Pat Carry wrote:Its my understanding as a lifelong Chicago area resident, the aircraft were stored in a building on the footprint of what is now O'Hare International Airport. Movement of the aircraft from there to Maryland became necessary as the airport was constructed and the buiding was eventually torn down.
I believe that the aircraft had to be moved due to the possible need to re-open aircraft production in the hangars that the Smithsonian's aircraft were housed in. This was due to the Korean War. I was told that a number of the aircraft were dumped/partially scrapped at this time (such as the Betty bomber). This was due to the initial expediency required to get the aircraft removed from the facility. Apparently Earl Reinert picked up some of the aircraft/parts disposed of... literally from a rail yard where they were left... but some items were lost forever.
I have also heard that the hangars never ended up being used for aircraft production again either, which is sad, considering that NASM's collection then had to be stored outdoors, necessitating the long and costly restorations they've had to perform. Perhaps it as all a ruse to get the hangars emptied for the construction of O'Hare, but that's simply my conjecture.
Cheers,
Richard