nose art, yeah, that is cool... but this is cooler

how to field assemble a P 47 Thunderbolt.... awesome training film, skip the first 3minutes 30sec

skip the first 3minutes 30sec

Found on http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/uncrating-field-assembly-p-47-thunderbolt-fighter-1944.html

why were the B52 Stratofortresses cut up and thrown away?

Because of the nuclear disarmament treaty of 2011 for some reason they decided to point the finger at the b52's as the method for launching nuke weapons. As if subs can't do that. Anyway, it was a surprise to me, and I thought I'd share the info http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/b-52-bombers-cut-arizona-compliance-russian-treaty.html

the boneyard at Davis Monthan Air Force base in Arizona

found on http://sploid.gizmodo.com/beautiful-time-lapse-of-the-boneyard-the-airplane-ceme-1532723971

Planes look quite birdlike with the nose gear retracted. Unfortunately this B1 bomber had to crash land. That nose gear was not coming out to play

Found on http://sploid.gizmodo.com/impressive-b-1b-bomber-emergency-crash-landing-on-a-dry-1531957512

Did you know a U2 could land on an aircraft carrier for a refuel?

there was a bit of a story about the whole thing:

The landing followed a mission over northeast Russia . The U-2’s 80-foot wingspan meant it could only go a short distance before it collided with the superstructure of the ship. Because of the ship’s speed and a headwind, Beeler said he was able to touch down and come to a stop in about five feet. “When I came aboard they had a ceremony welcoming the Air Force into the Navy. I said, ‘I don’t have much I like about the Navy except one thing,’ ” he said. That one thing was the Navy pilots’ leather jackets. Before he left the ship the following day, the captain had given him one.

a B 29 is nearing the end of it's restoration, in Wichita Kansas. Named "Doc" for one of Snow Whites dwarves, it was found in the Mojave where it had been baking for 40 years

Jeff Turner, chairman of the non­profit group Doc's Friends, said the goal of flying Doc to Oshkosh in 2014 is in sight, but as much as $2 million more needs to be raised to make it happen. The Doc project has been in Wichita since 2000, but only this year was it turned over to the new 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation. That lengthy gestation may be attributed to the stewardship of project organizer and founder Tony Mazzolini, who wanted to ensure any foundation taking on Doc had the right vision. "I needed to make sure I put the aircraft into the right hands for the future,'' Mazzolini explained. When refurbished, Doc will be only the second flyable B-29 in the world.
It will take an estimated $7 million to $9 million to finish the restoration, get the plane flying and secure a hangar, Turner said. “None of us are professional fundraisers,” Turner said. “We’re looking for people who want to step up.”
As the Air Capital of the World, Wichita has the aviation expertise to see the project through, officials said. “The aviation infrastructure here is very good,” Sarver said. “There’s a lot of talented people with the skills we need.” Still, the project needs volunteers with specific skills, such as aircraft electricians, sheet metal mechanics, another inspector and those with radial engine experience.
From : http://www.kansas.com/2014/01/01/3206432/hopes-high-that-restored-b-29.html

for more: http://www.b-29doc.com/

Margaret Bourke White was sent to cover the 8th Bomber Command in WW2, here are a couple of her photos

Photos found on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294284/WWII-color-Rare-photos-1942-Flying-Fortress-bombers-heroic-crews-The-Mighty-8th-Command.html

B 24 being restored in Australia for 19 years is now taking longer to restore than it's hanger building will last, and needs a new hanger to finish restoration

Full story at http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/b-24-liberator-restoration-australia-home.html

Quirky fact, it was being used as a chicken coop in Moe Victoria in 1995 when found 

Relics of WW2 at Popondetta ( New Guinea ) airport, are a B-25 Mitchell bomber and a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.

Found on http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/world-war-2-relics-papua-new-guinea-travelogue-in-1980-by-bwana_brown.html

the Lonesome Polecat, was raised from a Swiss lake in 1952, put on display, and scraped in the 1970's because it hindered a building development

The plane sank largely intact to the bottom of the lake, where it stayed until 1952, when it was raised, restored and exhibited around the country. In 1966, it travelled to St Gallen, where a businessman planned to build a “bomber theme park”.

 This never materialised, so in 1970 the plane went on display in St Moritz. But after a few years it was blocking a building development; since no buyer could be found, it was turned into scrap metal despite being of historical value.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/warbirds-crashed-switzerland-wwii.html

this B 17 wreck was still there in New Guinea as of 2008

known as the Gray Ghost, or the Black Cat Pass B17... full information here: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/41-9234.html

News flash: Agent Orange contamination, was also happening due to contact with the airplanes that sprayed it, for a dozen years after they came back from Nam

From 1971-1982, Air Force reservists, who flew in 34 dioxin-contaminated aircraft used to spray Agent Orange and returned to the U.S. following discontinuation of the herbicide spraying operations in the Vietnam War, were exposed to greater levels of dioxin than previously acknowledged, according to a study published today in Environmental Research by senior author Jeanne Mager Stellman, PhD, professor emerita at the Mailman School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management.

These aircraft were subsequently returned to the U.S. and were used by Air Force reserve units between 1971 and 1982 for transport operations. After many years without monitoring, tests revealed the presence of dioxin (also known as TCDD). All but three of the aircraft were smelted down in 2009.

The Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs have previously denied benefits to these crew members. http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/blue-water-navy.html

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/air-force-aircraft-returned-vietnam-postwar-source-agent-orange-contamination.html

real Jeeps could take about anything you could do to them, but sometimes, they needed a field repair and there were no garages, ramps, or pits to access their undercarriage. Soldiers and mechanics made do

Found on http://offroadaction.ca/2013/08/23/from-the-archives-154/

I have a cool old gas can just like that. No use for it, just cool garage eye candy

heading for Korea via the freight elevator

Found on http://offroadaction.ca/2014/01/19/from-the-archives-161/

I have just learned of the "Swamp Ghost" a B 17 that crashed into a New Guinea swamp in 1942

Force landed in 1942 in a remote region of Papua New Guinea sat undisturbed, partially submerged in a swamp for 30 years when it was rediscovered by Australian soldiers. 

The plane was found to be untouched since its abandonment, right down to it’s loaded machine guns. It was then that those soldiers christened the plane “Swamp Ghost”.

 It took nearly another 40 years to get the plane retrieved from that swamp and back to the United States, with many false starts and legal wrangling with the government of Papua New Guinea, but in 2010 the final hurdles were cleared to bring the “Swamp Ghost” home. 

The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor acquired the aircraft, which was shipped in pieces from California, arriving its new home at the museum in Hawaii April 2013. The museum intends to restore the plane, but as it is anticipating a restoration cost to be around 5 million dollars, it will take some time to raise the needed funds. In the meantime, they are planning to set the plane in a display that will replicate the swamp in which it had lain for all those years.  http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/boeing-b-17e-flying-fortress-arrives-pacific-aviation-museum-pearl-harbor.html

On Feb. 23, 1942, a B-17E Flying Fortress bomber crashed in one of the most remote and wild places on Earth: the primitive Agaimbo swamp located on the island of Papua New Guinea. The plane, piloted by young U.S. Army Air Corps Capt. Fred Eaton, had flown a long, dangerous mission from Australia against the Japanese Fortress at Rabaul in New Britain. This was the first long-range Allied bombing mission of World War II following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that included the U.S. The crew survived their ordeal and, after a six week trek to safety, returned to combat. Their B-17E, however, remained forgotten in the swamp until it was rediscovered in 1972 by an Australian Air Force crew.

n the mid-1980s, the late World War II pilot, restaurant industry pioneer and antique aircraft collector David Tallichet initiated efforts to recover and return the plane to U.S. soil. His dream was fulfilled in 2010 through the joint efforts of his family and aircraft salvage enthusiast Alfred Hagen.

Nicknamed Swamp Ghost, the B-17E has become an icon of military aviation. In tribute to its intact state, romantic isolation and the extreme challenges involved in its salvage, it is known among historians as military aviation’s Holy Grail.

Prior to its salvage, Swamp Ghost was considered the best-preserved unrecovered B-17E in the world. With its return to the Port of Long Beach, Swamp Ghost completed its final mission 68 years after take-off. Only four aircraft models of its type have ever been recovered. The aircraft will be restored, possibly to flying condition, for display at an aviation museum as a symbol of America’s military aviation heritage.

found on http://www.warhistoryonline.com/whotube-2/tube-b-17-swamp-ghost-hd-trailer.html

if you want to see what media has covered the story, magazines and such : http://www.theswampghost.com/

Soviet bomber listed (even for a moment) on Ebay

Ebay pulled the listing already, but.. I gotta say, that is one impressive aircraft

A Tu-95MS, a cruise missile launching variant of the Bear built in 1987 that was retired by the Ukrainian Air Force after only 454 hours of flight time, has been posted for sale on the auction site by a German seller. http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/sale-ebay-one-lightly-used-soviet-bear-bomber-low-mileage.html

22 sites of WW2 supply airplanes, and 193 MIA remains found by one mountain climber in the Himalayans

a supply route in a very dangerous stretch of the Himalayas took their toll and around 700 airplanes disappeared,

Full story at http://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured-article/rugged-mountains-yield-hundreds-of-wwii-era-plane-crashes-of-lost-hump-airmen.html

So that is news, and good news that some guy went out on his own expense to find and identify some wrecks and human remains, but now for my question... is the US government supposed to take some action if made aware of MIA remains? http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/pentagon-agency-slow-id-return-remains-americas-fallen.html the answer is yes, and like all functions of the US government, they suck at it, and turn every opportunity into a wasted money boondoggle

A museum is gathering as many B 17 parts as they can to build a B17... from scraps!

Champaign Aviation Museum of Ohio volunteers are piecing together various plane parts to bring back to life a vintage aircraft from the World War II era. A piece was found under the porch of an elderly woman in the next town. Another part was bought from a bar owner who had it hanging in Colorado. Another piece was used as a prop in a TV show way back 1960. The tail section was from a wreck site in Alaska.

 The dozens of volunteers are piecing together the parts like a jigsaw puzzle at a small Ohio museum. Once the project is complete, a new and airworthy model of one of the world’s most famous military planes, the World War II bomber B-17.



The volunteers are working on a vintage plane based on a collection of 28,000 original Boeing Co. blueprints which the Smithsonian Institution provided generously. And they are making history.

a teacher at a local vocational school on aviation asks his students to help in the building of the Flying Fortress. The incomplete plane can be viewed by visitors when the museum is open.

The first five pieces were from five different sources. The other parts needed and cannot be found or restored had to be made from scratch. Randy Kemp, 56 years old, serves as the project manager who oversees the fabrication of new pieces. He also takes charge of around 100 volunteers who come and go. Some even come from as far as England to volunteer for the ambitious project.

Shiffer further said that the project will cost millions. Donations and fundraisers have contributed to the completion of the plane. The museum also plans to hold a benefit dinner in April at the museum. Amanda Wright Lane, a great grandniece of Orville and Wilbur Wright will be expected to appear in the dinner to give a talk.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/ohio-museum-volunteers-building-vintage-wwii-plane.html

B 17s

above, moving vegatables from the Bahamas to Florida, and maybe some smuggling too

wrecked in New Guinea in 1943, more info here: http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-gray-ghost-b-17-flying-fortress-wreck-papua-new-guinea.html and details here: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/41-9234.html

Victory red and white stripes?

and as a Coast Guard rescue with a lifeboat ready to drop

Found on http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=14428&finish=15&start=0