Helldiver replica soon to be sunk

[PreservedAC]

The MAPS Air museum TBM Avenger (FSM/Replica) - 2005


TBM AVENGER (Replica)

The nose cowls are (/were) part of it.



Johan

[Wildchild]

Any news of sinking warbirds brings back a bad memory of that very rare early-model Neptune that I saw at St. Pete, FL. It had the cannon nose and rear turret, and it was a real treasure. I still don't understand why the Naval Museum didn't want it, or at least not sink it.

That was not a early model, it was the LAST P2V-3 Neptune that used to sit in Lowery Park Zoo, until our mayor decided it refelected war too much, so they sunk the airplane off the bay.

A week later they go out too check on the airplane, and all they found was a clean weild above the landing gears that were seiled in cement. And i think i know who stole the plane too...

Seen here around 1975 sporting a fresh red, white & blue paint job to celebrate the USA's upcoming bicentennial, for many years the drab, gray plane served as a unique "jungle gym" for adventurous kids with a yearning to climb something. After the plane was removed, it was relocated to the St. Pete air museum (which was basically an outdoor parking lot of old planes.) The museum, which was located by the St. Pete-Clearwater airport and the old 94th Aero Squadron restaurant, eventually fell into disrepair and closed. The aircraft were moved (dumped) in a field off of Hwy 17 south of Ft. Meade FL. (Wrong, it was sunk. It was a SST that was placed in a feild.) Some have been moved to the MAPS Air Museum, Akron Ohio to be restored for museum display.

EDIT: There were a few planes dumped in a feild south of Fort Meade, according to MAPS website, but does anyone know where that was? And if there are any left in the feild?

[cwmc]

That's sad. My Dad was a teenaged 2nd Class Petty and was flight engineer on those in VP-6 from '50 to '52.
Wasn't there a P2V-3 at Griffith Park?
Chris...

[RickH]

I hope that 147th FIG F101 looks better now. WHen those jets flew at Ellington Field-Houston, you could eat off of them ! Sad to see it this way.

[rwdfresno]

That was not a early model, it was the LAST P2V-3 Neptune that used to sit in Lowery Park Zoo, until our mayor decided it refelected war too much, so they sunk the airplane off the bay.

I guess a -3 being an early model is debatable but I'd consider it an early model. The -5 series is where I would consider the start of the “late” model P2Vs. By the late part of this series the stinger, observation nose, large tip tanks, were introduced and deletion of the turret armament was completed. These are the things that I associate with the late model Neptunes.

Also the Lowery Park Zoo P2V-3 was not the last -3. As Chris mentioned there was a P2V-3W at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The locals did their best to destroy the aircraft over the years but it does survive today. It is disassembled and stored outdoors in pretty rough shape. It would be great to see it go to a good home but I don’t think there is much demand for the aircraft unfortunately so it will probably sit indefinitely on my father’s property.

[cwmc]

Didn't know that Ryan, Thanks.
Chris...

[Wildchild]

Hey, tell your dad that if he's tired of having it sit on his farm I'll take it!