Hi,
I unfortunately never found the time to go down and see the collection in Florence before the plug was pulled (and still kick myself about it). I first saw the remains of the A-26K when it was sitting on it's belly minus nose, engines, doors, landing gear, cockpit contents and top as pictured on the coastal web site. The story as I understand it was that the USAFM decided to part it out for some other restoration/s and scrap the rest (maybe to make their Vietnam A26K more unique ? sorry Mustang, but I HAVE to throw that rock). I also heard at the time that other museums were begging to get this plane but got turned down because a general somewhere wanted parts for his pet project (maybe Travis ?, If so why not take the whole plane and get a "real" deal A-26K combat vet?). At some point the wings were cut off outboard of the nacelles as well as the tail. I can't remember if the tail was taken by the USAFM or was sold with the rest of the plane as scrap. I crawled all over and through what was left ( it still had the belly and tip tanks!) checking it out, it was still "juicy" with layered on paint (thus protecting the skin). Even taking into consideration my inexperience at the time and my CRS memory since then, I think the plane could have been safely FLOWN out given a couple months work (engines & props the big ?). Of course given the relative ease in which a invader comes apart for trucking that would not have been done but point made. There was some superfical corrosion to be sure but nothing on the scale of the "Rude Invader" I helped move to our museum from Tom's in Florida recently (sorry but it will never fly again unless Bill Gates pays for it !!). The scrap guy sold a few parts to Hawkins & Powers and the rest to someone in FL or maybe AL. I still get mad when I think about it getting destroyed!
The RB-66 was also scrapped, with the USAFM crews cutting off the cockpit and taking the engines, doors and landing gear (destination unknown). The hulk was then cut up by the same scrap guy who did the A-26K (no actual further cutting), C-97, NC-121K remains (I saved the front 50') and other miscellaneous stuff. I found out much later the guys at the Museum of Aviation in WR tried to get belly parts to fix their B-66 but were told no (and the parts they needed were destroyed NOT saved by the AF crew that cut off the forward part of the cockpit. Mustang, it's stuff like this that "leaves a mark" about the "management team" at the USAFM-NMUSAF. I have visited Dayton and love the place, the planes, and the people I met, I just hate the politics and personal agendas that sometimes override what is best for the artifacts and their history. I'll step off the soapbox now and add that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes (I should have tried to get ALL of the NC-121 hulk for example!
).
PS Glad that the CAF guys made it out of the S-2 at Cherry Point. At the end of the day, flesh is more important that sheet metal!
Brian
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
