Obituary: Bradford Allen, 88, WWII pilot who loved building model planes
Published Saturday, Sep. 10, 2011
Bradford H. Allen, a World War II pilot who built and flew hundreds of scale-replica model airplanes, died Sept. 1 of emphysema, his family said. He was 88.
Mr. Allen, who grew up with a love of airplanes, eagerly joined the Army Air Corps after high school for free pilot training. Assigned to the 15th Air Force, 455th Bombardment Group, he flew B-24 planes on a total of 35 daring missions in Europe during World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and a certificate of valor.
"One time an engine went out, and he was looking for a place to land," said his wife, Bonnie. "He looked down, and all he could see was snow and ice in the Alps – and he decided he'd better try to make it back to base."
Although he rarely spoke about his experience as a wartime pilot, Mr. Allen shared his lifelong enthusiasm for flying with model planes he built mostly from scratch in the garage of his Sierra Oaks home. He built large-scale reproductions of vintage military and civilian aircraft, based on blueprints that he obtained from the Smithsonian Institution.
"He enlarged them with a classroom projector and traced them on butcher paper taped to the wall," said his son, Craig, who shared his father's hobby. "Then we'd go out and measure the car to make sure he could carry it."
Mr. Allen's replicas had wingspans up to 14 feet, including a Curtiss "Jenny," a World War I-era biplane, that won awards at many shows. Another favorite, an Aeronca C-3 "flying bathtub," measured 13 feet from wingtip to wingtip.
Besides flying his models at public fields in Davis and Lincoln, he shared his hobby with others as an active member of the Sacramento Valley Soaring Society and the Society of Antique Modelers. His works also appeared on the covers of model airplane magazines.
Mr. Allen and his twin brother, Samuel, were born in 1922 in Philadelphia and grew up in Utah. He graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. He married his wife in 1947, had five children and settled in Sacramento in 1953.
He worked at Aerojet and taught school before becoming a Sacramento County social worker. He spent about 20 years working mostly as a court-appointed conservator and retired in the early 1980s.
He enjoyed reading and watching programs about airplanes on the Military Channel. He gave many of his model planes to friends.
"Anytime he had the garage door open, neighborhood kids would come over and ask about the planes," his wife said. "He loved to share his passion with others."
Published:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/10/v-prin ... -wwii.html
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