Complete and Tidy Harvard scrapped in Japan by American Govt Agency.

Shocking I agree, but the only way to avoid it in reality is to get on a plane, get there, find out who’s selling it, get your cheque book out, pay for it, organise transport home, pay for that, go home, wait for six weeks for it to arrive at Felixstowe [ or wherever ] organise transport from the docks, find somewhere to put it.
Then you’ve saved it, How is your bank account to do this lot?

Which is what it really boils down to….. Money.

Sometimes even aircraft are best put out of their misery.

Then there is the about 420 other surviving T-6s – many of which are flying.

While historic, and scarce compared to their original numbers, they are not nearly to the point where the loss of one is critical.

The Aussie F-111′ s were not buried due to ATAR rules -they were buried because of the problems they are having with former workers suffering from PRC inhalation dating back to when they were overhauled at various stages and the difficulty of finding a safe way of disposing of them.

Shocking I agree, but the only way to avoid it in reality is to get on a plane, get there, find out who’s selling it, get your cheque book out, pay for it, organise transport home, pay for that, go home, wait for six weeks for it to arrive at Felixstowe [ or wherever ] organise transport from the docks, find somewhere to put it.
Then you’ve saved it, How is your bank account to do this lot?

Just as a matter of interest, was it really “complete and tidy”? It had been standing outside unwanted for 15 years.

Add that to harpooning whales and underpants vending machines. In respect of cars there are registration rules that prohibit 5 year old cars from being on Japanese roads. I wonder if there are similar rules for old aircraft that meant the only option for the bureaucracy was scrapping. Perhaps, given that they are still a viable weapons platform a Harvard is still subject to US ATAR rules and must be buried like Aussie F111s. Perhaps we should write a letter to Japanese Self Defense Agency offering our services for aircraft waste disposal….

It does say it was removed from display in 1998 -whether the picture reflects its state when it was scrapped is open to debate.

What a shocking waste. Aside from the historical perspective I am sure that a much greater return would have been given to the taxpayers by sellling it than ‘demilitarising’ it in such a way.

Paul