F7F's, Canberra's, Skywarriors, misc types ...

[seabee1526]

5th pic down, number 22...looking like one of my models.

[K5DH]

Anyone else think the empennage group on the XBTK-1 looks rather "Bearcat-esque"?

Great stuff as usual, Mark!

I'll enjoy all of the B-57 pics you'd care to post...

[Dan K]

XTBU's / TBY-2's ...

Many thanks, Mark!


I'd already seen all the pics you posted, but then realized that I'd only seen a small format version of the first pic. Something caught my eye.

In the smaller format, I'd never noticed the gentleman in the pic before. Zooming in, I think I spotted the shoulder boards of a Lt. Commander.

Hmm? Why would someone take a pic of a lanky, Lt. Commander poking around an unknown bird like a Sea Wolf? And then it hit me...

I think it might be George Gay (of Midway fame). After Gay came back after his second tour with VT-11, he was promoted to Lt. Commander and made CO of VT-154/155. VT-155 was working up to be the first unit to take the TBY into combat, but the atom bombs brought all that to an end.





It's a long shot, nor can I think of any way to test the hypothesis!

[Mark Allen M]

Super interesting Lt Dan ... even more so as I met George Gay at Oshkosh one year. Very nice fellow. The type person you really miss when their gone.

Here's the 'crappy' photos of the bunch, did my best to clean them up. Great looking design.










TBY-2's pictured sitting on the flight line at Naval Air Facility NAF Litchfield Park 1945

[Pogo]

Mark, I just realized that 345th BG B-57 pic is actually a MODEL!

You mean this one?

[Mark Allen M]

Yep! that's the one, very nice job.