Warbird Information Exchange

I believe I have one of those mounts in my pile
of T-6 spares/junk in my hangar. I'll see if I can
find it and post a picture this evening.

Bela P. Havasreti

If you do have one of those mounts in your pile of goodies treat it like it is made out of platinum as it is a rare and highly desirable piece. There are many folks out there willing to trade or pony up large amounts of cash to acquire one.

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To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Yes, the ANM2 is quite a gun. I am partial to the MKII .303 as well.

Patrick

As good a time as any to ask, did the SAAF ever use the rear gunner config?

My airplane has the gunner seat and canopy, gun cowl, wing gun mount and gun camera mount on the other wing.

I have no idea what if any of this was used in conjunction with what.

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Eric

"I spent most of my money on alcohol, women and skyraiders....and the rest of it I just wasted."

I had to make my own mount, couldn't find one 20 years ago, but you can get the gun from IRAC http://www.iracinc.com/replica.htm

Where would I be without the WIX forums? This is great stuff guys, please keep it up. Here are two I took back in "the good old days" when I lived in Tucson. These are actually from the Casa Grande flyin probably mid to late 1980s. At the time, this was the best rear gun T-6/SNJ installation I had seen. I think the plane belonged to a dentist from the Bay area of SF?

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Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

taigh, i recognize the tail end of the japanese zero aerial gunnery kite target. great display!! i've wanted 1 of those for years. i'm currently writing an article on i.d. model training / silhouette posters etc.

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Tom,

I just missed out on the FW-190 version of the kite on eBay recently. I was the second highest bidder It even had the full control system on it.

Did you know that Paul Garber (NASM fame) invented those kites for gunnery training back in WWII? There is a nice display in the lobby to the Garber facility that chronicles this and Mr. Garber’s other awesome achievements. He was always a nut for kites and he even started the kites on the mall event in front of the Smithsonian that is an annual event to this day. He was a kind gentleman who was loved by all those who came in contact with him. Bernie Poppert likes to tell a story about hearing him answer the phone one day. He said “Hello this is the Paul E. Garber restoration facility, Garber speaking…”

When I was in college I was lucky enough to hear him give a talk at San Jose State University on the most significant aircraft. I loved hearing him telling the story about when he was a docent at the Smithsonian while Lindbergh was crossing the Atlantic. He went to the president of the Smithsonian and asked if he could write a letter to Charles Lindbergh and ask him to donate the Spirit of Saint Louis to the museum. He said that the boss thought he was crazy and that Lindberg probably wouldn't make it but he gave permission for him to write the letter anyway. Cool stuff!

_________________
To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Yes, the ANM2 is quite a gun. I am partial to the MKII .303 as well.

Patrick

I think one of the most authentic and original restorations that I have seen was Bill Crone's SNJ-5C. He brought it to OSH a bunch of years ago just after he had finished it. It was bone stock right down to the live ANM2 30 cal guns in the cowling and right wing. He received permission from the Sheriffs office in OSH to mount the guns and do a live fire demo with wood tipped blanks. The wood tips were shaped just like the normal bullet and as a result the guns didn't need a blank adapter in the feedway or on the end of the cooling jacket. The wood tips would break up in the barrel when fired. He would coordinate with the Warbird tower at OSH and would clear the area of people and would fire the live 30's. It was awesome! Then one of the Warbird directors popped a breaker and called a halt to the gun firing. Bill was livid and almost packed up and left. There were other controversies that year with the judging but when the dust settled Bill won one of the top awards as I recall. His award was well deserved as his aircraft was gorgeous and he also did all of the work himself.

_________________
To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'