Warbird Information Exchange

Found another picture of A6M2, EB-200:

(Source: Flickr)

Our local public library recently acquired the photograph collection of our main local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and one of the pictures they uploaded is of an unknown Bf 109 G-6/Trop:

(Source: Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library)

I'm really curious to identify the airframe, but the only "Trop" example on Joe Baugher's list of captured Axis aircraft, WkNr 16416, EB-102, is listed as being severely damaged in an accident on 1 September 1944 - eight days after this photo was taken. I'm wondering if it could be the same fuselage in the Shot from the Sky exhibition:

(Source: Asisbiz)

It appears to be this aircraft, as the white band and "4" side number match (the number on the example in the show can be seen more clearly in another photo):

(Source: WarBird Photos)

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

(Source: Frank Johnson, "D-M Aerial Museum Holds Many Notable Specimens," Arizona Daily Star, 1 August 1947, 15.)

With the above information, we can add even more aircraft to the collection:

• B-17E, unknown
• B-17G, unknown
• B-24D, 42-72843, "Strawberry Bitch"[1]
• B-24, unknown
• B-25J, unknown
• B-26, unknown
• B-32, 42-108474[2]
• C-45A, unknown
• P-61, unknown
• XCG-17, 41-18496[3]

Note that the B-26 is cannot be Flak-Bait, as it was disassembled in Germany and shipped to the Park Ridge facility in crates.[4]

Another article, which is not worth reproducing in full here as it is largely similar to the above, does note that an A-20 and A-26 were part of the collection.[5]

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

This one?



This one?

_________________

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)

Thanks. I knew someone would come up with some possibilities. However, I'm not sure that's enough detail for confirmation. A lot of B-17s were sent to Davis-Monthan and later broken up there, correct? How would we know whether these are not just some random B-17s and were actually part of the museum collection? Based on the statement in the above article that the collection included the

it seems like there was at least some consideration given to acquiring airframes with a notable service history and not just generic examples. (Yes, I know Enola Gay/Bockscar were included, but the events those were involved in were so extraordinary that they would have likely been included even if there wasn't a such a specific focus. Similarly, the prototypes were included because they were prototypes, not because they had an eventful wartime career, per se.) 41-2407's history as a test aircraft would seem to increase the odds that it was part of the collection, but 44-83504's service was very mundane. Why not an aircraft with more significance such as the "heavily worked" B-24?

To be clear, I'm not saying these aren't the aircraft, but that I would like to see more proof or more of an explanation. We all know that plenty of non-significant historic vehicles get preserved for mundane reasons such as "they were the easiest to pull out because they were on the metaphorical "top of the pile" or were in the best condition. Part of the reason I'm a bit more skeptical is that while working on that post last night, I realized that, despite what might be expected and my initial assumptions, none of the "Shot From the Sky" aircraft mentioned in a previous post apparently made it into the collection. So, in other words, please feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.

I feel like we need Scott Thompson to chime in here, as he might have come across them as part of his research into surplus RFC transfers.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

I picked those two because the Osborne listing (which isn't perfect of course) showed them as the only B-17E and B-17G that weren't listed as having gone to Kingman after their assignment to Davis-Monthan. So I figure they're not definitive answers, but good leads perhaps.

_________________

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)

In an effort to solve this question, I requested a number of microfilm rolls from the Air Force Historical Research Agency related to the history of Davis-Monthan in 1946-1949. (Interestingly, in at least one of these cases I was the first one to do so, as they had to undergo a declassification review prior to being released, which is kind of cool.) The good news is that one of the reels, B2152, had a page with a complete listing of the models - although not the serial numbers - stored:

(Source: "History of 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) Davis-Monthan Field for 1 April - 30 June 1947," 1947, n.p.)

During the three months covered by the above report, it took 11,182.5 labor hours, $12,045.68 in labor cost and $341.21 in material cost to maintain the 28 aircraft in storage. (For reference, according to an inflation calculator this is approximately equivalent to $172,742.17 in labor cost and $4,893.15 in material cost in November 2024.) However, it is important to note that these costs varied widely. For example, from April to June 1948, it only took 440.0 labor hours, $572.44 in labor cost and $0.00 in material cost to maintain the same aircraft.

However, an excerpt from an earlier report notes 2 B-29s were dropped from the collection before the above:

(Source: "History of 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) Davis-Monthan Field for 1 January - 31 March 1947," 1947, 7.)

The roll also contains details on the 1 August 1947 Air Force Day activities mentioned in a previous post. If I have time, I may include it in a follow-up post, as it is quite interesting.

It is important to note that the 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) was redesignated the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot on 28 August 1948.

A second roll, K2218, includes a few more bits of information. The report from 1946 to 1950 includes the following in the section for 1949:

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 25-26.)

̶N̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶a̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶4̶5̶-̶8̶8̶1̶3̶,̶ ̶a̶ ̶B̶-̶2̶5̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶p̶a̶r̶a̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶e̶u̶m̶ ̶a̶i̶r̶c̶r̶a̶f̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶e̶u̶m̶ ̶a̶i̶r̶c̶r̶a̶f̶t̶.̶ Coincidentally, according to Joe Baugher's list, the University of Minnesota acquired one other aircraft that, whatever the fate of the C-45, survives to the present day: the RB-17E, 41-9210, now with the Wartime History Museum. However, this cannot be the RB-17E mentioned in the museum collection as 41-9210 was in use by Minneapolis-Honeywell from at least November 1944 until it was acquired by the school one year later.

By the end of 1950, only "four miscellaneous museum aircraft" were noted to remain. (Jontig, 31)

A further aircraft was disposed of in fall 1950 on the orders of the San Antonio Air Materiel Area:

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 33.)

Interestingly, it seems that even after the museum aircraft departed or were scrapped, one legacy remained. Shortly before the 3040th was reassigned to Norton Air Force Base on 1 June 1951, a unit called "Detachment #1, USAF Exhibit Unit" began taking travelling exhibits to various groups in the area. For their first outing, the unit took an XF-85, B-45 nose section, and J33 and R3350 cutaway engines to an event held by the Palm Springs Junior Chamber of Commerce in Palm Springs, California on 21 January 1951. A subsequent event on 2 February 1951 at Building T-670 for the Flying Safety Office at Norton Air Force Base included a C-82 landing track. (Jontig, n.p.) So, it seems one can draw a line from the wartime Air Cavalcade and Shot from the Sky exhibitions through the Davis-Monthan collection and the 1947 Air Force Day to the USAF Exhibit Unit. It seems quite possible that these exhibitions and subsequent disposals were what inspired a young high school senior named Ed Maloney to buy a J8M1 Shusui in 1948. (He has certainly cited Arnold's drive to "save one of everything" as a motivation.)

EDIT (25-02-03): Upon further review, it appears that the B-25J, 45-8813, was indeed one of the museum aircraft. The confusion arises because of the following sentence:

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 24.)

At first glance, the fact that it is listed separately from the museum aircraft makes it appear that it was never part of the collection. However, what was likely the case is that it was dropped from the collection and transferred to regular storage pending future disposal as was done with the AT-7. Therefore, at the time of the report, it was formally no longer part of the collection. The following paragraph makes it clear by contrast how much the collection would be diminished by 1950:

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 24.)

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

So, I decided to look up the history of 41-1144 on Joe Baugher's site and when I did I noticed that the entry stated the aircraft was "Set aside for proposed USAAF aviation museum". On a hunch, I tried putting "https://www.joebaugher.com 'proposed USAAF aviation museum'" into Google and, lo and behold, I was right! Baugher used that same phrase for multiple entries! I was able to collate the results into the two lists below:

To Davis-Monthan

• B-17G, 44-83504[1]
• B-29, 45-21728 [2]
• C-60A, 42-55995[3]
• C-82N, 45-25437[2]
• C-87, 41-11608[4]
• XB-26H, 44-68221[5]

To Orchard Field

• A-28A, 42-46952[6]
• AT-6, 40-718[7]
• AT-7, 41-1144[8]
• BT-13A, 41-22124[9]
• BQ-3, 43-25253[10]
• L-3B, 43-26889[10]
• O-47A, 37-273[11]
• O-47A, 37-279[11]
• O-49A, 41-19015[9]
• P-38J, 42-67762[12]
• P-47B, 41-5917[8]
• P-47D, 44-32691[13]
• P-51D, 44-74939[1]
• P-63A, 42-70255[12]
• P-75A, 44-44553[5]
• PQ-14A, 43-44217[10]
• PT-13, 36-19[11]
• PT-19A, 43-33842[10]
• PT-26, 42-14299[14]
• RP-40N, 44-47959[5]
• UC-61A, 43-14506[10]
• XA-38, 43-14406[10]
• XCG-15, 43-37082[10]
• XCG-16A, 44-76193[1]
• XO-60, 42-13610[14]
• XP-51, 41-038[8]
• XP-55, 42-78846[15]
• XP-75A, 44-32166[13]
• XPG-2A, 42-77062[15]
• XR-4, 41-18874[9]
• XR-5, 43-47954[10]
• YP-61, 41-18878[9]

Unknown

• XP-58, 41-2670[8]

A few observations:

• Some of the aircraft are not in the list from the unit history. It seems that while they were earmarked for the collection some of them never made it to Davis-Monthan and instead went to the then Orchard Field in Chicago to become part of the National Air Museum collection.
• Baugher's list has at least three mistakes as it has the AT-7, XA-38, XCG-15 and YP-61 going to Orchard Field rather than Davis-Monthan.
• Another entry for the exhibit unit mentions that it brought a landing track from a C-82 to an event. It would seem that this could have come from 45-25437, but according to an article on the history of tracked landing gear, it was not in the batch of aircraft so equipped. However, there is another possibility. The same article mentions that the design was first tested on A-20H, 44-466. It therefore, seems likely that this may have been the A-20H mentioned in the unit history list. Especially because many of the A-20Hs were delivered to the Soviet Union via Lend-Lease.
• It seems that when aircraft were scrapped, certain unusual parts were kept as curiosities. For example, if the theory above holds, it seems there may have been a focus on landing gear as the XB-19s wheels were saved as well. A third aircraft, the XB-26H, also had a unique landing gear configuration.
• Furthermore, there is a definite preference for specially modified or test aircraft. This may be for several reasons. First, as mentioned above, they were seen as valuable for their modifications. Second, their modifications meant they were unsuited for further active service unlike other generic examples of their kind. Third, their status as experimental aircraft meant they were readily available at locations in the United States that were under the control of authorities with a closer connection to leadership (read: Hap Arnold) and didn't have to be returned from overseas.
• It appears as though some consideration was given to perhaps obtaining the oldest surviving examples of an aircraft as the P-47B was the 23rd example built and many of the earlier aircraft had been destroyed by that point. Similarly, the PT-13 was the 18th example built. Similarly, the C-47 at the Pima Air and Space Museum was the second example built and - while it isn't named in any of the references as being part of the Davis-Monthan collection - it was previously on display at the Air Force Museum in 1971.[4] The same goes for the National Air and Space Museum's L-5, 42-14798, which was the first production aircraft.[16]
• It seems as though the general rule was that small airplanes went to Orchard Field and large ones went to Davis-Monthan.

To come full circle, as to the fate of the aircraft that started this search, AT-7, 41-1144, it was last confirmed as owned by Parker-Ransome Aircraft Sales in 1968.[17]

EDIT (25-02-03): Apparently I missed a few entries. A BQ-3, BT-13A, O-49A, XCG-15, XR-4 and YP-61 have been added to the list above, the reference numbers adjusted and a note changed.

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Post deleted; wasted effort. Why do we bother?

I reached out to the National Museum of the United States Air Force to check if they had any information related to the aircraft in the collection. Apparently their records on the subject are very limited, but they were able to provide me with two fascinating and helpful images. One is a color aerial shot of the aircraft in storage at Davis-Monthan and the other is a black and white photocopy of the same image with annotations identifying the aircraft. I've cropped the former before I reduced it so that I can get as much resolution as possible in the 1024 x 1024 restrictions for attachments:


(Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force)

The aircraft are identified as follows:

1. B-29, 44-86292, Enola Gay
2. TB-29, 45-21728
3. C-46
4. C-82N
5. C-54A, 42-107451, Sacred Cow
6. C-87, [41-11608/41-39600], [Gulliver]
7. B-24
8. TB-29, 42-6364
9. XC-53A, [42-6480], Old Weary Wings
10. XA-38
11. Ju 88
12. C-45A
13. AT-7, 41-1144
14. RB-26C
15. B-25
16. YP-61
17. XCG-17
18. C-47, Unknown, China Express
19. C-47
20. XCG-15A
21. C-40A
22. P-61B
23. A-26C
24. A-20A
25. C-60A
26. RB-17E
27. B-17G
28. TB-24D, [42-72843], Strawberry Bitch
29. B-29, 44-27297, Bockscar
30. B-32

A few notes:

• For the above, if the specific airframe could be deduced from the details, but the serial number or name was not explicitly stated, the information is included in brackets.
• Not pictured is the XB-19.
• On the other hand, the picture includes a second C-47 that is not mentioned in the list from the unit history above.
• The A-20H is incorrectly identified as an A-20A.
• Thanks to the information, the C-54 has now been identified as 42-107451, Sacred Cow. Fun fact: This means that the museum had aircraft used by both candidates in the 1940 presidential election. (Although neither were used by them at that time.)
• Also, I was able to discover that the XC-53A somehow survived and owned by the Texas Flying Legends Museum as of 2017![1] It is another case of an aircraft selected because of its modifications - in this case full span slotted flaps.[2]
• However, I had no such luck with the C-47. So if anyone is aware of one named "China Express" that served in the CBI Theater, please chime in!

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

I believe I owe everyone some details:

(Source: "DM Observes Air Force Day," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 5.)

Two pages later there is a description of the aircraft in the "Museum Area":



(Source: "4105th Acft Storage," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 7.)

There are no other mentions of museum aircraft in this edition of the Desert Airman, so the "articles" mentioned must refer to previous editions of the newspaper. Unfortunately, this was the only edition that was microfilmed, so, if other editions still exist, they must be somewhere else.


(Source: "Personals," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 7.)

A map of the inside of the hangar seen in a previous post. It is worth comparing with a map of the Army Air Forces Fair at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in October 1945 covered in another thread:


As seen on the front cover of this program, festivities included a gas-powered control-line model flying contest:


There were also two record-breaking flights by a B-29B, 44-84061, Pacusan Dreamboat. The first, starting on August 31, saw the airplane fly a closed 10,000 kilometer course at 277 miles per hour. This was followed by a 39-hour flight that covered 8,854.8 miles:


As a final note and to depart from the above discussion, it is worth considering both the context that the museum effort was taking place in as well as its legacy.

While it may seem unlucky that not all of the aircraft in the museum project survived, the result was actually a more successful outcome than another immediate postwar military museum project. FDR had plans for a national naval museum when the war was over. Both projects began in very similar ways. A national leader decided to collect as many examples of a type of vehicle as possible. They also both ended around the same time, 1949, due to the declining health or death of their champions. In both cases disposal of their contents was ordered. However, whereas the majority of the ships that had been collected were scrapped, a good portion of the aircraft were saved for the nascent National Air Museum and Air Force Museum.

Similarly, the Pima Air and Space Museum, as well as the modern day "Celebrity Row" at Davis-Monthan, may have grown out of the 1946-1949 museum collection. When combined with the likely influence the collection had on Ed Maloney that was mentioned in a previous post, it brings the total to four museums all having their origins in some way connected to Hap Arnold's efforts. Even though his original plans may have not played out the way he had intended, I think he would at least be somewhat pleased with the outcome.

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

So, combining all of the sources above (as well as a new one), what were the aircraft in the collection? The identities are as follows:

1. A-20H, 44-466 (Unconfirmed)
2. A-26C
3. AT-7, 41-1144
4. B-17G, 44-83504
5. B-24M
6. B-25J, 45-8813
7. B-29, 44-27297, Bockscar
8. B-29, 44-86292, Enola Gay
9. B-32, 42-108474
10. C-40A
11. C-45A, 41-1864[1]
12. C-46A
13. C-47, Unknown, China Express
14. C-54A, 42-107451, Sacred Cow
15. C-60A, 42-55995
16. C-82N, 45-25437
17. C-87, 41-39600, Gulliver (41-11608 before conversion)
18. Ju 88 D-3, 430650
19. P-61B
20. RB-17E, 41-2407, Nemesis of Aeroembolism (Unconfirmed)
21. RB-24D, 42-72843, Strawberry Bitch
22. TB-29, 42-6364
23. TB-29, 45-21728
24. XB-19A, 38-471
25. XA-38, 43-14406
26. XB-26H, 44-68221
27. XC-53A, 42-6480, Old Weary Wings
28. XCG-15A, 43-37082
29. XCG-17, 41-18496
30. YP-61, 41-18878

A few notes:

• The C-47 of "unknown distinction" in the annotated picture from NMUSAF is almost certainly the XC-53A. Similarly, the RB-26C is likely the XB-26H.
• The identity of the RB-17E is unconfirmed, but very likely to be 41-2407, based on its service history as a test aircraft and its fate.[2] Thanks to Chris for pointing it out in a previous post.
• According to Baugher, only 10 C-40As, 38-539 through 38-548, were built. Of these 38-542 and 38-546 were destroyed in accidents and 38-543 was struck off charge before 1944. Therefore, the C-40A must be one of the remaining 7 aircraft.

Just yesterday I learned that the Pima Air & Space Museum received the data plate from the aircraft as a donation a few months ago. Perhaps it came from the time the nose section sat there. Do you know where exactly on the street it was?

Also, the picture for anyone who hasn't seen it:

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The following excerpt, from the Technical Data Digest, establishes that scrapping of the XB-19 was underway as of its publication on 15 August 1949:

(Source: "Air Force’s First Giant Bomber, XB-19, Now Being Demolished," Technical Data Digest, 15 August 1949, 8.)

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

A few newspaper articles I dug up; now we have the name of the scrapman, but I haven't found the exact location, or any other info on Rall Huffman:




Arizona Daily Star, February 24, 1955:

_________________

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)

So, in a bit of serendipity, I was watching the most recent video from Brian Pierson, the Building the Last B-36 guy, this evening and at one point he mentioned that Mr. Huffman also handled the scrapping of the YB-36 that was at the Air Force Museum's old location. He indicated that had spoken with the Huffman family (although Rall has since passed), so maybe I'll have to reach out to see if I could get their contact information from him at some point.

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster