Warbird Information Exchange

Looking at the following link, I was stunned to see that 3 509th B-29's were sent to China Lake and eventually scrapped there:

44-86291 Necessary Evil. (flew with Enola Gay and the Great Artiste on Aug 6th). Arrived at China Lake in 1968.

44-27304 Up An Atom. Arrived at China Lake in 1956.

44-27298 Full House. Arrived at China Lake in 1956.

Were these planes present when the CAF was getting FIFI out?

Scroll down the link to see the B-29 list...

http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Aircraft.htm

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Imagine one of these planes on the airshow scene today?

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Just having one around at a museum would be great!
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Many years ago I was told that FIFI was a Silverplate and was de-miled before it left China Lake. I doubt it as it was never assigned to the 509th. Gary discovered a large release handle located on the forward pressure dome in the cockpit that was attached to nothing that was covered up with an insulation blanket and was not covered in any T.O. that we know of. I'll ask a friend of mine who was there what he knows.

Here are a few China Lake B-29s............

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WANTED --> F-101 Voodoo photos, slides, negatives, memorabilia.
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WANTED --> photos, slides, negs of Aircraft in storage at NAF LITCHFIELD PARK.
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WANTED --> ADC Interceptor Magazine - 1959-1979
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Didn't all the Silverplate B-29's have electric props? FIFI of course has Ham Stds.

My dad went back into the service in 1947 after 50 B-17 missions in World War II and arrived at Roswell Army Air Field May 9, 1947 assigned to the 509th Composite Group, and 393rd BS.

He was put on Capt. Ewing’s crew May 12, 1947.

His first Roswell B-29 flight was on May 22nd in B-29-45-MO, 44-86291 “NECESSARY EVIL”
He'd have 12 more flights in 44-86291 on May 28, May30; June 3,4,7,12; July 4,28,29; Aug. 1,25; Sept 1, 1947.

Some other SILVER PLATE flights were on: B-29-35-MO 44-27301 “STRAIGHT FLUSH” with flights on July 8-9, 1947 and: Sept. 25,27,28; Oct.10, 1947; Oct.15, 1948; Nov. 2,22, 1948

He was on 44-27299 “NEXT OBJECTIVE” on 8/30/47 and on 44-27300 “STRANGE CARGO” some in Dec. 47; and on 4/20/48.


Up An' Atom was renamed Dave's Dream after V-J Day. It and STRAIGHT FLUSH were involved in July 1947 transporting crates related to a famous "disc" you may have heard of.

Here is a very rare shot on the Roswell ramp of 44-86291. Bob Slusher facing camera. My dad, Ernest Lloyd Thompson, with hands on hip (darker coveralls) facing nose.

Props are easily swapped. Indeed, the B-29's system is setup so either prop can be attached as the HamStan runs off a dedicated electric pump instead of the engine system like on other aircraft using a HamStan prop, indeed, it's much the same as the setup on the Curtiss prop. It is definitely different to see the panel with HamStan props and switches for the prop control.

You are correct. All original 509th Silverplate airplanes were Martin Omaha aircraft with Curtiss props.

Great stuff!!! Thanks for posting that picture!

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Here's the answer from the man who flew FIFI out of China Lake.

Many years ago I heard that FIFI was equipped with a bomb rack for an A-bomb when she was in China Lake and was removed before we took possession, any truth to that?
COL./GEN. JIM HILL AND THE GREAT USAF ATTEMPT TO CUT THE B-29'S SPAR! (5)

Well, I just noticed that they were showing the movie, "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", on TV tonight and it got me to thinking about the olden days. "From out of the west comes the hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver". Along with the musical notes of the William Tell overture. Actually, more like the smoky blue exhaust of a late sixties Buick making its way through the haze of an early Texas morning in the Rio Grande valley. Somewhere's in the early seventies. Car comes around the corner of the bomber hangar and parks outside the Confederate Air Force Headquarters building at the windswept and largely abandoned former Harlingen Air Force Base. Magically bearing the grandiose new moniker of "Rio Grande Valley International Airport". Out of the car unfolds the lanky form of an ancient pelican, clad in a CAF "Class B" gray uniform, with the unmistakable leathery face of Col. James Hill. Donning his oil stained gray Stetson, the hat equally as weathered as the man, he walks across the parking lot into the building for yet another day's work at the office.

Jim was the CAF's Executive Director way back in 1971 when I first delivered the ancient relic (subsequently to become “Fifi”, the queen bee of the fleet) to the CAF's tarmac at Harlingen, Texas. Little did I know that during all the extensive preparation on the back range and ramp at the China Lake NAS for our eventual ferry flight that somehow - someone - in the USN had neglected - overlooked - forgotten - whatever - to remove the A-bomb racks from the bomb bay of this nearly extinct survivor of WW II, the piston powered B-29, tail number #44-62070.

Stuff yet to write:

USAF vehicle and men arrive unannounced on ramp
Metal cutting chain saws
Didn't know they were talking to a B/Gen. (USAFR), C.O. of a C-130 transport group at Kelly AFB, masquerading / moonlighting in his (other) capacity as a CAF Col.
Talk down to us CAF hillbillies
Like maybe we were gonna bomb Cuba or something
Determination, country, duty, military and all
"Unh, let's get this straight, you'all are gonna do what????????????"
Jim opened his side desk drawer, Colt 44 Single Action Army, "click-clickety-click", laid it on the wooden desktop, thump!, "Unh, whyn't you'all tell me just one more time what you boys were sent all the way down here to accomplish??????????"
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"Fifi" soldiers on in CAF service <g>

Randy Sohn - 1999 ©

I have no answer of what happened to the bomb rack.
How many B-29s were modified to carry the A-bonb after the war?

Martin built 55 or 57 (depending on the source) and Boeing Wichita built 8 Silverplate modified airplanes. Another 80 B-29s were contracted to be modified later to "Saddletree" configuration. I suppose it could be that '070 was pulled from Pyote storage and run through the Saddletree modification. You people should have the full history of the airplane, so the Saddletree program should be in the Aircraft Records if it was indeed modded to that standard. For historical purposes, here are two pages from the Grand Island Army Air Field Official Base History, dated November and December 1946, that shows 44-62070 awaiting transfer from Grand Island to Pyote:


These pages are copies of the original Grand Island documents on file at AFHRA at Maxwell AFB.

SuperGuppy,
Anymore China Lake B-29 pic's to share?

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Wouldn't there have been alot more mods than just the bomb racks and a mysteriously covered hole? After all these years, this is just coming to light now?

What's up with the one in faded primer? Surely by the end of the war, there were no OD versions left... Great pics!

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Sure, Charles Lindbergh flew the plane... but Tom Rutledge built the engine!

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Django,

You've probably already been here, but there are a lot of vintage China Lake photos here: http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1968B.htm The painted airplane was actually in primer, there are a couple of photos of it on the link above.

I'm contacting Bob Mann to get a summary of all Saddletree airplanes (providing he has one). I don't have a list of all the Saddletree modifications at hand, so I can't tell you exactly what would be added/removed to get an airplane to that standard.

Scott