Warbird Information Exchange

These shots were taken by my grandfather when he was 25. It looked like a beautiful September day (not unlike another September day of recent times). It's hard to imagine but when my grandparents were at LGA this day, it was the 'dark' days of WW2 when no one really knew exactly what the outcome would be. It was not yet a year since PH and the invasion of Europe was almost two years away. I wonder what was going through their minds at the time?

I had asked my grandmother when she was alive if she recalled what might have been going on at the airport this day? She didn't recall. But I figured out that the 6th was a Sunday in '42 and she said that explained it. "Sunday was family day. Back then there were no stores open except for gas stations and the bakery in the morning. After church we took a ride like everyone else and listened to the radio shows in the car before dinner. LaGuardia was one of the places your grandfather liked to go like a lot of people." How times have changed. People actually went to the airport to watch planes! If you look at old aerial photos of LGA, there was an observation "board walk" of sorts that was on top of the passenger embarking gateways.

My grandmother is facing the camera. Behind the DC-3 and the B-24's is the Hellgate and Triboro bridges.

ZOOM IN


AA DC-3 (Note what looks like a Goose or Widgeon departing in the background)


I would feel confident saying that these P-47's were from the 56th FG, and probably a detachment from Mitchel Field. (Anybody please feel free to provide input if you can.)





Enjoy,

Peter

These are awesome pictures.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Neat photo's!

Thanks for sharing'em!

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David
1953 M38A1 jeep owner
& Student Pilot soloed 09/09/06
USAF 1984-1986

For those who like DC-3's, I zoomed in and got the tail#.

Here's what I could find out about her - NC17340 s/n 2140

From DC3history.org:

June 1, 1939, marked a milestone in Douglas commercial production with the delivery of the 200th DC-3 (NC17340, American Airlines "Flagship Oklahoma City").

131D 2140 B. May 23, 1939, As American Airlines NC17340 f/s "City of Oklahoma City." To Ozark Dec. 1953. not registered (12/95)

Here she is in the 70's....I wonder what became of her?
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Douglas-DC-3A/0732091/M/

I'd love to know more about the P-47's but I can't make out much detail. I imagine they may have been dispersed to LGA to defend NYC?

Pete

Pete-

The last record I have for Flagship Oklahoma City is that it was withdrawn from use and de-registered. The Canadian registration is its last known registration. It's either sitting derelict somewhere, or it's been scrapped.

kevin

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FOUND the elusive DT-built B-24! Woo-hoo!!!

On the zoomed in image of the B-24s it almost looks like the port vertical stabilizer has fin flash on it and a roundel on the port fuselage or am I just seing things.

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Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards... for there you have been and there you will long to return. Leonardo daVinci

You know you're right. The one on the right clearly has a star, but the one on the left sure does look like it.

Pete

The farthest B-24 also appears to have a shallower fuselage like Ol'927, where as the closest B-24 appears to have a deeper fuselage with a tail turret.

I know this thread is a little old, but I have a picture that seems to have been taken from inside that DC-3 while in flight. My grandfather took it with a 35mm camera probably just after the war. He lived in Los Angeles and was probably on a business trip for the engineering company he worked for. Anyway, the picture's not really sharply focused, but you can clearly see "NC17340" on the wing.


This picture was in the same box of slides; not sure if it's the same plane:

Hope this helps,
Dale (first time poster; found this page from a google search on "NC17340")

Thanks Dale, and welcome to the wild wacky wonderful world of WIX! You never know when someone will surprise us with an addition to an old thread. The board helped me ID the Constellation my dad flew to NY in '56 from a blurry slide - N90825 Star of China.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

That's great Dale, thanks for posting!

Pete

i love unpublished pics!! always a surprise!! those look like p-47's to me also.

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!