Warbird Information Exchange

Since a number of other members have shared their air show pics, I thought I would share some of mine. These are from the June 2001 air show at Tullahoma, Tennessee, sponsored by the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in honor of the 50th anniversary of Arnold Air Force Base. I worked at AEDC for a while, but was no longer there at the time of this air show. I just came to see the airplanes and catch up with a couple of friends. For warbird fans, this show was historic for another reason - see the last photo to find out why.

I had this crummy little Olympus point-and-shoot as my only still camera, and had to scan the prints so I could post them, so please excuse the quality.


AT-6G Texan, registry N884TA, nicknamed "Double V," painted in the style of the Tuskeegee Airmen, at the time owned and operated by Steven Cowell out of Denver, Colorado.


More AT-6 Texans. These belong to the North American Aerobatics Team, who were one of the featured performers.


T-34 Mentors. Again, I can't identify them. They may be part of a team, but they were in the "fly-in" area rather than the performers' area, so I don't know.


TBM-5 Avenger, registry N5264V, at the time with the Confederate Air Force out of Midland, Texas. I was told that this Avenger was painted purportedly to be a match for the aircraft piloted by George H. W. Bush in WWII (although there are some discrepancies).


B-25J Mitchell, registry N345TH, nicknamed "Show Me" with the Missouri Wing of the Confederate Air Force out of Portage Des Sioux, Missouri.


Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero replica, registry NX60DJ, heavily modified by 20th Century Fox from a CCF Harvard Mk. 4 for use in the filming of the 1969 film "Tora, Tora, Tora!" She was equipped with working machine guns, which were needed during the air show against ...


P-51D Mustang "Su Su II," registry N50FS, at the time owned and operated by Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman out of Las Cruces, New Mexico. That's Frank Borman in the green flight suit in front talking with a couple of gentlement. Su Su II was also equipped with working machine guns, which she needed in order to engage the Zero replica above in a mock dogfight over the airport! I'm happy to say that the P-51 won, leaving the Zero sputtering and trailing smoke!

And finally,

P-38-5LD Lightning "White Lightnin'," registry N25Y, at the time owned and operated by Lefty Gardner of Texas. She must have been camera shy, as she faced away from the crowd the whole time she was on the ground. The significance of this photo (taken June 23, 2001) at this air show is that this was the last time White Lightning was seen intact. Two days later (June 25, 2001), she crashed in a cotton field near Greenville, Mississippi, on her way home to Texas.

Well, hope you all enjoyed that! I have more I'll be posting later.

Thanks

[quote="Aahz]TBM-5 Avenger, registry N5264V, at the time with the Confederate Air Force out of Midland, Texas. This Avenger was painted to be an exact match for the aircraft piloted by George H. W. Bush in WWII.[/quote]

Don't believe that is true. This is what bush's TBM looked like:

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Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

And Bush's plane didn't have post 1947 Star and Bar!

The first AT-6 is the Tuskegee example, nicknamed "Double Vee", N884TA, now owned by Rod Lewis (Lewis Air Legends).

Thanks for sharing your photos!

Did you talk with Frank Borman when you saw his P-51? I've always wondered why he retired from NASA after Apollo 8 as it's been suggested many times that Deke Slayton might have pegged him to command the first Moon landing at one point... His wife Susan had issues of her own at the time but I've always doubted that had anything to do with it.
He was one of the first three humans to ever see the 'dark' side of the Moon with his own eyes, on Apollo 8.

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I was just going by what I was told at the air show and what was announced to the crowd. I've made some changes to reflect that. Thanks for the info!

I did a little research, and according to what I found the plane pictured, Bush's first Avenger which he nicknamed "Barbara", was lost on 17 June 1944 in a non-combat action in which the Avenger lost oil pressure and he had to ditch at sea. When Bush was shot down over Chichi Jima on 2 Sept 1944, he was flying a second Avenger, the "Barbara II," which if I understand correctly was painted similarly to "Barbara." After his rescue and time on the USS Finback, he was reassigned and flew a third Avenger to complete something like 58 missions. I have no idea what that last Avenger looked like.

And thanks for the info! I've updated the post to reflect the aircraft's details, and also the owner at the time of the airshow (which was before Rod Lewis bought it).

No, I didn't, unfortunately. I had my 4-year-old son with me at the time, and he wanted to go see other things, not understanding the significance of either the plane or the pilot. It was all I could do to get photos of the planes on the flight line with him trying to drag me away!

Frank Bormann attended our Airshow at Stinson circa 1995 and had his wife with him. A truly nice gentleman for sure.

Such a shame.
Didn't someone crash that Mustang a few years after Borman sold it?

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

The former Su Su II is now La Pistolera owned by R Lewis. Su Su was the one involved in the fatal crash in AZ in 2010.

I believe that is correct. According to Warbird Registry, Nazzi Hirani was the owner/pilot of "Su Su" which was the one that crashed:
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p51registry/p51-4484850.html

Interestingly enough, Frank Borman owned both "Su Su" (N15FS) and "Su Su II" (N50FS). Here's the Warbird Registry entry for "Su Su II" (which is incomplete since it doesn't show the present owner):
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p51registry/ca18-a68187.html

Since Frank Borman owned both of them, the potential confusion over which one crashed is understandable.

Didn't even notice the "II" on the one, only that they had different paint jobs.
Does Borman own the one on this thread anymore?

_________________
Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

BigGrey said that she is now owned by R. Lewis and has been renamed as "La Pistolera." An internet search for N50FS returns some photos of a repainted "Su Su II" with "La Pistolera" nose art as well as an indication that it is owned by Lewis Fighter Fleet of San Antonio, Texas.