Craig59 wrote:
Pictured below is the Sikorsky HRS, Bureau Number 130252 currently on display at the Flying Leatherneck Museum in San Diego. The museum recently completed an absolutely beautiful and accurate restoration of the aircraft. BuNo 130252 was placed into storage at DM on November 14, 1966. Its aircraft history card shows it "transferred" to Quantico on February 4, 1967 and SOC 4 days later.
My question is where is it on display in this photo? The A4D-2 (BuNo 142897) next to it offers no help as it doesn't appear to exist anymore. It's obviously very close to the water as evidenced by the CV in the background. Could this be Quantico or someplace closeby or somewhere in San Diego? As Quantico was headquarters for the then Marine Air-Ground Museum, the "transfer" may have been for paperwork purposes only, not the physical location of the aircraft.
Any help or thoughts are appreciated.
Fascinating photo. It's definitely not Quantico, or anything nearby. You'd never get a CV that far up the Potomac. The trees look like red maple's, judging by the distinctive leaves and these are very common on the east coast, and not at all on the west. Also, there is a billboard on the building near the covered entrance. I can't read all the writing, but one of the words is definitely Lounge... if that is a clue.
Also, the carrier seems strangely devoid of antennas. The aircraft towards the prow, where all you can see is a cockpit, is definitely a Douglas Skynight. These were all out of service by 1970 (although there were a few lingering into the 1980's with Raytheon as flying testbeds ). The one where only the tail and part of the wing is showing is almost certainly a Douglas F4D Skyray as has earlier been mooted, and these were all done with the fleet by the mid-1960's. Therefore, since we already know that the Skyhawk pictured wasn't retired until 1970 we have only one real conclusion that the carrier is museum piece too, most likely on the east coast. This would suggest that it is the USS Intrepid, as that's the only carrier museum I can think of with both a skynight and a skyray. The carrier was decommissioned at Quonset Point in the early 1970's. Could this be Quonset Point, before the carrier moved down to New York City in 1982?
I also found that the USS Intrepid was declared (by Congress) to be the official vessel of the US Navy and Marine Corps bicentennial exposition held in Philadelphia in 1976. This would be a big reason for her to have retired aircraft on her deck prior to her move to New York... so maybe this photo was taken in Philadelphia? It might also explain the retired aircraft on what look like temporary stands on the grass too.
Cheers,
Richard
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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography -
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but the nose of the aircraft sitting on the deck mostly hidden by the tree looks more like a Crusader rather than a Phantom. In addition, I'm not sure Phantoms flew off the old "Essex" carriers - I think they were too heavy? - even after the "27C" conversions. That said, there is the tail of an a/c on the left side of the tree. Might that be a Crusader as well? (Don't think any of this crap helps solve the mystery, but what the heck!!!)
