Warbird Information Exchange

PART 2 OF 6


CESSNA




Surplus Cessna T-50 looking spiffy as NC86480.




The local Cessna dealer's wares enticingly on display. Love that classic fuel truck, too.




Cessna 195, registration not fully legible, shares the ramp with a civil-marked surplus T-6.


CONSOLIDATED




Dick's pictures show several PBYs scattered around Keesler, most of them not looking too good. This one decided to become a taildragger in imitation of a similarly neglected C-46.




The stencilling identifies this as the flank of a TB-32. Dick must have shot other photos of the Dominator, but unfortunately I don't have them. They may yet be found.




I figure this shot was not taken at Keesler, which doesn't get that much snow and is not a hotbed for "ICE RESEARCH". Probably Dick took it during some field trip to Ohio or elsewhere in the midwest. What is not in doubt is the identity of the B-24. This is the famous B-24M 44-51228, which was used for ice research and aerodynamic testing until the 1950s, becoming the last active B-24 in the US inventory and the only one to be retired straight from active duty to museum display. It was on display at Lackland AFB for many years until being dealt to the American Air Museum at Duxford in the UK, where it is displayed today. See:

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b24regis ... 51228.html




From the same piece of film as the B-24, a Northwest Air Lines Convair. Note Northwest DC-3 to left, B-17 in far background.


CURTISS




Apparently off in the woods around the edge of the base at Keesler was where they parked a few worn-out derelicts until they could get around to scrapping them. After all, nobody would ever have any use for one of these again, would they?


DOUGLAS




One of several A-26s, some apparently still active, that Dick photographed around Keesler. And a couple more:








An A-26 was also used on the practice fire dump at the field.




This DC-3/C-47 has "23657" written on the tail, but 42-3657 was not a C-47 serial. Not clear whether at Keesler or a civil airport.

Beautiful pictures..... But allow me one little tiny comment.

Pic #7 looks more like a Martin 202 or 404 to me.

Tillerman.

_________________
Jets are nice. Props are nicer.

Thanks for the excellent correction!

Also, the more I look at the pic of the "A-26" on the fire dump, the more I get the feeling that it may actually be an A-20.

August

To me, the 'A-26' on the fire dump looks like a Martin B-26.

Regards,

Art S.

The top of the vertical stabilizer is flat and the rudder appears to be less in chord than the stabilizer - indicating A-26. The nose section in front of canopy appears wide like a 26.

What confuses me is that the top half of the rudder trailing edge appears curved - like an A-20 but still too narrow a chord to be A-20? The rudder on an A-20 was more than half the chord in comparison with 'fixed' portion of vertical stabilizer.

Am I confusing everyone? Looks like a square wing tip also but hard to see in that view.

Got to go with A/B-26 and hope the rudder is merely 'bent away making it look like a curved trailing edge at the top. If it is not bent it has to be an A-20 but would be suprised

I would go with A-26 as well. The wing is too long and too square to be an A-20, and also doesn't have any anhedral to be a B-26. As for the rudder, because the airplane is so burned up in the tail section, I would venture to guess that the heat has caused it to warp.

Is there a way to get a high res copy of the P-40 shot?
Ltdann61@yahoo.com

Rich Dann

Looks like an A-26 to me. Too many lines indicate the A-26 over the A-20 or Martin -26

_________________
Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

I think you guys are right, it's an A-26. That was my initial feeling, although the shape of the nose and the fact that the engines were removed right at the wing leading edge, rather than a few feet forward of the wing as I would have expected for an A-26, had me doubting it.

August