Help for an old Vet?

[reapp]

Hi All, I have a 93 year old uncle who has basically outlived his retirement, and he has given me several items to sell on ebay. He was a Air Corp photographer with the 459th Fighter Sdrn (P38's) in the CBI theater from the start of his service until he was wounded, then he was sent back stateside to photograph people, events, and places during the remainder of the war. One of the items he gave me to auction is a box of 3+ dozen 8"x10's of a aircraft factory, with the pictures showing all aspects of assembly. They are dated March of 1944. He can't remember where these pictures were taken, and I would like to know so I can put it in the ebay auction. I believe that it would make the pictures more valuable to a collector. I have attached one of the pictures that show the rear of a plane, with the number 29666 painted on the tail. Some of the signs in the factory have Sp. A.S.C. painted on them. Can anyone tell me what type of plane this is, and where it was possibly manufactured? My uncle thinks they may have been taken in either California or Washington State. Any help will be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance for your time. David in GA.

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[FLYBOYJ]

That's a B-24. The Pic is small so its hard to make out details. That might be a mod center. Consolidated (the B-24 manufacturer) had a plant in San Diego, but I don't know if they built B-24s there.

 

[Matt308]

Not Washington State that I know of. Texas more likely. But also manufactured in San Diego.

 

[hawkeye2an]

B-24 were manufactured by:
Consolidated in San Diego and Fort Worth
Douglas in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ford in Belleville, Michigan (Willow Run)

 

[FLYBOYJ]

That does look like the old AF Plant 2

 

[robwkamm]

how much do you want for the lot? im interested.

 

[Colin1]

Over here
I'd consider a specialist auction house like Christies or Sothebys, they'd allocate the lot to a specific day for aviation historical (for example); in which case the auction would be filled solely with enthusiasts and historians of aviation who knew the value of what they were looking at.

I don't know what the equivalent outfits are in the US but I'd consider them.

Any chance your uncle could come on here and recount some of his stories?

 

[reapp]

Thanks for the information so far. Regarding my uncle and his stories, he is of the age where his memory has faded and his recollections are generalized, with few details. He did tell me that these pictures were considered highly classified when they were taken, and to possess them privately was a court-martiable offense. Photographers naturally wanted to keep examples of their work, and to circumnavigate the regs, they had to mark the backs of the photos as "proof", or "camera repair". It was a CYA tactic in the event they were questioned by the higher-ups. I'll try to post some more pictures in the next day or so as time permits. Some of the more interesting ones are the armament room, which has rows and rows of 50 cal guns. Regarding selling these outright, I have no idea of the value. There are 40 pics, and if interested, make an offer and I will pass it along to him. Otherwise, they will be placed on ebay, Heritage Auctions, or other auction house such as Christies. We've sold with both Heritage and Christies in the past with good results. Thanks again for your help.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Maybe its an optical illusion due to the size, but the tail gun section looks like there is a hump like the B-25, and also the wheels appears to be next to the engine (which shape certainly looks like a B-24's).

Cools pics regardless. Would love to see some more if you can post them.

 

[reapp]

Here is a picture of the armament room. Boy, one of those would look neat above my fireplace mantle.

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[seesul]

That's a B-24. The Pic is small so its hard to make out details. That might be a mod center. Consolidated (the B-24 manufacturer) had a plant in San Diego, but I don't know if they built B-24s there.

Joe, are you sure with Liberator? I´d say this aircraft is smaller, B-25 maybe?

But looking at the landing gear it really seems to be a B-24...

 

[seesul]

B-24 factories from wiki:
Production of B-24s increased at an astonishing rate throughout 1942 and 1943. Consolidated Aircraft tripled the size of its plant in San Diego and built a large new plant outside Fort Worth, Texas. More B-24s were built by Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa, Oklahoma. North American Aviation built a plant in Dallas, Texas, which produced B-24Gs and B-24Js.[citation needed] None of these were minor operations, but they were dwarfed by the vast new purpose-built factory constructed by the Ford Motor Company at Willow Run near Detroit, Michigan, which opened in August 1942 and began mass production in August 1943. This was the largest factory in the United States, and the largest anywhere outside the USSR. It had the largest assembly line in the world (3,500,000 ft²/330,000 m²) at the time of completion. At its peak, the Willow Run plant produced 428 B-24s per month. Many pilots slept on cots at Willow Run while waiting for their B-24s to roll off the assembly line.[17]

Each of the B-24 factories was identified with a production code: Consolidated/San Diego, CO; Consolidated/Fort Worth, CF; Ford/Willow Run, FO; North American, NT; and Douglas/Tulsa, DT.

B-24 Liberator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[T Bolt]

If the tail number on the B-24 in the first photo is visible on the original that could help

 

[Colin1]

Joe, are you sure with Liberator? I'd say this aircraft is smaller, B-25 maybe?

Shape of the tailplane says B-24
B-25's belly doesn't sweep down close to the floor like a B-24's does
Don't get pulled into a smaller/bigger argument, without anything to tell you how big the hangar is, you've no idea how small/big the aircraft is

 

[reapp]

The tail number is 29666, if that helps.

 

[seesul]

Shape of the tailplane says B-24
B-25's belly doesn't sweep down close to the floor like a B-24's does
Don't get pulled into a smaller/bigger argument, without anything to tell you how big the hangar is, you've no idea how small/big the aircraft is

Thanks for this pic Colin. You´re right, the tail shape says it all....

 

[reapp]

Ball turret assembly picture.

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[mhuxt]

Joe Baugher's wonderful search engine doesn't have a 29666 B-24. B-25, yes, but...


USAF Serial Number Search Results

 

[reapp]

Uh-oh. I apologize, but the tail number was actually 26999.

 

[mhuxt]

That's actually even worse, no B-24s or B-25s with that code chez Joe.