Warbird Information Exchange

What would be standard practice for the military parts that were removed after conversion? Scrapped onsite or shipped to a Navy depot?

In one of the boxes out in the garage I've got an Air Classics or Warbirds International that has a picture of 3 PB4Y's in front of Lysdale's Fleming Hangar. I want to say all 3 of them were silver or natural metal. Jim- Is there a copy of that picture hanging in the office area of the MN Wing's Hangar?

What would be standard practice for the military parts that were removed after conversion? Scrapped onsite or shipped to a Navy depot?

Since the Privateer is wearing the civilian registration number it was purchased from the military in as-offered condition. Most of the firebomber guys just pulled that stuff off and it stayed behind the hangar out in the weather before it was carted off or eventually scrapped. The Navy had no interest in the armament items like the turrets and many of the Privateers were sold surplus or sent to the scrappers with all systems intact. With exception of the upper turrets the rest of the units were all specific to the Privateer and wouldn't have fit anything in the 1960s USN inventory.

In one of the boxes out in the garage I've got an Air Classics or Warbirds International that has a picture of 3 PB4Y's in front of Lysdale's Fleming Hangar. I want to say all 3 of them were silver or natural metal. Jim- Is there a copy of that picture hanging in the office area of the MN Wing's Hangar?

I recall that there were several Privateers with Lysdale that either had undergone some basics tanker mods or re-fitting. No doubt N6816D was one of them. They could have been the firm that did some of the initial conversion that included removing all the mil stuff and stripping the paint and adding tanks. Bill Dempsey didn't have any turrets at his operations base in Rantoul. I believe they were long removed by the time he got the airplane and was working it and modifying the slurry tanks. When N6816D was operated as Tanker 42 the aircraft was painted white with orange tail markings. The N number saw perpetuation to a Douglas C-54 Skymaster owned by a Dempsey firm operated under another business name.

Anyway, I don't believe the turrets still exist, but if by chance any of you are poking about Fleming or the area and spot something interesting in a barn or junkyard, please let me know. I'd like to put them to good use.

- Robert in PHX