Warbird Information Exchange

Anyone in the area? Anyone been in the last say 6-12 months?

I am going down late this week. I would like to make a trip, but am I wasting my time, or are they in business? Are the airplanes still accessible? Are the airplanes even still on the property? The last pics i have seen are on Google earth, and they show a lot of blue roofs, but are the planes there, and are they on display?

Thanks for any info. All else failing, guess I will give a report when I get back if nothing surfaces before then.

dave

Ok, last chance try.....leaving Thursday morning, March 5.....


If no response, guess I will let everyone know when I return.

dave

Dave-

I moved from NO to Little Rock in November. From what I've been told the aircraft there received damage from Hurricane Katrina (Jackson Barracks is pretty close to the Ninth Ward). I've never been myself but my buddies in the Coast Guard reported seeing the vertical stabs of the B-25 sticking out of the water. As with all second or third-hand reports, take it with a grain of salt.

I would genuinely recommend you go to the National WW2 Museum (and Confederate Museum!) instead. The WW2 Museum has a Spitfire, ME-109, and a C-47 in the main area, as well as some very nicely done exhibits.

If you go to Jackson Barracks, my best advice is to watch yourself...that can be a really rough area.


Brandon

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ATC: "Oscar 2, cleared to engage wildlife at your discretion..."

Well, after considering the advice of Punisher05, I asked before visiting Jackson Barracks. I had really mapped it out so that I could take advantage of the cheap transportation (did not have a car) and then made the decision after talking to a group of police officers. My wife (who rolled her eyes and walked away because who walks up to a cop to ask a question?) was surprised to find that my decision to go was changed. I was told (authoritatively?) nothing is there anymore. Apparently it is all boarded up, and some work is being done in the area, but not there. The Museum, "if you want to call it that, never really took off anyway. If that's what you want to go down there for, you are completely wasting your time, and probably ours too. Too much bad stuff there still."

So, better to listen to a local than my heart, I just visited the WWII museum. The SBD is hanging, and I will post pics soon. Gotta start a trip in the morning, so probably about Thursday when I make it back home.

I do recommend highly to any and all, complete support for the National World War II museum. While they have a long ways to go to meet their goals, they do have quite a show on display. And, I love how many places throughout the museum I could still hear Ed Bradley's voice.

dave

I am curious to know if the aircraft are still there...
Aerial Visuals - Location Dossier - 122nd Bomb Squadron - Jackson Barracks Military Museum

I would guess since the formal museum is closed that aircraft will be redistributed. Any word?

Mike

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Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
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Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

I keep hearing that the museum will be rebuilt, but nothing definitive.

A while back, I saw pictures of it post Katrina, cars up against the planes and such.

Its on the road to St. Bernard, it is in the area that got the worst of the damage. The warehouse we stored equipment in (when I worked I & D for conventions) was right down the road and it is gone.

You can get a pretty good idea of what it looks like using Google Earth, just type in "Jackson Barracks military museum"

Live Search has more recent aerial views and shows a lot of work being done.
Live Search

Switch to "Birds eye" to see pics of the work being done.

take pics of te tanks for me please

I would like to see pictures too, of everything there.

Used to go there about once a month with time to kill. Even had a camera to take pictures for clients. Always thought there would be another time to get pictures of Jackson Barracks, and the submarine in Jackson Square, and the train in Audubon Park (?) and sneak aboard the Cabot, and the Saturn V section...got married, the bottom fell out of the convention business, there was a big storm...taught me to not put things off.

Dave-

I'm glad you had a good time at the National WW2 Museum. They definitely have work to do but I always found it to be a neat experience. I've never seen the SBD that was put in but I have close up pics of the ME-109 and Spitfire from a few months back on here somewhere.

I'm also quite glad that you didn't go down to Jackson Barracks. The cops were right, there's quite a lot of bad stuff thataways.

Look forward to the pics!

Brandon

_________________
ATC: "Oscar 2, cleared to engage wildlife at your discretion..."

I was curious about the status of Jackson Barracks and did some searching.

They have a website of progress on their recovery that makes for an interesting read as the LSFM recovery.

Jackson Barracks and 122nd

Bottom right is the link to the recovery effort. I'm only part way through it, but thought it was worth sharing.

Brandon and Cozmo thanks!

As I had previously stated, the wifey and I made a visit. Was First Anny trip, but.....somehow airplanes were going to be involved. She is a great sport about them (her favorite at NMUSAF is Dream Girl. Guess I picked a winner!) So, without further...

Here are my impressions about the National World War II Museum and then the pics. First, they have a long way to go. That, however, is a good thing. There appears (and they have plans too) to be an organized method to the madness and, like many other places, they are taking the money and using it appropriately. Therefore, all the advertising for the museum is good, and the signage in the city is VERY good. Second, it is in a very clean, very safe appearing environment. Not sure about after midnight, but not afraid to walk down the street to visit it, and we did. Next, the layout and the displays are really good. You could spend all day now, however, they are seriously expanding the museum, so could be an all day museum for less interested in history types before too long. My wife is a casually interested, and she got caught up on some of the letters, and artifacts they have on display.

Last, and this is just a personal pet peeve. WHY, WHY, WHY do you have a coupon in a magazine in hotels for $2 off? Just charge a reasonable price, and advertise! I did not see the coupon until after I had visited, and then felt like they had ripped me off for $4! I was content with the price I paid, but then they had to make me feel like I had wasted my money! Sorry, just one of those little things that drive me crazy about this stupid hobby I so love!

Now here are some shots of the planes there, and my comments and questions. On display in March of 2009 are as follows: C-47 (42-93096), SBD (06508), Spitfire (BL370), Bf-109 (CASA?) and CG-4.

1. Is there any recognized or attached identity to the 109?

2. Is there any recognized or attached identity to the CG-4?

3. Is there any good reason that the spit and the 109 are made to look like that are fakes because of the condition of the gear? (look at the underside pictures and you will understand)

Have a few more pics if there is something specific someone was interested in, I can see if I have them. Otherwise, photo dump up in a few minutes. (gotta go read how to do it again!)

dave

Let's try this:

Now that's VERY interesting...the last time I saw the 109 and Spitfire they were at ground level (with gear down!) on display. Here's my post with the close-ups:

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... highlight=

Before the 109 came along, the Spitfire was hanging with the gear down. Odd that they removed it from both aircraft. I'm fairly sure the Waco glider was just built as a mock-up without any ID attached to it.

We were looking over the 109 when it was on ground display, and there were a few rather fake things about it. For instance, the slats were open and my friend pointed out that drawer rollers were used for them. In my previous post I talked about how there were some small issues like that, but the aircraft were restored to be seen from a distance.

_________________
ATC: "Oscar 2, cleared to engage wildlife at your discretion..."

Thanks for that link to your pics Brandon. I wonder if both the Spit and 109 are basically shells, and as such they had no ability to do anything with the gear other than remove it. I hope they are still working on it, and will add the gear doors and maybe even fake wheels to help them look a tad more real.

Dave, thanks for that info. That is pretty much what I had found around the net, but was hopeful that someone had determined some provenance to the 109. I hate empty boxes in my database! Guess "Composite" will have to do.

dave