A friend who was a Bearcat owner told me the story of a friend of his who was searching for an F8F some years ago. The search finally took him a person who admitted to having bought a Bearcat years previously. He kept is as a plaything for his kids, but after years of sitting outside it became derelict. He then feared for being sued should any kid get injuried while playing on it, and had it scrapped! As I remember it, he even produced photos of it sitting in his yard.
So, I guess my answer would be; yes, I do believe that there are stuff still out there. Does that mean that there are dozens of pristine fighters located in barns around the US, no, probarbly not. But I think that you can stumble upon the odd a/c here and there. Not always a complete plane and as in the case of the F7F mentioned here, but in a country as vast as the US I'm sure you can find a treasure still!
AirJimL2 wrote:
IMO no one could keep a collection like that hidden. Even planes that aren’t seen much are listed on the Registry, with the WW bibles, etc.
Opinions?
Jim
Scenario 1: Lets say you bought a couple of fighters in the late 50's with the intent to sell them off (with great profit) to a foreign air force who still used them. Then the FBI starts to roam around as sales to said country is not sanctioned, and some a/c are actually confiscated. You obviously decide to keep a low profile, and store the beasts in a barn nearby. As years go by you don't pay much attention to them but keep them in the barn together with an old farm tractor, a plough, and a couple of old beat up cars, as "they don't do any harm sitting there"!
Scenario 2: Your uncle bought a P-51D in 1948 since he had missed out on flying it during WWII. After being surplussed he took it to his farm strip where he built up hours flying his Cub. One day he crashes fatally while on his way home in bad weather. Your aunt then have the 51 disassembled and put in the barn, where it is stored. You remember the P-51 sitting outside the farm before your uncle's death, and want that shiny plane more than anything else. Eventually, in the 1960s you get enough money and manages to convince your aunt to sell the now derelict plane to you, and intend to restore it in her barn. But now you become a father and don't have the time nor money to do anything with it, so it stays in the barn. And it still sits there...!
T J
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