Really old cool plane pictures.

[Silver68RT]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Thanks for posting those! What an amazing collection of pictures.

There's a site I've been going to lately called WIX - The Warbird Information Exchange - I'm sure they would love to see your photo's.

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/

Here's an example of some amazing photo's on the site, air-to-air with some SBD dive bombers during the Battle of Midway.

http://warbirdinformationexchange.or...ic.php?t=26549

[Huskinhano]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Thanks for sharing! My dad was in Burma in the signal corp. Those fly boys were real heros, all of them. I hope he shared some of his tales with you. A woman I use to work with, her dad was a door gunner on B17's. He got shot down on his 23rd mission and captured. Several of his crew members were killed by locals when they landed.

When ever I see an elderly gent with a WWll Airforce cap on, I ask them to tell me where they were during the war. They are always happy to share a tale when they see some one is interested.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Unfortunately, Harry died six months before I was born, so all I have are the very little memories of my Mom and her sister and some of the stuff I found on him on the internet and these photo albums.

More is coming.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

In the summer of 36, Harry was transferred to Kelly Field to begin bomber training.

His first bomber in training was this Keystone Bomber. Twin engine, 78 ft wing span and about 13,000 pounds.








This unassuming building was where all fliers payed respects. This is where they got their chutes. Harry called them lifesavers.


Here's why they called them life savers. This is the remains of a ship that got caught in an unrecoverable tail spin. If that guy in the pics looks serious; it's because he was the pilot and parachuted to safety before the thing was smashed into the ground.




Here's his official file pic. Mom says I have his nose and eyes and eyebrows. I didn't get his butt chin.


Harry's graduation class.


His crew.

[ls7gto]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

very cool post.sure was the GREATEST generation.

[Darren N.]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Those are some incredible pictures. That's some really important and impressive family history.

Thanks for sharing them

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Some other planes.

P-12 Pursuit



Martin B-10 bomber. Anyone ever seen of these in a museum?



P-26's


Goodyear blimp. Must've been a Longhorn game playing nearby.


I have no idea what these are.


Flying in formation



A B-24 bomber coming in with landing gear problems. Gonna belly land it.




PB-2


This is a shot of a Javelin Up style formation


Echelon Formation


These are test bombs with TNT and sand.


I think they were testing these test bombs made of concrete which didn't work to well.


C-33, an early plane that would eventually become the C-47. Most likely got different engines.


Ford Tri- Motor. I've seen one these fly before.


Detail pic of cylinder damage due to valve failure.


This is an early B-17. During WWII these changed several times. I believe this is the first one Harry saw.

[jordanmorningstar]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Those are awesome, thanks for sharing them-can't wait to see what else you've got!

If you need help restoring the photos, send them over and I'll fix'em up for ya-I restore boring pictures at my work, I'd be honoured to do these as a freebie.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

I'm going to start this series with some pics of when Harry had engine trouble and crashed into the drink short of Hickam's runway. I particularly like the pic of the boat towing plane.






I guess his answer for crashing was to grow a mustache.


These look as if they were taken at the base's open house.




Douglas B-18.


A row of recon planes from the 88th Recon Squadron.


Here are a couple of the 88th's in flight.




This shot was stuck in there. It's the Golden Gate still under construction.


One thing Harry was really into was taking pics of daily life on the bases he was stationed at.


The first two are of ground school flight training or a briefing before a mission. The last are of man getting his arm looked after by a medic. Funny how a medic and a mechanic back then look very similiar.


A few shots of a motor pool from 70 years ago.


I like this series on a bomb jack. I could use one of those for tranny work.


Fueling a plane and servicing it's .50 cal machine guns.


I think this a Martin B-25 that belly landed and caught fire. I hope there isn't any crew in there.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Look closely at this next series of pics. They are of a plane bombing and sinking a German sub, then the sub crews being rescued by a Navy Destroyer.






Harry took dozens of pics of the men he served with. I spare you all of them, so here are few.



These are of Harry's house in Hawaii, the dog Empress Josephine, my Mom and her twin sis, and a model plane he built.


We found this resume stuffed into the photo album. It was written some time after 1955 because it mentions he has polio. Imagine that, he survived daylight bombing runs into Germany during WWII only to get polio after all that.

[dieselgeek]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Scott, these pics are 1000% effing AWESOME.

[Huskinhano]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Scott, you did your uncle right! Absolutely outstanding, he just lived another day.

[min301]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Impressive. That's all I can say.

[Freiburger]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.

Here's the same view today:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=7D1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=randolph+field+texas&fb=1&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=image

Some links with historic info on Randoph Field:

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/ran.htm

http://www.randolph.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5532

[Freiburger]

Re: Really old cool plane pictures.