Culver City movie backlot Warbirds

[george]

When the movie studio closed, I think in the early 70's, POF was able to save a couple of the planes, a Corsair and B-25 if I remember correctly. Does anyone know what else was there? I have heard there was a B-24, SBDs, maybe B-17s. Were any of them saved? A list of the warbirds that were put up for sale or auction would be very interesting.

[JohnB]

Do you mean the MGM auction?

I have a book on the MGM backlot an it it there is a photo from the auctions showing models about to be sold.
Ii features a large WWII-era Navy blimp, and a DC-9-like jet airliners as well as others too small to ID.
That stuff has still got to be around somewhere.

It saws the aircraft were kept on Lot 5 at the corner of Overland and Jefferson. It mentions but doesn't show B-25s and DC-6.
There is a photo of a wind machine, a radial engine airplane with nothing but a windscreen aft of the firewall. It could be a P-47...or Hellcat.

They did have a B-17 which Scott Thompson says eventually made its way to the NMUSAF collection where it was displayed at Beale AFB and currently outside at Offuitt AFBs (I saw it at both locations).
Here's a item from 2012 on his B-17 News page. Scroll down and you'll see it.

http://www.aerovintage.com/b17news12.htm

[kennsmithf2g]

Universal backlot August 1983




and this one too..........

[JohnB]

I'll bet the F-102 was used in the old Steve Canyon series filmed at Universal.
Likewise, the T-33 was the one flown by Rod Taylor in A Gathering of Eagles.

And the "Cutter's Goose" shown was a static painted to match the flying shots of the plane that crashed a few years back.
The PBY from "Midway"?

The red Stearman was used I Airwolf...again painted to match a flying example>

The PB4Y has me stumped.

[Chris Brame]

I have similar shots, taken circa 1986:

[Steve Nelson]

That last pic appears to be the Privateer cockpit, F-102, and part of a full-size space fighter mockup from the 1980s "Buck Rogers" TV show. Cool stuff! I hope the Privateer bits are still around.

SN

[Warbirdnerd]

I remember reading/hearing that on the lot where MASH the TV show was filmed had parts of a B-17 and Mustangs under the camo netting and if you knew where to look they could be spotted in the opening credits.
Any truth to this or is it just an old hangar tale?

[jdvoss]

I once read that the MGM lot had some "old PBY" fuselages that were sold to the scrapman. Someone later reported that they were actually "PBN Nomad" fuselages. Can anyone verify???

[Xrayist]

As for the PB4Y, the only time it might have been used was in the beginning of the movie Lady Takes a Flyer. There is a scene early on where they are at Litchfield(?) and a rich Texas oil man(?) played by Alan Hale Jr. buys his wife a PB4Y so she has something to fly. He is trying to find a pilot to ferry it back. Other than that I agree, I don't recall any movies with close ups of a PB4Y in them. It has been 20 years since I saw the movie, so my facts may be a bit off.

[JohnB]

I remember reading/hearing that on the lot where MASH the TV show was filmed had parts of a B-17 and Mustangs under the camo netting and if you knew where to look they could be spotted in the opening credits.
Any truth to this or is it just an old hangar tale?

From what I've read, locations were at an old film ranch near Malibu which is now a park. They may have had stuff stored there, but I doubt it.

[Chris Brame]

As for the PB4Y, the only time it might have been used was in the beginning of the movie Lady Takes a Flyer. There is a scene early on where they are at Litchfield(?) and a rich Texas oil man(?) played by Alan Hale Jr. buys his wife a PB4Y so she has something to fly. He is trying to find a pilot to ferry it back. Other than that I agree, I don't recall any movies with close ups of a PB4Y in them. It has been 20 years since I saw the movie, so my facts may be a bit off.

Possibly also for the B-24 cockpit scenes in the 1977 TV movie Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy?

[Dan Jones]

I remember reading/hearing that on the lot where MASH the TV show was filmed had parts of a B-17 and Mustangs under the camo netting and if you knew where to look they could be spotted in the opening credits.
Any truth to this or is it just an old hangar tale?

From what I've read, locations were at an old film ranch near Malibu which is now a park. They may have had stuff stored there, but I doubt it.

I heard that story once too, and I think the Mustang eventually became "Man o' War", but I think it was in reference to the movie, not the tv show.

[george]

Thanks for the information on the B-17 that was saved from the MGM Culver City backlot, JohnB. The only other warbird I have found by looking around the internet is a P-38, intact, that was used in an episode of Combat called Anatomy of a Patrol. This P-38 was sold in the auction along with all the other warbirds in 1970.

[p51]

I have a book on the MGM backlot an it it there is a photo from the auctions showing models about to be sold.

Is this the book you're talking about? http://www.amazon.com/dp/1595800557/?ta ... 69imbyc1_e
If so, how good is it? I've always been interested in such things...

[JohnB]

Yes, that's the one.
I enjoyed the book a great deal. I do wish they'd had more information on he vehicles and aircraft though.
Neat maps, lots of photos and even an index of which film used which streets/lots.

There is also a good website for the RKO/Desilu backlot.
http://www.retroweb.com/40acres.html
Example...did you know downtown Mayberry was about a block away from Stalag 13, which was near the mansion from Gone With the Wind?
How about Captain Kirk in front of Floyd's barber shop?
I love stuff like that.

Last edited by JohnB on Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.