Newly built F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcats being prepared to be shipped to the Pacific theatre, USA, 1944 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yup, at about $50K each, you could afford more of them. Plus, there was a war on, so a bunch of idiots were not saying we do not need them.
I was thinking of the recent photo that I saw of Langley Field showing square miles of empty concrete with a few airplanes on it. When I was there in 44-45, it was covered with B-17's, B-24's and a few B-29's.
It was displayed for years at Silver Hill without the wings on it but I believe they are currently restoring the entire aircraft.
That will really help the F/A-18E/F on longer missions. No longer tying up fighter airframes for tanker duty.
Hoping I may share. This is my new office; photo is from Saturday.. I was just hired as a Hawker 800 Instructor Pilot.
I have seen post war pictures like that from either Beale or Mather AFB, can't remember which near Sacramento CA. Planes were lined up to be scrapped. Later many lined up in same way with hundreds of crated rebuilt engines for auction. Was at Reno one year with Sparky and another Mustang owner was walking around with old sales invoices. Some of the invoices were for planes at Reno. A few planes went for under $1000, many for under $5000. Crated engines for under a grand.
Had a friend with some experience with fields like that but he used a Beech 18. PW's I think were a little more tolerant of that. Also paved roads in Desert with car headlights to light it up at night.
They won their war no less so than P51s and B17s won theirs. I was reminded of that by a retired Boomer Captain a few years ago.
