[Old News] B-19 Arrives to Join Collection

[Noha307]

Found another picture of A6M2, EB-200:

(Source: Flickr)

Our local public library recently acquired the photograph collection of our main local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and one of the pictures they uploaded is of an unknown Bf 109 G-6/Trop:

(Source: Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library)

I'm really curious to identify the airframe, but the only "Trop" example on Joe Baugher's list of captured Axis aircraft, WkNr 16416, EB-102, is listed as being severely damaged in an accident on 1 September 1944 - eight days after this photo was taken. I'm wondering if it could be the same fuselage in the Shot from the Sky exhibition:

(Source: Asisbiz)

It appears to be this aircraft, as the white band and "4" side number match (the number on the example in the show can be seen more clearly in another photo):

(Source: WarBird Photos)

[Noha307]

D-M Aerial Museum Holds
Many Notable Specimens

By FRANK JOHNSON

 Among the many sights several
thousand Tucsonans will marvel at
Sunday when Davis-Monthan field
holds open house as part of a
three-day army airforce 40th birth-
day celebration is the field's air-
craft museum. The 20 planes with
historic names and stirring war
records stand in a special museum
area - not for from the storage
area of some 400 war-retired B-29s.
 Foremost among the warbirds is
the world's only B-19, a $3,000,000
bomber, which until recent devel-
opment of the B-35 and B-36 was
the largest ever flown. Christened
as the "Guardian of the Hemis-
phere" its 2126-foot wingspan and
sky-reaching tail assembly dwarfs
the myriad of Superforts, among
which it now rests from a brief
flying career. The B-19 was test
hopped in September of 1941 by
Lt. Col. Stanley Ulmsted at Santa
Monica, Calif., and removed from
service shortly after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor.
  Held Many Answers
Although it had a brief career
the B-29 gave airmen many an-
swers to problems of long-range
bomber operation. It is powered
by four 3,000 horsepower engines,
has a range of 8,000 miles with a
top speed of 365 miles per hour.
With room for a 20-man crew and
a 13,000 gallon fuel capacity the
big bomber would have been a
great combat threat if it had a
faster speed and greater maneuver-
ability.
 The sight-seeing tour to the mu
seum area as arranged by Major
Jack O. Brown, base public rela-
tions officers, is to be by bus and
is scheduled to start from the
main headquarters after Sunday's
model airplane contest. Visitors
will be given what Lt. Col. Robert
F. Schirmer, chief of aircraft stor-
age, terms the "two dollar tour
complete with guide." Its first stop
will be at the B-19 and then pro-
ceed to the main museum area,
a few hundred yards away.
  Main Museum Area
 Other names of museum planes
that made history over the world's
war areas include: the Enola Gay,
the B-29 that brought atomic-hell
to the Japanese on Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945; the Bocscar, a team-
mate to the Enola Gay, that
dropped the second atomic blast on
Japan with Nagasaki as its tar-
get; and the late Wendel Willkie's
famous "One World" ship, a C-87
-the plane that made the first
around the world flight via the
North Pacific.
 A German JU-88, pride of the
Nazi airforce's low level bombing
strength, is the only enemy air-
craft in the museum. Sharply in-
congruous with its swastika con-
trasted against the blue and white
stars of the American fighting
planes, the German ship was one
of Hitler"s main aerial threats to
our airmen during war days in
Europe's bloody skies. Manufac-
tured by Junkers, it has a range
of 1500 miles and is capable of a
top speed of 295 miles per hour.
   Many AAF 'Firsts'
 Among bombing planes in the
installation, in addition to the B-19
and several B-29s, are one of the
nation's 125 B-32s, a bomber similar
to the B-29, but without the newer
bomber's pressurized cabins; the
first B-24 to land in North Africa
in the opening phase of the African
onslaught; a B-17E and a B-17G,
famed "Flying Fortresses," that
made the 8th Airforce a unit to be
respected.
 Others are a B-24, heavily
worked in the Pacific battle zone
from the Aleutians to Bougan-
ville in the Solomons; a B-25, a
well-armed bomber with 12 for
ward facing guns- a good plane
for low level bombing and strafing,
and the much-traveled, hard-fight-
ing B-26, one of the world's fastest
medium bombers.
   Soon to Leave
 Several transport planes, used to
ferry troops and supplies into bat-
tle areas, are in the museum as
well as the C-45A, used mainly for
staff purposes. On the fighter
side of the roster are a P-61, the
dreaded "Black Widow" night
fighter; the plane that rose up
into black skies to protect bases
and combat installations when
other fighters were out of the air.
Gliders also come in for recogni-
tion with the most interesting be-
ing the XCG-17, a converted C-47
transport, stripped of motors and
equipment. This craft was towed
by a B-17 and carried 12 passen-
gers.
 These interesting products of
military aviation may soon leave
their desert home for permanent
quarters at the Smithsonian Insti-
tute in the national capital or at
an airforce museum in the middle
west, Davis-Monthan officials be-
lieve. So while they are here all
Tucson can view these retired war-
riors who not so long ago roared
with full throttle across enemy
skies.

(Source: Frank Johnson, "D-M Aerial Museum Holds Many Notable Specimens," Arizona Daily Star, 1 August 1947, 15.)

With the above information, we can add even more aircraft to the collection:

• B-17E, unknown
• B-17G, unknown
• B-24D, 42-72843, "Strawberry Bitch"[1]
• B-24, unknown
• B-25J, unknown
• B-26, unknown
• B-32, 42-108474[2]
• C-45A, unknown
• P-61, unknown
• XCG-17, 41-18496[3]

Note that the B-26 is cannot be Flak-Bait, as it was disassembled in Germany and shipped to the Park Ridge facility in crates.[4]

Another article, which is not worth reproducing in full here as it is largely similar to the above, does note that an A-20 and A-26 were part of the collection.[5]

[Chris Brame]

[*]B-17E, unknown

This one?

41-2407 Del/Ass Wright Fd, Air Material Command as test a/c. RFC storage at Davis-Monthan 1/8/46.

[*]B-17G, unknown

This one?

44-83504 Del Hunter 20/3/45; Grenier 28/3/45; Ass 8AF 6/4/45; RetUS Bradley 29/5/45; Sth Plains 31/5/45; 4105 BU Davis Monthan 1/7/46; Recl Comp 3/8/49.

[Noha307]

This one?

41-2407 Del/Ass Wright Fd, Air Material Command as test a/c. RFC storage at Davis-Monthan 1/8/46.

This one?

44-83504 Del Hunter 20/3/45; Grenier 28/3/45; Ass 8AF 6/4/45; RetUS Bradley 29/5/45; Sth Plains 31/5/45; 4105 BU Davis Monthan 1/7/46; Recl Comp 3/8/49.

Thanks. I knew someone would come up with some possibilities. However, I'm not sure that's enough detail for confirmation. A lot of B-17s were sent to Davis-Monthan and later broken up there, correct? How would we know whether these are not just some random B-17s and were actually part of the museum collection? Based on the statement in the above article that the collection included the

the first B-24 to land in North Africa in the opening phase of the African onslaught

it seems like there was at least some consideration given to acquiring airframes with a notable service history and not just generic examples. (Yes, I know Enola Gay/Bockscar were included, but the events those were involved in were so extraordinary that they would have likely been included even if there wasn't a such a specific focus. Similarly, the prototypes were included because they were prototypes, not because they had an eventful wartime career, per se.) 41-2407's history as a test aircraft would seem to increase the odds that it was part of the collection, but 44-83504's service was very mundane. Why not an aircraft with more significance such as the "heavily worked" B-24?

To be clear, I'm not saying these aren't the aircraft, but that I would like to see more proof or more of an explanation. We all know that plenty of non-significant historic vehicles get preserved for mundane reasons such as "they were the easiest to pull out because they were on the metaphorical "top of the pile" or were in the best condition. Part of the reason I'm a bit more skeptical is that while working on that post last night, I realized that, despite what might be expected and my initial assumptions, none of the "Shot From the Sky" aircraft mentioned in a previous post apparently made it into the collection. So, in other words, please feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.

I feel like we need Scott Thompson to chime in here, as he might have come across them as part of his research into surplus RFC transfers.

[Chris Brame]

I picked those two because the Osborne listing (which isn't perfect of course) showed them as the only B-17E and B-17G that weren't listed as having gone to Kingman after their assignment to Davis-Monthan. So I figure they're not definitive answers, but good leads perhaps.

[Noha307]

In an effort to solve this question, I requested a number of microfilm rolls from the Air Force Historical Research Agency related to the history of Davis-Monthan in 1946-1949. (Interestingly, in at least one of these cases I was the first one to do so, as they had to undergo a declassification review prior to being released, which is kind of cool.) The good news is that one of the reels, B2152, had a page with a complete listing of the models - although not the serial numbers - stored:

THE FOLLOWING LISTED AIRCRAFT ON PROJECT A-61-SADM (MUSEUM AIRCRAFT) FOR
THE PERIOD 1 APRIL 1947 thru 30 JUNE 1947
-----------------------------------------

Type         Acft. in
           Storage
A-20H          1
A-26C          1
AT-7           1
B-17G          1
B-24M          1
B-25J          1
B-29           2
B-32           1
C-40A          1
C-45A          1
C-46A          1
C-47A          1
C-54A          1
C-60A          1
C-82N          1
C-87           1
JU-88          1
P-61B          1
RB-17E          1
RB-24D          1
RB-26C          1
XA-38          1
XB-19A          1
XC-53A          1
XCG-15          1
XCG-17          1
YP-61           1

(Source: "History of 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) Davis-Monthan Field for 1 April - 30 June 1947," 1947, n.p.)

During the three months covered by the above report, it took 11,182.5 labor hours, $12,045.68 in labor cost and $341.21 in material cost to maintain the 28 aircraft in storage. (For reference, according to an inflation calculator this is approximately equivalent to $172,742.17 in labor cost and $4,893.15 in material cost in November 2024.) However, it is important to note that these costs varied widely. For example, from April to June 1948, it only took 440.0 labor hours, $572.44 in labor cost and $0.00 in material cost to maintain the same aircraft.

However, an excerpt from an earlier report notes 2 B-29s were dropped from the collection before the above:

During the month of January 1947 one each TB-29 Nos. 45-21728 and 42-6364 were dropped from the Museum Storage Project and picked up on B-29 Storage Project STO 517.

(Source: "History of 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) Davis-Monthan Field for 1 January - 31 March 1947," 1947, 7.)

The roll also contains details on the 1 August 1947 Air Force Day activities mentioned in a previous post. If I have time, I may include it in a follow-up post, as it is quite interesting.

It is important to note that the 4105th AAF Base Unit (Aircraft Storage) was redesignated the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot on 28 August 1948.

A second roll, K2218, includes a few more bits of information. The report from 1946 to 1950 includes the following in the section for 1949:

Transfer of Museum Aircraft
  One C-45 aircraft was transferred to the University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, Minnesota. No Project Number was available. The transfer
was accomplished by ground transportation.

Museum Aircraft B-29, Serial No. 44-86292
  This B-29, commonly known as the "Enola Gay", was processed for
transfer to the Air National Museum, Project A-201-SA.

[Ed. Unrelated entry omitted]

AT-7 Aircraft, Serial Number 41-1144
  The aircraft was formerly designated as a museum aircraft, but
after transfer to regular storage, it was prepared for one-time flight,
Project ADC9ST-8, to the Pacific Overseas Airline Corporation, Ontario,
Canada. Contract AF33(038)5089. The aircraft departed 21 July.

[Ed. Unrelated entry omitted]

Reclamation
  During the first quarter of 1949, reclamation was completed on
thirty-nine of the forty-three B-29 aircraft so designated. Reclama-
tion operations on fourteen museum aircraft were delayed because of
higher priority projects. During December one B-25 aircraft, serial
number 45-8813 was reclaimed in accordance with Air Force Regulation
65-86. One XCG-15 Glider was removed from storage and salvaged on
13 December 1949.

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 25-26.)

̶N̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶g̶a̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶4̶5̶-̶8̶8̶1̶3̶,̶ ̶a̶ ̶B̶-̶2̶5̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶p̶a̶r̶a̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶e̶u̶m̶ ̶a̶i̶r̶c̶r̶a̶f̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶e̶u̶m̶ ̶a̶i̶r̶c̶r̶a̶f̶t̶.̶ Coincidentally, according to Joe Baugher's list, the University of Minnesota acquired one other aircraft that, whatever the fate of the C-45, survives to the present day: the RB-17E, 41-9210, now with the Wartime History Museum. However, this cannot be the RB-17E mentioned in the museum collection as 41-9210 was in use by Minneapolis-Honeywell from at least November 1944 until it was acquired by the school one year later.

By the end of 1950, only "four miscellaneous museum aircraft" were noted to remain. (Jontig, 31)

A further aircraft was disposed of in fall 1950 on the orders of the San Antonio Air Materiel Area:

  Message form SAMI-19-29-7 dated 17 October from SAAMA authorized the
reclamation and salvage of one museum aircraft, type YP-61.

[Ed. Unrelated entry omitted]

  The reclamation and salvage of one museum aircraft type YP-61 was
completed 21 November.

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 33.)

Interestingly, it seems that even after the museum aircraft departed or were scrapped, one legacy remained. Shortly before the 3040th was reassigned to Norton Air Force Base on 1 June 1951, a unit called "Detachment #1, USAF Exhibit Unit" began taking travelling exhibits to various groups in the area. For their first outing, the unit took an XF-85, B-45 nose section, and J33 and R3350 cutaway engines to an event held by the Palm Springs Junior Chamber of Commerce in Palm Springs, California on 21 January 1951. A subsequent event on 2 February 1951 at Building T-670 for the Flying Safety Office at Norton Air Force Base included a C-82 landing track. (Jontig, n.p.) So, it seems one can draw a line from the wartime Air Cavalcade and Shot from the Sky exhibitions through the Davis-Monthan collection and the 1947 Air Force Day to the USAF Exhibit Unit. It seems quite possible that these exhibitions and subsequent disposals were what inspired a young high school senior named Ed Maloney to buy a J8M1 Shusui in 1948. (He has certainly cited Arnold's drive to "save one of everything" as a motivation.)

EDIT (25-02-03): Upon further review, it appears that the B-25J, 45-8813, was indeed one of the museum aircraft. The confusion arises because of the following sentence:

        OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
          Storage of Aircraft

 At the end of the first quarter, the following aircraft were in
storage: five hundred thirty - five B-29 aircraft, one hundred forty-
one C-47 aircraft, one B-25 aircraft, one AT-7 and twenty-seven museum
aircraft.

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 24.)

At first glance, the fact that it is listed separately from the museum aircraft makes it appear that it was never part of the collection. However, what was likely the case is that it was dropped from the collection and transferred to regular storage pending future disposal as was done with the AT-7. Therefore, at the time of the report, it was formally no longer part of the collection. The following paragraph makes it clear by contrast how much the collection would be diminished by 1950:

 At the close of the year, four hundred twenty-eight B-29 cocooned
aircraft, one hundred five B-29 non-cocooned aircraft, eighty-four C-47
aircraft and nine museum aircraft remained in storage.

(Source: Joseph J. Jontig, "History of the 3040th Aircraft Storage Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson, Arizona: Historical Outline, Section I, 1 April 1946 - 31 December 1950; Semi-Annual History, Section II, 1 January 1951 - 30 June 1951," n.d., 24.)

Last edited by Noha307 on Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Noha307]

So, I decided to look up the history of 41-1144 on Joe Baugher's site and when I did I noticed that the entry stated the aircraft was "Set aside for proposed USAAF aviation museum". On a hunch, I tried putting "https://www.joebaugher.com 'proposed USAAF aviation museum'" into Google and, lo and behold, I was right! Baugher used that same phrase for multiple entries! I was able to collate the results into the two lists below:

To Davis-Monthan

• B-17G, 44-83504[1]
• B-29, 45-21728 [2]
• C-60A, 42-55995[3]
• C-82N, 45-25437[2]
• C-87, 41-11608[4]
• XB-26H, 44-68221[5]

To Orchard Field

• A-28A, 42-46952[6]
• AT-6, 40-718[7]
• AT-7, 41-1144[8]
• BT-13A, 41-22124[9]
• BQ-3, 43-25253[10]
• L-3B, 43-26889[10]
• O-47A, 37-273[11]
• O-47A, 37-279[11]
• O-49A, 41-19015[9]
• P-38J, 42-67762[12]
• P-47B, 41-5917[8]
• P-47D, 44-32691[13]
• P-51D, 44-74939[1]
• P-63A, 42-70255[12]
• P-75A, 44-44553[5]
• PQ-14A, 43-44217[10]
• PT-13, 36-19[11]
• PT-19A, 43-33842[10]
• PT-26, 42-14299[14]
• RP-40N, 44-47959[5]
• UC-61A, 43-14506[10]
• XA-38, 43-14406[10]
• XCG-15, 43-37082[10]
• XCG-16A, 44-76193[1]
• XO-60, 42-13610[14]
• XP-51, 41-038[8]
• XP-55, 42-78846[15]
• XP-75A, 44-32166[13]
• XPG-2A, 42-77062[15]
• XR-4, 41-18874[9]
• XR-5, 43-47954[10]
• YP-61, 41-18878[9]

Unknown

• XP-58, 41-2670[8]

A few observations:

• Some of the aircraft are not in the list from the unit history. It seems that while they were earmarked for the collection some of them never made it to Davis-Monthan and instead went to the then Orchard Field in Chicago to become part of the National Air Museum collection.
• Baugher's list has at least three mistakes as it has the AT-7, XA-38, XCG-15 and YP-61 going to Orchard Field rather than Davis-Monthan.
• Another entry for the exhibit unit mentions that it brought a landing track from a C-82 to an event. It would seem that this could have come from 45-25437, but according to an article on the history of tracked landing gear, it was not in the batch of aircraft so equipped. However, there is another possibility. The same article mentions that the design was first tested on A-20H, 44-466. It therefore, seems likely that this may have been the A-20H mentioned in the unit history list. Especially because many of the A-20Hs were delivered to the Soviet Union via Lend-Lease.
• It seems that when aircraft were scrapped, certain unusual parts were kept as curiosities. For example, if the theory above holds, it seems there may have been a focus on landing gear as the XB-19s wheels were saved as well. A third aircraft, the XB-26H, also had a unique landing gear configuration.
• Furthermore, there is a definite preference for specially modified or test aircraft. This may be for several reasons. First, as mentioned above, they were seen as valuable for their modifications. Second, their modifications meant they were unsuited for further active service unlike other generic examples of their kind. Third, their status as experimental aircraft meant they were readily available at locations in the United States that were under the control of authorities with a closer connection to leadership (read: Hap Arnold) and didn't have to be returned from overseas.
• It appears as though some consideration was given to perhaps obtaining the oldest surviving examples of an aircraft as the P-47B was the 23rd example built and many of the earlier aircraft had been destroyed by that point. Similarly, the PT-13 was the 18th example built. Similarly, the C-47 at the Pima Air and Space Museum was the second example built and - while it isn't named in any of the references as being part of the Davis-Monthan collection - it was previously on display at the Air Force Museum in 1971.[4] The same goes for the National Air and Space Museum's L-5, 42-14798, which was the first production aircraft.[16]
• It seems as though the general rule was that small airplanes went to Orchard Field and large ones went to Davis-Monthan.

To come full circle, as to the fate of the aircraft that started this search, AT-7, 41-1144, it was last confirmed as owned by Parker-Ransome Aircraft Sales in 1968.[17]

EDIT (25-02-03): Apparently I missed a few entries. A BQ-3, BT-13A, O-49A, XCG-15, XR-4 and YP-61 have been added to the list above, the reference numbers adjusted and a note changed.

Last edited by Noha307 on Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[quemerford]

Post deleted; wasted effort. Why do we bother?

Last edited by quemerford on Tue Jan 28, 2025 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Noha307]

I reached out to the National Museum of the United States Air Force to check if they had any information related to the aircraft in the collection. Apparently their records on the subject are very limited, but they were able to provide me with two fascinating and helpful images. One is a color aerial shot of the aircraft in storage at Davis-Monthan and the other is a black and white photocopy of the same image with annotations identifying the aircraft. I've cropped the former before I reduced it so that I can get as much resolution as possible in the 1024 x 1024 restrictions for attachments:

(Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force)

The aircraft are identified as follows:

1. B-29, 44-86292, Enola Gay
2. TB-29, 45-21728
3. C-46
4. C-82N
5. C-54A, 42-107451, Sacred Cow
6. C-87, [41-11608/41-39600], [Gulliver]
7. B-24
8. TB-29, 42-6364
9. XC-53A, [42-6480], Old Weary Wings
10. XA-38
11. Ju 88
12. C-45A
13. AT-7, 41-1144
14. RB-26C
15. B-25
16. YP-61
17. XCG-17
18. C-47, Unknown, China Express
19. C-47
20. XCG-15A
21. C-40A
22. P-61B
23. A-26C
24. A-20A
25. C-60A
26. RB-17E
27. B-17G
28. TB-24D, [42-72843], Strawberry Bitch
29. B-29, 44-27297, Bockscar
30. B-32

A few notes:

• For the above, if the specific airframe could be deduced from the details, but the serial number or name was not explicitly stated, the information is included in brackets.
• Not pictured is the XB-19.
• On the other hand, the picture includes a second C-47 that is not mentioned in the list from the unit history above.
• The A-20H is incorrectly identified as an A-20A.
• Thanks to the information, the C-54 has now been identified as 42-107451, Sacred Cow. Fun fact: This means that the museum had aircraft used by both candidates in the 1940 presidential election. (Although neither were used by them at that time.)
• Also, I was able to discover that the XC-53A somehow survived and owned by the Texas Flying Legends Museum as of 2017![1] It is another case of an aircraft selected because of its modifications - in this case full span slotted flaps.[2]
• However, I had no such luck with the C-47. So if anyone is aware of one named "China Express" that served in the CBI Theater, please chime in!

[Noha307]

The roll also contains details on the 1 August 1947 Air Force Day activities mentioned in a previous post. If I have time, I may include it in a follow-up post, as it is quite interesting.

I believe I owe everyone some details:

DM OBSERVES AIR FORCE DAY
[Unrelated text omitted]
 Perhaps the high spot of the
tour of the base will be the con-
ducted tour of the airbase Muse-
um Area. Here the visitors will
be able to see such aircraft as the
"Enola Gay" of A-Bomb fame as
well as the XB-19. There are
many captured enemy aircraft in
the area that will be of interest to
the visitor. Other exhibits in-
clude aircraft that were experi-
mental but never used, such as the
A-38 that was constructed for but
never saw combat.
[Unrelated text omitted]

(Source: "DM Observes Air Force Day," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 5.)

Two pages later there is a description of the aircraft in the "Museum Area":

4105th ACFT STORAGE

 We pause in our articles on the
various types of Museum Aircraft
now in temporary storage at
4105th AAFBY (Acft Stg), Davis-
Monthan Field, to observe the
40th anniversary of the Army Air
Forces.
 During a tour of Davis-Mon-
than Field a few weeks ago, we
noticed quite a number of the B-
29 Superforts on the flight line.
These aircraft, now being used for
training purposes by the 248th
AAFBU, Davis-Monthan Field,
are sister ships to the numerous
B-29's current in storage and
being maintained and cocooned
by the personnel of the 4105th
AAFBU (Acft Stg). The B-29's
in the Storage Area have accom-
plished many missions. As we
drove down the runway, many
thoughts flashed through our
minds, "I wonder where the crews
for these B-29's are at the pre-
sent," "What are their varied oc-
cupations?" "I wonder how a
new crew feels when taking over
a newtype of aircraft?" "How
many times they" "Sweatout"
a 2 or 3 engine landing with these
aircraft?"
 As we toured down the runway,
we observed many B-29's with
names, towns, cities, girls, insignia
and comic characters; ships with
bombardment, photographic and
supply missions with the number
of hits, etc., inscribed on their
nose.
 Yes, these aircraft are worthy
of the rest and maintenance they
are receiving, for they are still
backing up our first line of de-
fense.
 Moving along towards the Mus-
eum Area, our attention was call-
ed to the C-47 cargo-freight and
troop carriers. Red Cross mis-
sions, rescue missions, cargo mis-
sions, etc., decorated their fuse-
lages. While the Army Air Forces
were using these aircraft, the va-
rious airline companies were us-
ing the same type of aircraft to
carry both military and civilian
personnel to varied destinations.
The C-47's were the "pack mules."
 Entering the Museum Area, be-
fore our eyes are the various
types of aircraft used by the AAF
during World War II. Two of
these aircraft are ships of which
we have every right to be proud.
The two B-29's in the Museum
Area are the famed "Enola Gay"
and "Bockscar."
 The "Enola Gay" dropped the
first atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
Japan, 6 August 1945, helping to
hasten the unconditional surren-
der of the Japanese. As we walked
around her, "Enola Gay" very
proudly displays her name, the
insignia of the 58th Wing and her
crew members on the historical
flight. You men who flew with
her on that mission may justly be
proud.
 And justly proud may be the
crew of "Bockscar" upon the
dropping of the second atomic
bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, de-
finitely affecting the decision of
the war in the Pacific.
 We were very impressed by the
feeling we received as we review-
ed these "Queens of the Wild Blue
Yonder." They were "Queens for
a Day" and both their ground and
flying crews were "Kings for the
Day."
 The memories of this tour will
remain with us always as will the
memories of the war. Our hats
are off to the numerous types of
aircraft used by the Army Air
Forces, and to their civilian and
military personnel who worked
so valiantly to make Victory pos-
sible.

Nagasaki "Bockscar"

Enola Gay

(Source: "4105th Acft Storage," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 7.)

There are no other mentions of museum aircraft in this edition of the Desert Airman, so the "articles" mentioned must refer to previous editions of the newspaper. Unfortunately, this was the only edition that was microfilmed, so, if other editions still exist, they must be somewhere else.

PERSONALS
 Fred Boyer, Security Section,
abd Raphael M. Glaser, Records
and Reports Section, are very
busy planning and preparing rout-
ing information of the Aircraft
Storage Area and Museum Air-
craft Area for use [in] Air Force
Week. Visitors will be routed
from Headquarters, 4105th
AAFBU (Acft Stg), Building No.
T-250 to Guard Tower, XB-19 to
Museum Area and return to Head-
quarters, 105th AAFBU (Acft
Stg) via Craycroft Road.

(Source: "Personals," Desert Airman, 1 August 1947, 7.)

A map of the inside of the hangar seen in a previous post. It is worth comparing with a map of the Army Air Forces Fair at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in October 1945 covered in another thread:

As seen on the front cover of this program, festivities included a gas-powered control-line model flying contest:

There were also two record-breaking flights by a B-29B, 44-84061, Pacusan Dreamboat. The first, starting on August 31, saw the airplane fly a closed 10,000 kilometer course at 277 miles per hour. This was followed by a 39-hour flight that covered 8,854.8 miles:

Colonel Dalene E. Bailey, Davis-Monthan Field deputy base commander, greets Lt. Col. O. F. Lassiter, "Pacusan Dreamboat" pilot during recent record-breaking flights.

As a final note and to depart from the above discussion, it is worth considering both the context that the museum effort was taking place in as well as its legacy.

While it may seem unlucky that not all of the aircraft in the museum project survived, the result was actually a more successful outcome than another immediate postwar military museum project. FDR had plans for a national naval museum when the war was over. Both projects began in very similar ways. A national leader decided to collect as many examples of a type of vehicle as possible. They also both ended around the same time, 1949, due to the declining health or death of their champions. In both cases disposal of their contents was ordered. However, whereas the majority of the ships that had been collected were scrapped, a good portion of the aircraft were saved for the nascent National Air Museum and Air Force Museum.

Similarly, the Pima Air and Space Museum, as well as the modern day "Celebrity Row" at Davis-Monthan, may have grown out of the 1946-1949 museum collection. When combined with the likely influence the collection had on Ed Maloney that was mentioned in a previous post, it brings the total to four museums all having their origins in some way connected to Hap Arnold's efforts. Even though his original plans may have not played out the way he had intended, I think he would at least be somewhat pleased with the outcome.

[Noha307]

So, combining all of the sources above (as well as a new one), what were the aircraft in the collection? The identities are as follows:

1. A-20H, 44-466 (Unconfirmed)
2. A-26C
3. AT-7, 41-1144
4. B-17G, 44-83504
5. B-24M
6. B-25J, 45-8813
7. B-29, 44-27297, Bockscar
8. B-29, 44-86292, Enola Gay
9. B-32, 42-108474
10. C-40A
11. C-45A, 41-1864[1]
12. C-46A
13. C-47, Unknown, China Express
14. C-54A, 42-107451, Sacred Cow
15. C-60A, 42-55995
16. C-82N, 45-25437
17. C-87, 41-39600, Gulliver (41-11608 before conversion)
18. Ju 88 D-3, 430650
19. P-61B
20. RB-17E, 41-2407, Nemesis of Aeroembolism (Unconfirmed)
21. RB-24D, 42-72843, Strawberry Bitch
22. TB-29, 42-6364
23. TB-29, 45-21728
24. XB-19A, 38-471
25. XA-38, 43-14406
26. XB-26H, 44-68221
27. XC-53A, 42-6480, Old Weary Wings
28. XCG-15A, 43-37082
29. XCG-17, 41-18496
30. YP-61, 41-18878

A few notes:

• The C-47 of "unknown distinction" in the annotated picture from NMUSAF is almost certainly the XC-53A. Similarly, the RB-26C is likely the XB-26H.
• The identity of the RB-17E is unconfirmed, but very likely to be 41-2407, based on its service history as a test aircraft and its fate.[2] Thanks to Chris for pointing it out in a previous post.
• According to Baugher, only 10 C-40As, 38-539 through 38-548, were built. Of these 38-542 and 38-546 were destroyed in accidents and 38-543 was struck off charge before 1944. Therefore, the C-40A must be one of the remaining 7 aircraft.

Its nose section somehow ended up in a scrap yard on Alameda Street in Los Angeles, and was still visible there as late as 1955.
LINK - http://axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e ... p?id=12884

Just yesterday I learned that the Pima Air & Space Museum received the data plate from the aircraft as a donation a few months ago. Perhaps it came from the time the nose section sat there. Do you know where exactly on the street it was?

Also, the picture for anyone who hasn't seen it:

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The following excerpt, from the Technical Data Digest, establishes that scrapping of the XB-19 was underway as of its publication on 15 August 1949:

Air Force's First Giant Bomber, XB-19, Now Being Demolished
 The first of America's giant bombers, the
Douglas XB-19, is now being cut up into scrap
at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson,
Ariz.
 [Unrelated text omitted]

(Source: "Air Force’s First Giant Bomber, XB-19, Now Being Demolished," Technical Data Digest, 15 August 1949, 8.)

[Chris Brame]

A few newspaper articles I dug up; now we have the name of the scrapman, but I haven't found the exact location, or any other info on Rall Huffman:




Arizona Daily Star, February 24, 1955:

[Noha307]

A few newspaper articles I dug up; now we have the name of the scrapman, but I haven't found the exact location, or any other info on Rall Huffman:

So, in a bit of serendipity, I was watching the most recent video from Brian Pierson, the Building the Last B-36 guy, this evening and at one point he mentioned that Mr. Huffman also handled the scrapping of the YB-36 that was at the Air Force Museum's old location. He indicated that had spoken with the Huffman family (although Rall has since passed), so maybe I'll have to reach out to see if I could get their contact information from him at some point.