MGM SBDs/Wind Machines

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11319

Bureau Numbers? Probably wishful thinking, but you never know!

How many were there?

Anyone have any pictures of them and how they were used?

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

Aren't there two former wind machine SBD's there at Chino? I believe that the POF and Yanks' are examples of that.

JDK · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:38 am

And Kermit's - still got the wind machine (F8F?) prop on it.

Saabmeister · **Joined:** Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:56 pm **Posts:** 170

JDK wrote:

And Kermit's - still got the wind machine (F8F?) prop on it.

Here's a crappy pic I took about six or seven years ago of Kermit's A-24, amongst other aircraft:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yPSOvv7LA_I/SFIoPk_zaEI/AAAAAAAAAso/saJaEfEL93M/s1600-h/Storage.jpg[/url]

AirJimL2 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:45 am

Six total:

42-54593 restoration with Kevin Smith in VA
42-54643 in storage with Kermit
42-54654 in storage with Pima (*)
A-24 s/n unknown on display on the USS Miday (*)
BuNo. 28536 with PoF
BuNo. 10518 with Yanks

* These two airplanes have ID issues. We only found a data plate on one aircraft when at MAPS...the parts bird. However, it seems the IDs have switched over time at least as to how MARC keeps track of them.

Jim

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11319

Anyone have photos of them in use at MGM? I remember seeing two in Tallichet's Chino yard year ago.

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:53 pm

Kermit´s has a Curtiss Seagull prop on it. Ex. NEAM Machine.
Jerry

Canso42 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:14 pm

Brandon, about five years ago, before I even knew about WIX I blundered into the site for MAPS up in Ohio. I think it's Military Aircraft Pres. Society and at that time they had two of the SBD wind machines. My contact was R G Johnston but I haven't had contact with him for a few years. His email was rgjohnston@sherwin.com. Last I heard they had identified one of them from a radio i.d. tag that was still in the plane. Richard may or may not remember me. If that's even still a good addy.

Doug Ratchford

jamesintucson · **Joined:** Sat Jan 29, 2005 1:42 am **Posts:** 546

Canso42 wrote:

Brandon, about five years ago, before I even knew about WIX I blundered into the site for MAPS up in Ohio. I think it's Military Aircraft Pres. Society and at that time they had two of the SBD wind machines. My contact was R G Johnston but I haven't had contact with him for a few years. His email was rgjohnston@sherwin.com. Last I heard they had identified one of them from a radio i.d. tag that was still in the plane. Richard may or may not remember me. If that's even still a good addy.

Doug Ratchford

The MAPS planes are the ones at the Midway and Pima.
James

Canso42 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:14 pm

JamesinTucson, who got the one that MAPS had identified?

RMAllnutt · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:38 pm

AirJimL2 wrote:

Six total:

42-54593 restoration with Kevin Smith in VA
42-54643 in storage with Kermit
42-54654 in storage with Pima (*)
A-24 s/n unknown on display on the USS Miday (*)
BuNo. 28536 with PoF
BuNo. 10518 with Yanks

* These two airplanes have ID issues. We only found a data plate on one aircraft when at MAPS...the parts bird. However, it seems the IDs have switched over time at least as to how MARC keeps track of them.

Jim

42-54593 is now in Phoenix at Kevin's new place there. I used to work on this aircraft when it was in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Kevin's a great guy. There's still a ton of work to do on this Dauntless/Banshee though.

Cheers,
Richard

Simon Beck · **Joined:** Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:20 pm **Posts:** 137

One was an ex-RNZAF bird, it was later used for Charlton Heston's
flying close-ups in Miday (1976).

James Farmer's book Celluloid Wings has an excellant picture
in the section of dealing with MGM's scrapyard, many warbirds
were rescued from there.

jamesintucson · **Joined:** Sat Jan 29, 2005 1:42 am **Posts:** 546

Canso42 wrote:

JamesinTucson, who got the one that MAPS had identified?

It is the one on the USS Midway in San Diego. Supposedly it is actually the one without an ID and ours is the known one and that the ID got switched at some point. Honestly, I don't think anybody really knows for sure which is which.

James

AirJimL2 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:06 am

jamesintucson wrote:

Canso42 wrote:

JamesinTucson, who got the one that MAPS had identified?

Supposedly it is actually the one without an ID and ours is the known one and that the ID got switched at some point.

Yep we found the ID tag in the MAPS "parts plane" which is now at Pima. James is correct that the IDs got switched somewhere along the line...

The ex-RNZAF MGM wind machine is now with Planes of Fame.

Richard - thanks for the update on Kevin's machine. I hope he gets it done one of these days.

Jim

CH2Tdriver · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2009 3:35 pm

Kermits SBD. Next to it was a set of wings from a Lake Michigan SBD.

Pete

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MGM SBDs/Wind Machines

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