Waiting to be found

IMHO The F-84 in Randers is not worth the bother. It has been used (as you say) for fire and rescue training.

Unless you are looking for just an airframe display (maybe a gateguard), its really too much work, considering that the F-84 is not rare.

I’m have recently become a member of a Danish aviation museum, and will hopefully begin working with them soon. They are well connected with the Danish air force and the Danish arms collection museum. I will ask around to see whats stored around the country.

They might want to know a few things before even looking at allocating a stored aircraft. Would you mind answering these questions, and maybe fill in any other information you find important to mention. You can do so in a PM if you like.

What would be your future plans for such an F-84?

What museum are you affiliated with?

While you are having a look can you find out if there are any single seat meteors going spare please?:)

IMHO The F-84 in Randers is not worth the bother. It has been used (as you say) for fire and rescue training.

Unless you are looking for just an airframe display (maybe a gateguard), its really too much work, considering that the F-84 is not rare.

I’m have recently become a member of a Danish aviation museum, and will hopefully begin working with them soon. They are well connected with the Danish air force and the Danish arms collection museum. I will ask around to see whats stored around the country.

They might want to know a few things before even looking at allocating a stored aircraft. Would you mind answering these questions, and maybe fill in any other information you find important to mention. You can do so in a PM if you like.

What would be your future plans for such an F-84?

What museum are you affiliated with?

The machine at Randers is at a site that contracts to the Danish government
for fire and rescue training. I would appreciate any help in contacting them.

Aalborg also has two. One on display, one (retrieved from a playground) stored.

Mondariz – There are no examples of F84G’s in the U.K despite the prominent role they had with the USAF in the U.K . I would dearly like to bring the Randers machine to the U.K for museum display. If either yourself or Kenneth could help in any way I would be delighted for the help.

I did not see your question before now.

I will try to find out something about the F-84G from Randers. I think it would be a lot easier than getting one from China Lake :p

Not sure who owns it, but both the major Aircraft collections in Denmark already have a F-84G on display.

I found these in my “wreck and relic” folder. I THINK those were published along with the describtion mentioned above. If anyone know different, please post.

The resolution is not too good around China Lake.

I got the location from another forum, where a guy had been digging on the China lake range (some sort of geological dig, not aviation related).

I think this is called Echo range area:

No idea what this area is called. There are smaller aircraft nearby. They look like pistons, but its hard to tell:

There are still at least two B-29s on the China lake range (they can be seen on Google earth). Even if the official stand seem to be, that there are no more B-29 there (maybe one of the US readers can shed some light here).
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Could you post the image for us,, if its the one I’m think then you are looking at Doc and the wreck that was siting near Doc. but your correct their is at least two left at China Lake one out on the Hot range and wreck that is made up of at least three different airframes.

There is allot of stuff on China Lake, along with the F-84 I’ve already mention there is quite a number of F6F Drones two F7Fs three or four PB4Ys close to 20 F9Fs both Panthers and Cougars.

In the 1970s, 3 TBMs were preserved in Japan, haven’t heard from them since. Any news on them?

Hi EHVB,

I know a guy who lives in Japan and is a big Warbird guy I’ll send him an email asking if he has any updates.

Also the could you tell me more about the folks who want a TBM IE is this a Museum if so then I might be able to help you with a TBM here in the States.

Scorpion – Thanks for the ehads up on the China Lake aircraft . A straight wing F-84 would be the ticket ! Please by all means PM me anything that adds to what you have already provided!

Of all the planes disposed by the US armed forces after the war. Some were purchased with the intend of salvaging usefull equipment and fuel. Most would have ended in the big old melting pot, after having been stripped, but maybe some slipped through.

As you said, we are not talking about B-17’s and other large aircraft, but fighter size birds, that would sit quietly somewhere on the farm.

This process of disposing of surplus war material, was not only a US thing. Besides the allied inventory, they also destroyed the full Luftwaffe inventory ( 1100 Aircraft in little Denmark alone). Is it unlikely that some thrifty soul got his hands on some?

I have seen pictures of RAF/USAAF bombers being dismantled by local scrapmerchants, after they had ditched in shallow waters, or landed on fields due to damage. There might no longer be a whole aircraft, but maybe someone kept a gun-turrent, a cockpit, or something else as a souvenir.

In post-war Europe, I can easily see “dirty” deals taking place. Some allied officer selling equipment to a local, who then stash it away for later use. Again, maybe not whole aircraft, but engines and spares. If such things exist, they are likely to come into the light of day soon, as unfortunatly such dealers are getting quite old.

Does anyone know about engines and equipment, that have found their way to the warbird community, after years in storage?

Remember, there is a lot of stuff waiting to be “re-found”.
It’s not hard to imagine some WWII pilots/veterans storing away something years ago in a barn or hangar. When they pass away someone will come across it. It occasionally happens with old cars.

Now I’m not predicting a bunch of P-47s or Mustangs being found, but maybe a few T-6s, Stearmans…things that weren’t too valuable so it wasn’t worth anyone’s efforts to find/restore/sell them in the past.

A few years ago in Texas I found the metal cabin of a very rare Beech AT-10 alongside a closed garage. It was later moved to the courtyard of a BBQ resturant where it sits still.

A friend in Texas had a flying Vultee BT-13..but in the storage yard of his business he had a spare fuselage and sets of wings…all those spare parts and projects will eventually see the light of day. There might even be a bargain or two.

I just remembered the ultimate “Holy grail” of aircraft recovery: The landfills on Clark Air base.

In the 1960’s one of the dumpsites was excavated and materials, including aircraft, was removed and destroyed.

Appearently a Canadian firm had digging rights in 2002, but not sure what happened.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2002/06/01/news/us.aircraft.buried.at.clark.dug.up.html

A powerplant was build over the second dumpsite. But since when has that stopped anyone 😉

I just had a quick browse on Google Earth and came up with this:

F-86D at Aalborg Air Base (decomissioned 1964)

RF-84F at Karup Air base (decomissioned 1974).

F-104 at Karup Air Base (decomissioned 1986).

There seem to be some distance between decomission and scrapping, when it comes to military bureaucracy.

While its often easy to take an aircraft out of service, nobody wants to sign the scrapping order. I guess thats the guy, who would get any blame, if the order was somehow revoked.

These two were in Karup for years, before being moved to Vandel, where they slowly rot.

Maybe same aircraft on a recent picture from Vandel:

The point is (again), that there are historic aircraft out there. Those air forces that used WWII and early post-war aircraft up to the late 60’s and early 70’s, might still have a few “stored” in shelters, or even sitting on the grass.

It is likely that they were decomissioned, but the actual scrapping order never carried out, or not carried out fully. So even if they are officially scrapped, they could still exist.

There are still at least two B-29s on the China lake range (they can be seen on Google earth). Even if the official stand seem to be, that there are no more B-29 there (maybe one of the US readers can shed some light here).

Any story about aircraft decomissioned, stored and later scrapped, deserves a mention, as some might have slipped past the melter.

In the 1970s, 3 TBMs were preserved in Japan, haven’t heard from them since. Any news on them?

It is fairly clear that the New Zealand Boeings were , along with a few other early airframes , pulled out of the tunnels and burnt on the beach many years ago unfortunately .

I had heard about Kermit Weeks and Fantasy of Flight. I’m sure he also have a few aircraft that are not exhibited. The two other private collectors are what I like to read about.

What’s fascinates me, is the people who, like Soplata, just collects and stores for no other reason than their collectors gene.

I can appriciate Soplatas work in saving a number of aircraft, which may not have survived otherwise (but does anyone know if there were other bidders?), but at the moment, it seems they are just deteriorating untill a new owner some day begin the restoration work.

I have come across the “Collector” in other walks of life (cars, motorcycles, well anything that can be collected really) and they have a counterpart in the “Barn-finder”.

The “barn find” could be considered the holy grail of restoration. To open that Russian barn and see (insert exotic aircraft name here) parked between the tools and machinery.

This car story (link below) originally appeared as a “Barn find”, but is now belived to be a “secret” collection. It does however illustrate how some collectors amass their items, for mostly private enjoyment (fair play, its their collection).

http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/

Maybe there are not too many extraordinary aircraft collections out there, but I’m pretty sure, that there are many single aircraft “waiting to be found”.

Some of these aircraft might not even have been purchased for aviation reasons. Maybe someone had designs on the engine, or wanted the materials for something. The main point is, that along the way, they became “that thing in the back of the barn”.

That was really my intend with this thread. To shine some light on those “forgotten” aircraft, that exist outside the warbird community.

Like the actual “Grail stories” most of the information would be false. Rumours that have survived the aircraft, or maybe there never was an aircraft to begin with. But some would have a bit of truth in them.

Maybe a Spanish officer did stash away a few He-111, or maybe the German farmer did hide a number of Db601 engines in his basement.

This thread is also for rumour posts. Some can be debunked by people who know more, but maybe there are a few rumours, that can lead someone to something else. If not, I’m sure they are good stories anyway.

PS. The He-111 and Db601 examples are fabricated to illustrate the idea.

Oh and if your into Vintage stuff there is the S-39 that is sitting at the bottom of two Lakes in Alaska its one of the four know S-39 left in the World.

Since i have been surprised by two large private collections recently, I was wondering if there are any other ones out there.

Does anyone know?

Yes I know of a few different collections in the United States,

In Ohio there is a guy who has allot of early jets including two Banshee’s, three F9Fs two C-45s a few different early helicopters. I’m hoping to see the collection this spring when I visit a friend who knows the owner quite well.

In New Hampshire the guy who owns Sikorsky S-39 NC50V has quite a collection of Waco’s and other early vintage airframes.

Also don’t forget Kermit Weeks collection somewhere around 100+ aircraft.

I know of a few other collection like the guy who just purchase all the T-28s that have been on a few threads on here and Wixs.