Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:11 pm
Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:12 pm
This should be the last of the plane pictures for a while -
Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:29 pm
That last pic is great!!
Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:34 pm
[quote="Mortmer"]This should be the last of the plane pictures for a while -
Oh! If only the picture above showed a better view of the nose and mission tally. If I had to guess though...check out the number on the nosewheel and compare below...
Yes, I know - the nose number is missing from the picture. But so are the turret, nose guns, and cheek guns. Getting ready for the invasion of mainland Japan, VMB-433 was going to be conducting close air-ground support with rockets. Thank goodness for Enola Gay...
Oh! If only the picture above showed a better view of the nose and mission tally. If I had to guess though...check out the number on the nosewheel and compare below...
Yes, I know - the nose number is missing from the picture. But so are the turret, nose guns, and cheek guns. Getting ready for the invasion of mainland Japan, VMB-433 was going to be conducting close air-ground support with rockets. Thank goodness for Enola Gay...
Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:59 pm
I like the whitewall tire. 
Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:48 pm
Will the CAF PBJ have the radar pod on the wing tip?
Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:22 am
This phrase has been overused to the point of cliché, but these photos fully deserve this:
WOW.
Mortmer, you have come up with a real treasure trove, and I cannot thank you enough for posting these for us to enjoy.
Lynn
WOW.
Mortmer, you have come up with a real treasure trove, and I cannot thank you enough for posting these for us to enjoy.
Lynn
Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:44 am
Craig -
Thanks for making that connection. It is really neat to see the before and after.
Lynn -
I'm really lucky to have the chance to dig through these, the least I can do is try and ensure that they aren't lost.
I have 8 more pages of his album to scan. The album is mostly scenic shots, what is left is from when they were in the Philippines after the war ended, the shots in Manila are amazing, as far as showing the damage...
Not to be too somber but, these next pictures were from pages labeled Guadalcanal and Munda. They really put into perspective the rest of the pictures...
Thanks for making that connection. It is really neat to see the before and after.
Lynn -
I'm really lucky to have the chance to dig through these, the least I can do is try and ensure that they aren't lost.
I have 8 more pages of his album to scan. The album is mostly scenic shots, what is left is from when they were in the Philippines after the war ended, the shots in Manila are amazing, as far as showing the damage...
Not to be too somber but, these next pictures were from pages labeled Guadalcanal and Munda. They really put into perspective the rest of the pictures...
Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:58 am
Wow, that last one...
Hereos.
Hereos.
Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:32 am
Will the CAF PBJ have the radar pod on the wing tip?
Yes and the rockets like she did in the war.
Dan
Yes and the rockets like she did in the war.
Dan
Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:48 am
A few more pictures from the album -
The last one is from a Phot0 Lab Party on Emirau, the rest of the party can be seen here -
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6bee2j
Oddly enough, I found a few other pictures from this party here -
http://lct376.org/mag61.htm
The last one is from a Phot0 Lab Party on Emirau, the rest of the party can be seen here -
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6bee2j
Oddly enough, I found a few other pictures from this party here -
http://lct376.org/mag61.htm
Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:38 am
I finally got around to scanning the photograph of VMB-433 pilots circa June, 1945:
Photographer Kern flew with Gerard Dethier on May 8, 1945. Dethier is not pictured and is alive. Kern flew with James Butler on July 26, 1945. Butler is third row back, fourth from the left and is deceased. Kern flew with Doyle on several flights. Doyle is not pictured and is alive. On September 16, 1945, Kern flew with both Chester Coleman and McCarthy. Coleman is first row kneeling, fifth from the left and is deceased. McCarthy is first row kneeling, third from right, status unknown. Kern flew with J.P. Manion on November 1, 1945. He is first row kneeling, third from the left, status unknown.
From May through August 8, 1945, Kern's plane-of-choice seemed to be BuNo 35107, A PBJ-1D. It's just an educated guess on my part that this is MB-07, "Fuzzy Fotos, Inc." the first PBJ pictured in Paul's amazing post. That of course means that it ended up in the junk pile picture sometime after August 8, '45. Most of Kern's missions are coded 'KP' - Tactical Photography.
While my Dad's log indicates he flew with both Dethier and Butler, he never flew with Kern aboard. Nor did my Dad ever fly BuNo 35107. Dad is first row kneeling, holding up the VMB-433 sign and is very much amongst the living. As an aside, a near-mint VMB-433 leather patch just sold on ebay for $535.
Photographer Kern flew with Gerard Dethier on May 8, 1945. Dethier is not pictured and is alive. Kern flew with James Butler on July 26, 1945. Butler is third row back, fourth from the left and is deceased. Kern flew with Doyle on several flights. Doyle is not pictured and is alive. On September 16, 1945, Kern flew with both Chester Coleman and McCarthy. Coleman is first row kneeling, fifth from the left and is deceased. McCarthy is first row kneeling, third from right, status unknown. Kern flew with J.P. Manion on November 1, 1945. He is first row kneeling, third from the left, status unknown.
From May through August 8, 1945, Kern's plane-of-choice seemed to be BuNo 35107, A PBJ-1D. It's just an educated guess on my part that this is MB-07, "Fuzzy Fotos, Inc." the first PBJ pictured in Paul's amazing post. That of course means that it ended up in the junk pile picture sometime after August 8, '45. Most of Kern's missions are coded 'KP' - Tactical Photography.
While my Dad's log indicates he flew with both Dethier and Butler, he never flew with Kern aboard. Nor did my Dad ever fly BuNo 35107. Dad is first row kneeling, holding up the VMB-433 sign and is very much amongst the living. As an aside, a near-mint VMB-433 leather patch just sold on ebay for $535.
Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:14 am
Craig,
Thank you so much for doing that research. Would it be OK if I took copy of that photograph and included it on the site I am building, as well as quote the information you provided?
I have finished scanning all but 4 photographs (they are large format and will need to wait until I get back to work Monday). I ended up with over 400 pictures scanned.
The URL is -
http://spike.cs.umass.edu/~pbinder/Fran ... _Kern.html
If you want, please pass that along to your father. If he can add anything about any of the pictures I would be most grateful.
Last night I received a phone call from Dave Arant who was a Pilot with VMB 433. He doesn't remember Frank however, he is asking the surviving members of VMB that he is in contact with and told me he will be back in touch. It was great to talk with him and he told me a few stories about his experiences flying in a PBJ. I really hope I get to hear more!
What a great 4th of July present!
Thank you so much for doing that research. Would it be OK if I took copy of that photograph and included it on the site I am building, as well as quote the information you provided?
I have finished scanning all but 4 photographs (they are large format and will need to wait until I get back to work Monday). I ended up with over 400 pictures scanned.
The URL is -
http://spike.cs.umass.edu/~pbinder/Fran ... _Kern.html
If you want, please pass that along to your father. If he can add anything about any of the pictures I would be most grateful.
Last night I received a phone call from Dave Arant who was a Pilot with VMB 433. He doesn't remember Frank however, he is asking the surviving members of VMB that he is in contact with and told me he will be back in touch. It was great to talk with him and he told me a few stories about his experiences flying in a PBJ. I really hope I get to hear more!
What a great 4th of July present!
Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:10 am
Paul,
In a word - yes! Please feel free to use whatever you wish. I've sent you an email...
In a word - yes! Please feel free to use whatever you wish. I've sent you an email...
Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:26 pm
While looking for more information about Frank's plane and activities I stumbled upon this page -
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/ ... pbj-1j.htm
Where there was this comment from R J Powers -
'We applied a name once to our photo recon PBJ-1D 35107, in black tape, "Fuzzy Fotos, Inc.", and the group CO raised hell because we were absolutely prohibited from parroting the Army Air Force's predilection for nose art, names, mottoes, etc. Whether that applied to those independent squadrons not under MAG-61 control, I don't know. Possibly they had nose art, but not on our island. I know; I personally had to remove the lettering from 35107. (I had applied it!) 08/11/2002 @ 19:33 [ref: 5467]'
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/ ... pbj-1j.htm
Where there was this comment from R J Powers -
'We applied a name once to our photo recon PBJ-1D 35107, in black tape, "Fuzzy Fotos, Inc.", and the group CO raised hell because we were absolutely prohibited from parroting the Army Air Force's predilection for nose art, names, mottoes, etc. Whether that applied to those independent squadrons not under MAG-61 control, I don't know. Possibly they had nose art, but not on our island. I know; I personally had to remove the lettering from 35107. (I had applied it!) 08/11/2002 @ 19:33 [ref: 5467]'