Chicoartist wrote:
The Inspector wrote:
. . . Much different (so I've heard from more than one source) than the treatment an East Coast manufacturers archives got when 'the new guys' came in, decided they had no interest in the old outfits stuff as they were complete revisionists, and pitched most of it into the dumpster.
Keith Ferris told me that about the time Republic folded it's tent he got a call from a friend wanting to know if he wanted one of the large Vietnam F-105 paintings back that Republic had commissioned him to do. Keith asked how the guy got it. He saw it sticking out of the dumpster! I believe Keith still has it.
Wade
That reminds me of the time in California that an enthusiast going to a dump with his garbage found tooling and plans for the Hughes H-4 lying around. As he gathered up what he could another truck arrived to drop off more stuff. He went out to Hughes site and said if they were going to throw it out why not just give it to him. They told him to get lost and when he went back to the dump to recover more there was a bulldozer thoroughly crushing and burying everything dumpped by Hughes.
By the way the plans were actually etched or printed on very thin sheets of aluminum since they were concened about paper prints deterioating from use, spills etc. while on the production line.