Warbird Information Exchange

Mrs. Mudge was going through her mother's "saved" stuff...you know, "Here's me and my brother standing by the '60 Olds", and found this Denver paper advertising an airshow celebrating the US Bicentennial. I thought it was interesting because of the reference to the "Confederate" Air Force and the list of participating a/c. Look closely and you'll notice the references to Japanese Zeros, Messerschmitts, P-38s, and B-17s. Them was the good ol' days.





Well...We thought it was interesting.

Mudge the nostalgic

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Land of the free because of the brave

SIX P-47's way cool! When is the last time we saw that kind of pic?!

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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Another shot of the 'six'...


Project 914 Archives (S.Donacik collection)


Fade to Black...

Interesting pic of Fifi. I think she was still carrying the "Confederate Air Force" on the fuselage when I first saw her in 1977, but I've never seen a shot of her with the "US Air Force" and post-1947 "red stripe" insiginas before. Was that shot taken when she first came out of China Lake, before she was repainted?

SN

Color shots of the six CAF Bolts acquired from Peru in 1969. Taken from CAF booklet circa mid 70s.

It's interesting that the collection of 40 planes, including the Superfort, was worth around $2 million. Now a single P-51 goes for around that price, doesn't it?

Of those six P-47s...where are they now?

Five flew at Chino in 2005 (P-47Ds Hun Hunter, Wicked Wabbit, Big Chief, Bill Klaers N47DF, and P-47G Spirit of Atlantic City, NJ). There were 7 on the field if you count the two over at Yanks (YP-47M and P-47D).
http://chino.airshowjournal.com/2005/

Mudge, in 1976 I was a kid of 12 years old, had just run away from home in Cherry Creek in Denver, and my social worker was bringing me home after my little' adventure' and we had just pulled up in front of my house on Columbine street and were getting out of her car and heading towards what was sure to be a not-too-tearful reunion with my folks (lots of family problems back then) when we both heard this increasing drone of what sounded like thunder approaching from the east....and lo and behold this massive gaggle of WWII warbirds, led by the B-17, came STRAIGHT AT US at about 500 feet altitude....now I can't recall all that was in the formation, but I can guess that it was about 16-20 planes and it was just one of the coolest things I had ever seen....they went straight over us and to the west towards the mountains, but I did'nt have time to linger and watch them dissappear as there were other things to attend to at the time. Long have I wondered if anyone else could recall this show (I never made it to the show itself) or if any photos were taken, and just on a whim did I click on this thread hoping, just slightly, that maybe your submission was about this show....and it is. A great thank you....I'm not crazy and the show DID happen and someone has documentation of the whole deal!! Just wish someone had photos of the angle I saw that day of the massed gaggle of birds flying over my house....what a photo it would be!!

Mark

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Mark Morris

I have a copy of that booklet. Picked it up at the Selfridge Air Show in 1977 when I was 13, and darned near wore it out over the next few years. It was brand new in this photo..the book was in my hand as my buddy and I posed wtih Texas Raiders.



Indidently, I'm not 100% sure but I think the third plane back in the Flight of Six photo, and the first one int the flight of three, is the P-47 now in the collection of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.

SN

In relation to the color photo of six:
-Top (228790/Unadilla Killa) flies as "549385/WZ-A on port side and B-WZ on starboard" at Westpac Restorations, Colorado Springs, CO
-Second from the top ("Grumpy") flies as "No Guts No Glory" at Milville Army Air Force Museum, NJ.
-Third from the top (353rd FG/226422/LH-E) is now on display as "Five by Five" at the NMUSAF in Dayton, OH
-Fourth from the top (USAAF/HV-A) is airworthy "Hairless Joe" on display at Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, OR
-Fifth from the top (FT L 420473) is airworthy (not flown) on display as Gabby Gabeski's last plane at the Airzoo in Kalamazoo, MI
-Bottom (2 5744) flies as "Squirt VIII" (formally Big Chief) at Palm Springs Air Museum, CA

Not bad, all still exist, all airworthy (assuming one in Dayton is) even if they don't fly. Of course after tracking all of this info in the registry and elsewhere the last thing I found was this thread from 5 years ago. Includes a color photo of the six lined up on the ground
viewtopic.php?p=165408

Thanks for the info. I knew the Air Zoo T-bolt was in the pic, but apparenlty I had the wrong one.

I doubt the NMUSAF example could be considered airworthy. It sat in the Annex for years in a 1st Air Commando markings before it's recent restoration. While it certainly looks fantastic, and I assume is complete, I'm sure it would need to be thoroughly gone through if it was to be brought back to flight statues.

SN