Best Years Of Our Lives - Final Scene Location W Warbirds?

Rauhbatz · **Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:44 pm

Watching the end of it right now...saw some nearly scapped P-39s and then the B-17s. Doesn't look like Kingman as there are trees around.

Any idea where this was filmed? Looked to be an active scrapping operation..

SaxMan · **Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:01 pm

It's Chino, IIRC. Back then it was called Cal-Aero Field.

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:15 pm

A great movie!

AG pilot · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:13 am **Posts:** 553

I caught the end as well. Just amazing stuff to see! I wonder how many 1820's and hydromatics they had nestled up in neat rows?!

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:51 pm

The Aerovintage website has a lot of information about those scenes.

SN

The Inspector · **Posted:** Wed Mar 20, 2013 12:17 am

and a fair number of those B-17's weren't.................they were YB-40 gunships.

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Wed Mar 20, 2013 1:34 am

I made a bunch of stills from the DVD and checked what serials I could read, and a couple of the YB-40s did have combat histories. Others were just B-17s that served stateside as trainers. Here's what I got:

Also got a couple stills of the B-17E, Carol Jean (still trying to figure out the serial):

I wonder if William Larkins took any photos of these planes when he was at Chino?

CoastieJohn · **Joined:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:37 pm **Posts:** 1380

That was an excellent movie!!

I always wondered if anyone ever tracked down the history of those planes. Wiki says....""After the war, the combat aircraft featured in the film were being destroyed and disassembled for reuse as scrap material. The scene of Derry's walking among aircraft ruins was filmed at the Ontario Army Air Field in Ontario, California. The former training facility had been converted into a scrap yard, housing nearly 2,000 former combat aircraft in various states of disassembly and reclamation.[8]""

I also just learned Tennessee Ernie Ford and Blake Edwards had uncredited roles in that movie.

51fixer · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 12:39 pm

CoastieJohn wrote:

That was an excellent movie!!

I always wondered if anyone ever tracked down the history of those planes. Wiki says....""After the war, the combat aircraft featured in the film were being destroyed and disassembled for reuse as scrap material. The scene of Derry's walking among aircraft ruins was filmed at the Ontario Army Air Field in Ontario, California. The former training facility had been converted into a scrap yard, housing nearly 2,000 former combat aircraft in various states of disassembly and reclamation.[8]""

I also just learned Tennessee Ernie Ford and Blake Edwards had uncredited roles in that movie.

Chino started out as Cal Aero Academy, a contract flight training facility for the Army in 1939 IIRC, might be 40, but per war.
Later through the war the facility was expanded and it also served as a satellite field for Ontario AAB. Which was a training facility and also a manufacturing and Maint facility.
They installed revetments along the east and south portions of the field and based P-38s there.
When construction of hangars and improvements were undertaken in the 80s and 90s you would find small parts and firebricks underground.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 12:43 pm

'Round Trip?' 42 3463 B-17F-65-DL, l/n 8399 doesn't rate a spot in Baughers listings

Pathfinder · **Joined:** Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:35 pm **Posts:** 587

Nice job correlating the nose/tail number with the s/n of the a/c. Don't think anyone has ever done that before!

I always thought the fly-over in the beginning of the film was Davis-Monthan and the end of the film walk-around was at Ontario.

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:04 pm

Got another partial ID:

hang the expense · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:24 pm

51fixer wrote:

CoastieJohn wrote:

That was an excellent movie!!

I always wondered if anyone ever tracked down the history of those planes. Wiki says....""After the war, the combat aircraft featured in the film were being destroyed and disassembled for reuse as scrap material. The scene of Derry's walking among aircraft ruins was filmed at the Ontario Army Air Field in Ontario, California. The former training facility had been converted into a scrap yard, housing nearly 2,000 former combat aircraft in various states of disassembly and reclamation.[8]""

I also just learned Tennessee Ernie Ford and Blake Edwards had uncredited roles in that movie.

Chino started out as Cal Aero Academy, a contract flight training facility for the Army in 1939 IIRC, might be 40, but per war.
Later through the war the facility was expanded and it also served as a satellite field for Ontario AAB. Which was a training facility and also a manufacturing and Maint facility.
They installed revetments along the east and south portions of the field and based P-38s there.
When construction of hangars and improvements were undertaken in the 80s and 90s you would find small parts and firebricks underground.

Colonel Robert L. Scott was also one of the commanding officers during the war and I was honored to walk with him through his old office which was stacked full of hay bales back in 91.I thought it was a shame but he didnt really seem to care all that much.It was in the same building as the VFW was back then.Lots of good times and some really serious hangovers from that place of miss spent youth.

JohnB · **Posted:** Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:44 pm

During training, my dad flew YB-40s.

hang the expense · **Posted:** Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:14 am

JohnB wrote:

During training, my dad flew YB-40s.

Got any pictures?

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Best Years Of Our Lives - Final Scene Location W Warbirds?

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