Digging into the archives

[51fixer]

When I stopped by to pick up the F6F I was told the PBY came from a crash in the Great Lakes IIRC. The Lodestar had things cut for transport and it was bolted back together with angle iron. It is visible on top of the horizontal in your pics.
F6F tail ended up on Bob Ponds Hellcat and the center section is in Friedkins I believe. If not Friedkin then something out of Yanks.
Rich

[Jerry O'Neill]

I think three or four Buchons were painted up as Hurricanes toward the end of filming.

Shock horror some were painted up as Mustangs shortly after. Patton perhaps?

PeterA

Not only as P-51's in "Patton", but they went further and also added the radiator and doghouse to the underside so they looked more like P-51's.
Jerry

[PeterA]

Battle of Britain Film Buchons in dual side to side British/German livery.

Steve,

I do not know if Earl Reinert was on the sets of the BoB film in 1968 or just relating hearsay about dual marked Buchons.

I spent a good deal of time that and the previous year monitoring and recording events, but focusing on the Spitfires.

The fully marked RAF Buchons, appeared 'on the scene' at the latter end of filming and made a public appearance at a static public show at RAF Bovingdon at the end of filming.

All aircraft during the filming were subject to livery changes, sometimes on a daily basis. Code letters on the Spitfires for instance were decal appliques and I have shots of one particular Mk IX flying Spitfire with no less than nineteen different variations.

The full size replica aircraft varied in quality. The Spitfires were so-so but the Hurricanes defied recognition until right up and touching them, they were so good.

With the detail accuracy sought by the directors there is no way that a Hurricane could be used as back drop in the ground Hurricane scenes in France and these shots were more than catered for using the three flying Hurricanes, one static and a number of the quality replicas.

It has always been the considered opinion of the UK BoB film 'buffs', including the late Robert Rudhall author of two books on the film, that the Buchons in RAF markings were used purely to be at the rear of the airborne Hurricane formation head on shots to make up the Hurricane numbers...and an eagle eye can just spot this at high resolution.

The risks of just painting half a Buchon for an air to air sequence do not seem credible to me.

I happily stand to be corrected.

PeterA

Replica Hurricanes at the 'Battle of France' Duxford set: Image Ray Wood.

[Michel Lemieux]

For the curious...The Patton Messerstang link is here:

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=609&highlight=messerstang

[mustangdriver]

Why would they do that, when there are more Mustangs flying than anything else.

[Michel Lemieux]

Because when Patton was filmed in GB, the number for flying P-51's was almost nill

MIchel

[garbs]

On to the old EAA museum at Hales Corners. This was back in 1975, I believe. My apologies for the poor focus - first time out with dad's camera, I guess

This is obviuosly not the F3F that Gene Chase bailed out of at OSH in 1971. Is it the one at Pensacola or Lone Star? Or are those the new builds from Texas Airplane factory?



More angles of the Bardahl P-51 racer. According to Curtis Fowles' site, this one took 2nd at Reno 1969, and was also the one that E.D. Weiner died in.

http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/su ... 4506.shtml

I have heard that he had a heart attack in flight, landed safely and then expired in the cockpit - is that true?





This Curtiss O-52 Owl is apparently the one now at Yanks (40-2769)



The 'meatball' in that photo belongs to this Zero - no idea where it is today (but I'm sure many in the membership do):

[IMG]



And finally for this post, the famous Stuka (1941 Ju-87 R-2 Trop) that now hangs from the ceiling at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. A friend told me that it had fallen on a concession stand after hours, and was temporarily on loan to EAA for rebuild.







All for now. I have one more set with the P-39 and some of the out door stuff, and will then do a few of Harlingen 1975.

[bdk]

Your Zero is actually an Oscar. Great photos! Wish I had taken some when I was there.

[garbs]

bdk said

Your Zero is actually an Oscar.

Yeah - right after I clicked 'send' I wished I had put the word zero in quotes. I wasn't smart enough back then to record the info on any signage.

'Obviuosly' I should check my spelling a bit better as well.

Here's the Me-108 (or is it a Nord?)



and a few of the P-39





And the 'late model' stuff outside:







I imagine these are some of the ones that now surround the EAA Museum at OSH (or are parked on the western edge of "Fightertown" in the Warbird area).

signing off now to upload more to Photobucket

[John Dupre]

When you were at Reinert's did you see anything of the Brewster Buffalo that he was reported to have. I believe it was destroyed in a fire. The Grumman "Special" was Al Williams third of fourth Gulfhawk and is supposed to be an F3F fuselage with F2F wings. It used to be at the Smithsonian downtown but might be at Dulles now.

[bdk]

When you were at Reinert's did you see anything of the Brewster Buffalo that he was reported to have. I believe it was destroyed in a fire.

The Buffalo was never at Paul Polidori's farm (site of the Victory Air Museum) and I've never even heard anyone say that they ever saw it. I suspect it may have just been a few pieces if it ever even existed.

[Steve Nelson]

That Oscar is owned by the Smithsonian, and I heard just arrived at Pima for display. I photographed the heck out of it at the EAA Museum in '99.

The Bf-108 looks like the one formerly owned by Cliff Robertson. It spent many years on display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. Last I heard, it was in Missouri.

SN

[Chris Brame]

Garbs, I can't thank you enough for posting these photos! It brings back so many memories. Here's a shot of Earl I took in 1981:



and a VAM flyer from some years before:







Did you ever get a shot of the F7U Cutlass cockpit?

Last edited by Chris Brame on Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

[garbs]

Chris:

I actually never met the man - that's some wing behind him though! TBM?

I don't remember a shed like that, but when I was there in winter we felt lucky to be let in at all. Some helper started a fire in the wood stove in the office so we could warm our hands.

The flyer is pretty cool as well - done on a shoestring budget, probably on a hand-crank mimeograph. It must predate 1975, since those Buchons were in a lot better shape than the one I saw. Never did see a Cutlass.

Glad I could jog some memory banks!

[mtpopejoy]

OH MAN!!!! That Stuka is AWESOME! I wish there were more examples surviving today...flying too