# Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Park Ridge, IL (Orchard AFB; Orchard Place) Collection



## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

*Biographical / Historical*
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation did not provide for the construction of a new building, however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," World War II aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Park Ridge, IL (Orchard AFB; Orchard Place) Collection | Collection | search=s=0&n=10&t=K&q=*&i=0 | SOVA

Until the panic created by the Korean War forced the collection to move out and downsize. (Evidently they wanted to restart aircraft production again out of this factory, but never did.) I have always been fascinated by what was there at one time and what was lost to accommodate the vacate order. Along those lines I will be posting pictures (and other material) that I believe to have been taken there, when it was still used as overflow storage for the suddenly bursting Smithsonian aircraft collection. I invite you both post and comment, and maybe we can catch a fleeting glimpse of what once was and could have been if not for...











A plane that needs no introduction, the Horton Ho IX V3. With a set of wings attached, though I think I read somewhere that they were not for this particular aircraft. Can anyone confirm or correct? Anyway, not the background for both possible aircraft identification as well as the surrounding structure. This should be in the background of any picture you post.

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Douglas XB-42A "Mixmaster", now wingless (a shame because note the ramjet and flap notch for ramjet exhaust, unique to say the least) at the National Museum of the USAF along with it's jet powered younger brother. But what is that Japanese fighter to the right of it in the first picture and does it still exist? Also, what Luftwaffe tail fin is that to the left of it in the second picture? NOTE: All directions are given in relation to you actually sitting in the cockpit of the "Mixmaster".

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Another shot, can we deduce anything from this?

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## special ed (Nov 16, 2022)

Mu guess on the Japanese fgtr is a Tony. Shinpachi will know and Wurger should be able to track the W.Nr.8433.


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Now we are talkin'!! Here we see the Heinkel He 219, and two planes back, the Junkers Ju 388 K(?), but what is between the two? And in the background? 

I liken this to the Library of Alexandra, a once great trove of knowledge and artifacts, now diminished, scattered and some only tantalizing fragments of what once was, but are no longer.

There may even be a list somewhere of what was present at one time, spoiling this ad-hoc endeavor, but I'm erring on the side that along with some aircraft, this list may be lost, non-existant or incomplete.

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## special ed (Nov 16, 2022)

The bicycle may be a Schwin.

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## Snautzer01 (Nov 16, 2022)

special ed said:


> Mu guess on the Japanese fgtr is a Tony. Shinpachi will know and Wurger should be able to track the W.Nr.8433.


A werk nr is a german registration.

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## Snautzer01 (Nov 16, 2022)

List of captured axis airplanes 



Captured Axis Aircraft

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## Snautzer01 (Nov 16, 2022)

special ed said:


> Mu guess on the Japanese fgtr is a Tony. Shinpachi will know and Wurger should be able to track the W.Nr.8433.


FE-1600 Heinkel He.111H-16
(WkNr 8433) '+D(?)C''4'. Stammkennzeichen BT+KV, Geschwaderkennung 2B+DC, code 'Red 4'. Surrendered at San Severo,
north of Foggia, Italy by a defecting Hungarian pilot 14Dec44. Shipped to the USA. Foreign Equipment Branch,
Technical Data Laboratory, Air Technical Service Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center,
Air Technical Service Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, IN. Renumbered as T2-1600.

T2-1600 Heinkel He 111H-16
(Werk Nr. 8433) Previously FE-1600. T-2 Office of Air Force Intelligence, Technical Data Laboratory, Air Materiel
Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center, Air Technical Service Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, IN.
Awaiting disposition on the ramp at Freeman Field Aug46. *Probably scrapped at Freeman Field 1946.*

NOTE: Let us not discount that perhaps only the rudder made it to Park Ridge. (edited by mod. )

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Well that He 111 has disappeared. Shame...


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

First picture in thread, under the port wing, in the background, a Heinkel He 162. Number 23 on the fuselage. Anyone make out the TE number?

Heinkel He.162
 (WkNr 120222) 'White 23' Luftwaffe.

T2-493 Heinkel He 162A-2
(Werk Nr 120222) Previously FE-493. T-2 Office of Air Force Intelligence, Technical Data Laboratory,
Air Materiel Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center, Air Technical Service Command,
Freeman Field, Seymour, IN. Set aside for proposed national aviation museum. Transferred to the aircraft
storage area, 803rd Specialized Depot, Orchard Place Airport, Park Ridge, Illinois. *Scrapped at Park Ridge in 1950*.

Another one gone...


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## Wurger (Nov 16, 2022)

Snautzer01 said:


> FE-1600 Heinkel He.111H-16
> (WkNr 8433) '+D(?)C''4'. Stammkennzeichen BT+KV, Geschwaderkennung 2B+DC, code 'Red 4'. Surrendered at San Severo,
> north of Foggia, Italy by a defecting Hungarian pilot 14Dec44. Shipped to the USA. Foreign Equipment Branch,
> Technical Data Laboratory, Air Technical Service Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center,
> Air Technical Service Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, IN. Renumbered as T2-1600.




Yep ... 





the soource: Heinkel He 111 H-16





the source: Heinkel He 111 H-16

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

On right of 3rd picture, in front of the Schwinn, NAA P-51?


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Beat Up and Beautiful


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Information about the Douglas Factory when it was in operation, before being used to store aircraft for the Smithsonian.

O'Hare Airport Predecessor

https://www.parkridgehistorycenter.org/history/exhibits/wartime-memories/


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> View attachment 694700
> 
> 
> Another shot, can we deduce anything from this?


Left background, Messerschmitt Me 410?


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 16, 2022)

Warbird Information Exchange • View topic - Quite a Post-War collection ...

Interesting story on this link. Will have to look on flicker for a clearer copy of this photo.

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## special ed (Nov 16, 2022)

Here is the one that should have been saved. The Ki-78, a one of a kind high speed research plane.











Gone forever

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## SaparotRob (Nov 16, 2022)

☹️


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## Shinpachi (Nov 17, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> But what is that Japanese fighter to the right of it in the first picture and does it still exist?


Looks like an A6M5 with paint removed as the hinomaru marking is quite smaller than original one.

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## Shinpachi (Nov 17, 2022)

Ki-78 mockup





Source: s://twitter.com/L1649_CN1001/status/1257376920234319873

Ki-78 real size model at the Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum




Source: かかみがはら航空宇宙博物館と「研三」

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## Snautzer01 (Nov 17, 2022)

Nice looking airplane.

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 17, 2022)

special ed said:


> Here is the one that should have been saved. The Ki-78, a one of a kind high speed research plane.
> 
> View attachment 694768
> 
> ...


Sad, yes, but I don't believe that was ever brought to the United States and so was never in the Smithsonian's collection.


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## Capt. Vick (Nov 17, 2022)

Shinpachi said:


> Looks like an A6M5 with paint removed as the hinomaru marking is quite smaller than original one.


Well if it is a Zero, then it may be the one extant in their collection. Good news.

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 17, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> First picture in thread, under the port wing, in the background, a Heinkel He 162. Number 23 on the fuselage. Anyone make out the TE number?
> 
> Heinkel He.162
> (WkNr 120222) 'White 23' Luftwaffe.
> ...


Or maybe not...






From the NASM website:

The NASM aircraft (Werknummer 120230) was one of the thirty-one JG 1 aircraft manufactured by Heinkel at Rostock-Marienehe and captured by the British at Leck on May 8, 1945. It was painted with the number "white 23" and its red-white-black nose bands were in reverse order from the usual paint scheme, which may indicate that the wing commander and high-scoring ace, Col. Herbert Ihlefeld, flew this particular aircraft. After transfer to Britain, the U. S. Army Air Forces accepted the airplane and shipped it to Wright Field, Ohio, for evaluation. It received the foreign equipment number FE-504 (later T2-504), and was later moved to Freeman Field, Indiana. For unknown reasons, mechanics replaced the tail unit at Wright Field with the tail unit of aircraft 120222. Although another He 162, T2-489, was tested at Muroc Field, California (later Edwards Air Force Base), FE/T2-504 was apparently never flown. Its flying days ended permanently when someone at Freeman Field neatly sawed through the outer wing panels sometime before September 1946. The wings were reattached with door hinges and the jet was shipped to air shows and military displays around the country. The U. S. Air Force transferred the aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution in 1949 but it remained in stored at Park Ridge, Illinois, until transfer to the Garber Facility in January 1955.

The plot thickens!

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## special ed (Nov 17, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> Sad, yes, but I don't believe that was ever brought to the United States and so was never in the Smithsonian's collection.


It was crushed (2nd pic) in Japan. I posted it as a "wish they had."

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## Gnomey (Nov 19, 2022)

Good shots!


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## rob23 (Nov 19, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> *Biographical / Historical*
> In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation did not provide for the construction of a new building, however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," World War II aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
> 
> Park Ridge, IL (Orchard AFB; Orchard Place) Collection | Collection | search=s=0&n=10&t=K&q=*&i=0 | SOVA
> ...


Did Horton hear the Who?


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## nuuumannn (Nov 19, 2022)

special ed said:


> Mu guess on the Japanese fgtr is a Tony. Shinpachi will know and Wurger should be able to track the W.Nr.8433.





Capt. Vick said:


> Well if it is a Zero, then it may be the one extant in their collection. Good news.



I agree with Shinpachi; it's an A6M for certain. Take a look at the door layout. Definitely not a Ki-61.



Capt. Vick said:


>






NX712Z 01

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## nuuumannn (Nov 19, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> Left background, Messerschmitt Me 410?





Capt. Vick said:


>



I don't think it is. On the Me 410, outboard of the nacelle is the upper lip of the radiator exhaust flap, which is hinged and larger in depth than the inboard flap. In saying that, I can't positively identify what it is.


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## nuuumannn (Nov 19, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


>



Cap, d'you have a clearer, less pixellated copy of this image? The twin-engined aircraft directly ahead of the XB-42 Mixmaster to the left, identified by its undercarriage might be your mystery twin. According to one of the posters of the thread about the facility it is a P1Y Ginga.


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## mjfur (Nov 19, 2022)

.

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## Tom Fey (Nov 19, 2022)

Capt. Vick said:


> View attachment 694697
> 
> View attachment 694698
> 
> ...


Not a ramjet on the XB-42A. It is a Westinghouse X19B-2 axial turbojet engine.

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## Capt. Vick (Nov 19, 2022)

mjfur said:


> .


Where did you find these wonderful pictures!


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## Wurger (Nov 20, 2022)




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## Gnomey (Nov 21, 2022)

Nice shots!


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## Capt. Vick (Dec 17, 2022)

Another shot of the Ho IX, from a different angle

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## WARSPITER (Dec 17, 2022)

Excellent pics and agree it is a shame about the scrappings.

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## Wurger (Dec 18, 2022)




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