Warbird Information Exchange

One year ago the majority of SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 was scrapped by the NHHC.

This was not the end but rather the beginning of the return of BuNo 2549.

A replacement tubular frame, manufactured three months after BuNo 2549 was located and purchased. Another aft tailcone was also acquired that is the present focus of our attention.

Despite these troubled times, we look forward to continuing the restoration efforts ahead in 2020. The goal ahead is to soon have BuNo 2549 sitting on its landing gear for the first time in 78 years.

As a long time WIX member, I would like to contribute this build thread. As many of you remember, I was formally involved with building a P-35 replica from scratch. I endeavored for 10 year on that project and just couldn’t make it happen.

Fortunately some of the CAD skills I acquired through the P-35 project paid off. I was able to trade my labor drawing B-17 parts in Solidworks for a T-6 project. My original intent was to build a NA-50 or Boomerang replica so I started searching for “early” T-6 series parts to compliment what I had available.

. I placed an inquiry on social media and soon received a reply regarding the availability of various SNJ-2 airframe parts which the seller stated were very similar to the NA-50. I requested pictures, started investigating, and soon realized the magnitude of what I had found. I made a deal with the seller and purchased all the remaining parts of BuNo 2549.

Upon receipt of the parts later in 2015 and knowing its history, I couldn't bare to modify this aircraft into a NA-50. I abandoned that project and intended to restore SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 back to its original glory. I also sought to learn as much as possible about the brave men associated with it. Fortunately author Pat Macha had just published a book, Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Diego County, which recounted the events of February 14, 1942 in good detail and contained an illustrated picture of BuNo 2549’s wreckage.

Searching for SNJ-2 parts, I discovered how rare and unique this variant truly was. Of the 61 total SNJ-2s produced, only 9 survived on the US civil register. Hoping to make BuNo 2549 the tenth, I sought to procure an FAA registration. Thinking the FAA would be the most difficult federal agency to deal with, I wanted to establish clear ownership for BuNo 2549. I believed the branch tasked with preserving Naval history, the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), would be supportive of my efforts.

Upon first contact with the NHHC in July 2017, I relayed the story of BuNo 2549 and was straightforward in my intentions of restoring the airframe to airworthiness. I naively thought what remained of BuNo 2549 would be insignificant to them. I was complimented for my research and they requested I forward my documentation. Thinking this would assist my effort, I eagerly provided what I had. I was informed that transferring ownership of parts was not something the Navy usually allowed, but that it was a possible option.

During the next year I patiently answered every question and furnished numerous technical drawings, pictures and a full inventory of BuNo 2549 remaining parts. I was informed the NHHC conservator team and legal council were reviewing my request to see if any potential liability issues existed.

As time progressed, it became clear I was not considered the owner or even would be compensated for the original purchase price by the NHHC. In 2018, I finally gave in and insisted upon a formal letter of release for the specific parts to ensure any future SNJ effort I undertook would not meet a similar fate. Astoundingly, the Navy informed me I was the first person to have ever made this type of request. For BuNo 2549, given all its esteemed history as a prominent flag officer’s assigned aircraft, I thought the Navy would put it on display at the Pensacola Museum or one of the local Naval air bases. I felt reassured in returning it back that if I would not be allowed to restore BuNo 2549, that it would at least be preserved.

I informed friends in the warbird industry of what happened. Amazingly, Roger Edwards offered a complete “early” T-6 fuselage for sale. It turned out to be a Harvard Mark II, that had been built near the same time as BuNo 2549. Through other deals and trades, I ended up with replacement parts for everything I would be surrendering back to the Navy. Combined with other T-6 parts acquired for the original restoration, I now had a viable project to build a “replica” BuNo 2549.

While I was making progress putting together a duplicate BuNo 2549, unfortunately no party within the NHHC system wanted the original. I was informed a Navy team would be picking up everything. Even with a letter of release, I chose to transfer all the parts to a neutral location to avoid any confusion with my second SNJ project.

When the Navy contractor arrived in April 2019, to my astonishment, they started cutting up the tubular frame on site and informed me the remaining parts being taken away, would be shredded. BuNo 2549 had survived 78 years through many twists and turns in its history but was now gone. In the past, many warbirds did not survive because their historical value had not been recognized. It is hard to believe such events would still occur in 2019.

Bureaucracy might have prevailed over preservation, but the story of SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 will not be forgotten. I will continue on with the restoration of the second SNJ. Someday the white tail of a second BuNo 2549 will fly over North Island, dip its yellow wing towards the ocean, and honor all the brave men that never gave up.

I'm sure when you complete and fly your project, the Navy will be thrilled to have it one of their heritage flights
What an idiotic bunch of chicken$hit, bureaucratic, hypocrites! For shame.

Best of luck with your project. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Good luck with your project and please keep the thread rolling. Build and maintenance threads are sorely missed here.

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Congrats and keep up the great work

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" I am a nobody in aviation, but somebody to my family."

Thus proving that no good deed goes unpunished.

Best wishes to you and I look forward to following your progress.

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Cheers,

Craig

Facebook Groups:

U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky HRS / CH-19 Helicopter Database
U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky HO4S / HH-19 Helicopter Database

Enjoyed the story in Air Classics and glad to see you here. A great project, and instructive for all.

Glad you are sticking with it.

You have to wonder how in the hell this kind of destruction is allowed by the US Govt, it is absolute lunacy. "It's ours but we don't want it, so we're going to destroy it so nobody can have it." What???? This is completely crazy and reflects really badly on the mentality of military bureaucracy. What precedent does this set for other private owners of former US Navy hardware?? There must surely be a way of having transparency and preservation, citizens don't deserve to have their pockets emptied and their efforts trashed. I honestly think the warbird and museum movement needs to club together to organise a reform of the policy, through the courts if necessary. This kind of thing surely throws doubts into the minds of anyone who owns ex-government equipment.

Over here in the UK we often lament the shortcomings in the present military disposal system, but the US system makes our Ministry of Defence look like a bunch of museum curators.

You seem to indicate that you were allowed to keep some parts of 2549 - what do you have?

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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)

I think he's wisely decided to plead the 5th on this one, your honor!

To answer a couple of questions, the restoration (or recreation) of BuNo 2594 will incorporate parts of Harvard MKII 2832, Yale, SNJ-4 /T-6D and some SNJ-2 parts. It will be a composite restoration that will utilize a SNJ-2 fuselage and later T-6 center section and wings. I will refrain from stating the percentage of original parts incorporated into this effort, but the spirit of BuNo 2549 will be a part of this project.

The SNJ-2 was definitely a bird of another feather in the overall lineage of the T-6 series of the popular trainer. Known as the fastest and longest range-version of the North American Aviation (NAA) T-6 series with a unique 190-gallon “wet-wing”, this version was in demand by fleet carrier and scouting force commanders for their personal use. Designed as a follow-on to the SNJ-1, the first flight was March 29, 1940 and was put into production with thirty six aircraft produced that were quickly allocated to US Naval Reserve Aviation Bases (NRAB). With the rapidly expanding naval flight training program, more aircraft were needed. A decision was made to contract with NAA for a second, later order of twenty five SNJ-2’s. Ironically, because of the later production date with the exception of integral fuel tanks and a square tipped rudder, this second batch would be similar to the Harvard Mark II also in production for the British government. This coincidence would be important to the future legacy of BuNo 2549.

BuNo 2549 was the second aircraft produced from that second order and was received by the Navy December 27, 1940. It was immediately assigned to the Commander of Carrier Division One. Resplendent in a unique “admiral blue” paint scheme on the fuselage, with white painted vertical and horizontal stabilizers, sporting dual star holders on either side of the fuselage, these markings indicated assignment to a flag officer, popularly known as a “Blue Goose”.

The officer to whom BuNu 2549 was assigned, Aubrey Wray “Jake” Fitch, would accumulate many of the airframes 482.9 total flying hours. Born 1883, Fitch enlisted in the Navy in 1902 and was part of the famed Annapolis Classes of 1904 through 1907 that included future Admirals Jack Fletcher, John McCain, Ray Spruance, Bill Halsey and Chester Nimitz. Fitch served the fleet aboard 18 different ships and as an instructor back at the Naval Academy for the next 23 years. In July 1929, Fitch entered flight training at Pensacola Florida and earned his wings at age 47 in February 1930. As a Naval Aviator, Fitch would embark on the second and most successful part of his career. Promoted to Captain in 1931, he would go on to command the Navy’s first three aircraft carriers (Langley, Lexington and Saratoga) in addition to NAS Pensacola. With this broad experience, Fitch was promoted to Rear Admiral in July 1940 and assumed command of Carrier Division One that included both the USS Lexington and Saratoga. Fitch was a capable pilot and frequently flew a variety of shore and ship board aircraft including SB2U-2 BuNo 1343 and SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 that were both suitably marked “Commander Carrier Division One” (it has not been verified if BuNo 2549 flew off the Saratoga due to Fitch’s pre 1942 flight log’s being lost). December 8,1941, fortunately located in San Diego during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Fitch would hastily dispatch his flagship USS Saratoga to assist the crippled US Pacific Fleet as the most experienced carrier admiral in the US Navy.

With Admiral Fitch now in a war-time command, an unarmed training aircraft was no longer needed. December 10, 1941, BuNo 2549 was reassigned to the training pool of Advanced Carrier Training Group (ACTG) of the US Pacific Fleet, based at Naval Air Station San Diego. Left in its distinctive paint scheme, it would serve a new mission training the next generation of naval aviators as one of the few available aircraft.

In the early days of World War II, late in 1941 and into 1942, a severe shortage of naval aircraft existed on the West Coast and Hawaii. An urgent request was made across the United States to furnish as many aircraft as possible. One of largest suppliers to the Navy, Grumman Aircraft Company, was unfortunately located in Bethpage New York, necessitating aircraft be ferried cross country. Newly trained naval aviators combined with still relatively poor navigational aids needed skill and luck to complete their assignments.

Friday the 13th of February, 1942 proved particularly unlucky for one such ferry flight of four F4F-4 Wildcats enroute to NAS San Diego. A storm developed, disorienting the pilots and resulting in the aircraft disappearing into the Laguna mountain ranges of San Diego county. Only one pilot who had earlier become seperated from the flight, was able to find a route through the storm and landed on a nearby roadway. Overdue to their intended destination of North Island, the Wildcats were reported missing.

The next day, a search flight was sent out from NAS San Diego for the Wildcats. Among the three-plane flight was SNJ-2 BuNo 2549, piloted by Ensign William Page and his observer, Ensign Louis Winn Jr, led by section leader Lieutenant (junior grade) James “Pat” Patterson. Flying in formation over the dense mountain range, what occurred next was recounted in the US Navy Accident Report:

“At 1130 hours, pilot was flying a wing position in a three-plane section engaged in a search flight operating in vicinity SW of Santa Rosa Mountains. The leader of the section noticed this particular aircraft to be missing after having sighted him approximately one minute before. Leader kept his original course for another two minutes, then circled and waited for #2549 to show up. The section retraced its course to the point where #2549 was last seen and started to search. This search was continued for five days. The terrain where #2549 was last seen was at 3000’ rising to 4000’ and 5000’, rather rugged and with infrequent snow patches.” SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 had disappeared, along with the three F4F Wildcats.

Some scenes from NAS North Island (San Diego)

Ugh. Dealing with federal bureaucracies is tough. Often times, it's just the a matter of who's desk the file lands on.

I noticed there was no discussion of contacting your US Rep./Senator. Their offices deal with this kind of constituent/common sense vs. Govt. all the time. Did you happen to have any contact with any of them?

Good luck on moving forward with this exciting project. I really appreciate your posts so far.

Onward and Upward.

This aircraft rebuild is going to be an absolute stunner!
Thanks for sharing all of this history with us. It is appreciated.
I'll be keenly watching for any updates on progress.
Don't forget to enjoy the journey.

Andy

In every country, bureaucracy is way too often a mess.

Registering a 1928 car, I was asked to contact the office having designed the car, because "some technical information very important were missing"

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Sorry for my bad English:-(

“Guiding Light”, is the fourth in the “Never Give Up” series of paintings involving the story of the brave men and aircraft associated with SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 by Matthew Emeny

September 1944, Composite Squadron VC-94 transferred from NAS Pasco Washington to NAS Brown Field at Otay Mesa above National City CA.

From Brown Field VC-94 provided close air support for several mock beach landings by the Marines on the nearby coastline.

It was during a break in training that the new Squadron CO, Lt Commander James Franklin Patterson began taking flights around the nearby Santa Rosa Mountains (present day Borrengo Springs). Patterson was retracing the flight path two years earlier when two of his students, Ensign William Wallace Page and Louis Massie Winn Jr had vanished aboard SNJ-2 BuNo 2549 February 14, 1942.

The events captured in this painting were drawn from the BuNo 2549 accident report, news paper articles (from Patric Macha) and a very special family story that was shared by Robert Nunn.

It seems that before Ensign Page left for Naval Flight Training in 1941, his fiancée gave him a ruby red ring.

It was September 18, 1944 that Lt Commander Patterson took off from Brown Field and flew 124 miles in the vicinity of Rabbit Peak. The exact events of the day are unknown, but it is believed the reflection of Page’s red ruby ring helped guide Patterson to the wreck of the missing SNJ-2 BuNo 2549.

Later September 20, 1944 Lt Commander Patterson, with the assistance of Marine Captain Miller and a company of Marines hiked to the wreck site and were able to positively identify the wreckage and remains of Ensign Page and Miller. The red ruby ring was one of the items recovered. Eventually another Marine team was dispatched to enable the families of Page and Miller to have closure of their times as MIA’s and bury them with full military honors.

Commander Patterson would only live seven more months before becoming an MIA himself over Okinawa in April 1945. His remains too were eventually located and returned to his family postwar.

We honor all of these men and their ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom today.