want to find out what happened to it and if it was in fact a Dauntless , or if it was just my imagination running away due to the adrenalin rush of any WWII plane in a barn. I intend to go back to the property, get the address, and find out the name and where abouts of the guy that I last talked to. I'm sure that if I kept bothering him, he would eventually recall the whereabouts of who bought the plane- unless it really did go to the junkyard.

Last edited by carlisle1926 on Sun Oct 23, 2011 10:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Jollygreenslugg]

Mate, I'm sure the WIX community are right behind you all the way. It'd be terrific to find out whether this one still exists.

Cheers,
Matt

[Chris Brame]

Boy do I know this kind of story - The last time I was in West Paducah, KY I really wish I had talked my uncle into taking me to his friend's barn where he had at least one or maybe two dismantled BT-13s; one is a six-seat Viceroy conversion. My dad's been in the barn and saw the fuselage; the wings were stored up in the rafters. At least as far as I know, it's still there...

[Dan Jones]

If you're bored and want to amuse yourself some Sunday afternoon, take a drive out in the country and look for an old farm, stop, knock on the door, and tell them you're looking for the place with the old, junker airplane in the barn that's for sale. Try it - it can be alot of fun. First time I out I found an Anson!

[carlisle1926]

Wow. I'll try it. There aren't a lot of barns down here on the Gulf coast though. Hurricanes and extreme humidity and corrosive gulf air destroys most things down here. But, I will give it a shot.

If you're bored and want to amuse yourself some Sunday afternoon, take a drive out in the country and look for an old farm, stop, knock on the door, and tell them you're looking for the place with the old, junker airplane in the barn that's for sale. Try it - it can be a lot of fun. First time I out I found an Anson!

[carlisle1926]

Boy do I know this kind of story - The last time I was in West Paducah, KY I really wish I had talked my uncle into taking me to his friend's barn where he had at least one or maybe two dismantled BT-13s; one is a six-seat Viceroy conversion. My dad's been in the barn and saw the fuselage; the wings were stored up in the rafters. At least as far as I know, it's still there...

I don't know what it is about finding any aircraft in barn- warbird or not. I absolutely can hardly breath when I see something like that. I have a friend, who lives on property that his grandparents operated a crop dusting business out of from the early 1940's- 1980's. There are old parts to Stearmans laying in old collapsed hangers(just small parts nothing exciting really) But, I still am in awe over the history behind it all. There is a heavily wooded area behind his house that has radial engine mounts off of BT13 planes that they jerked the engines off of to put on the Stearmans back in the 1950's. Parts are everywhere and have corroded for the most part beyond hope, but it sure is neat to see. There is a 1940's Fairchild cabin class airframe with trees grown through it. The radial engine is long gone and all of the wood and fabric has blown away. But awesome just the same.
The funny thing about all of this is, though I am obsessed with propeller driven aircraft, I am terrified of flying. I'll go through great lengths to help some else find parts and pieces to "keep em flying" --as long as I get to drive there.

[carlisle1926]

I talked to Tom, my friend who was with me ten years ago when we found this airframe in the barn. He has had a series of strokes since then, so his memory is a bit foggy too. He said he most certainly remembers that the airplane had about ten foot or so worth of wing under it still. It was up on its gear and that the outer wings had been unbolted and were in another room in the barn. He also reminded me that the owner of the property said that the plane was left to his brother in his father's will and that the brother lived in California.
Maybe it was hauled to California before he sold it- if it was sold at all.
Tom is going to go through the thousands of pictures he has taken over the years to try to find anything he took that day. Any time Tom and I would do anything he would take pictures of it. It used to drive me nuts. This time I'm hoping he has pictures somewhere.

Last edited by carlisle1926 on Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Rocketeer]

If your friend does have pictures of the aircraft, you can tell by the landing gear if it's a Vultee BT-13/15 versus a T-6 or SBD Dauntless, since the Vultee Valiant had a fixed landing gear, not retractable like the other two.

[Rocketeer]

By the way, I really need to send you those photos I took of the T-33s that I told you about at the Pate swap meet.

[carlisle1926]

I did some digging to try to solve this mystery. I drove back out to Daisetta and found the property where the airframe had been. I was able to get the name of the former property owner that I last spoke to about it, from the next door neighbor. The neighbor( a life long resident) was far from an airplane fan, but he said that the plane had been sold at an estate sale/auction several years ago and he watched the guys pull it out and haul it off. He said that it had once been at a small landing strip near the town and the engine had been removed at the strip to put on a crop duster and then the airplane ended up in his neighbors back yard and then was later sealed up in the barn that I had discovered it it in.
Seeing as how the engine was removed to put on a crop duster, that almost confirms the thought that it was a BT-13 or 15 and not a T6 or Dauntless as I had once dreamed.
I tried finding the previous owners current address, but I can't find squat. I believe his name was Bill LaVrier or Labear. The problem was the neighbor could not remember how to spell it.

SO, a new question arises. Who bought the plane? Do any of you have any idea? I really need to find out what happened to it before I lose my marbles.