Warbird Information Exchange

I have been going through a stack of recently found old photos from vacations and airshows I went to when I was a kid. Included were some photos my dad took in Brazil [1957-58] when he worked for Petrobras Oil Company. They flew in and out of the Amazon via PBY Catalinas. He took three photos of one of the PBY's he flew in. I searched the registration number in the photos "AXM" (Turns out it was PT-AXM). I came up with this site:
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/thirdseries5.html

Which in turn I was able to find the plane by BuNo. on this site:
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/pbyregis ... 46595.html
(BTW, if you want to update the page the plane belonged to Petrobras Oil Company at least from the late 50s until 1968 when it was transfered to the Brazilian AF as C-10A FAB 6651)

Here I discovered the same plane my dad flew in is now on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton! Amazing. Here it is on the museum site:
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/modern_flight/mf20.htm

Under other registrations is PT-AXM. Besides a new paint scheme, in the restoration process they added a forward turret not part of the plane in civilian life.

BK

In looking at that page, I wanna know about this the crash of PB4Y-1 38766 Aug 9, 1944 at Eniwetok, because that must have been one spectacular wreck. That crash looks like it destroyed more warbirds than the post war wrecking yards. A quick search of the phrase "destroyed on ground by crashing PB4Y-1 38766 Aug 9, 1944, Eniwetok." on that page yields the following numbers:

13 Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat's
12 General Motors TBM-1C Avenger's
6 General Motors FM-2 Wildcat's
7 Grumman TBF-1C Avenger's

All listed as destroyed in that one accident. That's like the entire compliment of an escort carrier, are there any more details about what happened? Sounds like the pilot mistook the repair yard for the landing strip.
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_________________
Phil K.
Yankee Air Museum
Systems Admin / Ramp Crew / Professional Photo Ruiner

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/thirdseries4.html

38766 (VB-116, ex USAAF 44-40348) swerved off runway on takeoff
from NAB Eniwetok, South Pacific and crashed into parked aircraft while carrying nine 500-lb bombs, destroying 106 naval aircraft 8/9/1944. 9 killed, 2 injured.

BK

I saw that too a couple of years ago, must have been one heck of a crash.....