US Naval Aviation Museum

[ccheese]

In the Sep/Oct issue of "Warbirds International" there is a very good
article on the National Museum of Naval Aviation, located in Pensacola,
FL. I was not aware that they had such a large inventory, even tho
some are in storage, some on display and some undergoing restoration.

Among the more 'famous' aircraft is a PB2Y-5 that was the first US
aircraft to land in Japan after WW-II. It was owned by Howard Hughes
before going back to the Navy. Another is the "Truculent Turtle", a
P2V-1 that flew, non-stop, from Perth, Australia to Wright-Patterson AFB,
a distance of 11,236 miles. "The Turtle" used to be a gate guard at NAS
Norfolk, I saw it many times on Taussig Blvd.

They also have an Arado Ar-196 floatplane and a Japanese N1K1, Kyofu
(Rex) floatplane fighter, both in storage.

If any of our members want more info on the aircraft at Pensacola, let
me know and I will put up additional info.

Charles

 

[mkloby]

It's an excellent museum. It's one of the perks of being stationed here! They have several excellent cutaways of various turbine engines as well.

 

[R Leonard]

One of my favorites. Look for my Dad's signature, scrawled in pencil, on the von Tempski wall.

Rich

 

[davparlr]

As I have said before, I have been to the Smithsonian and to the AF Museum, and I think the Naval Air Museum has the best presentation. A great must see museum. Also, it has the NC-4, first aircraft to cross the Atlantic.

 

[Wargasm]

Is the Truculent Turtle on display there currently, or is it in storage? The next time I'm down near that area (who knows?), I plan to stop by and check it out!

My grandfather was T.D. Davies (one of the Turtle pilots), and I never did get a chance to see the plane in person, although I did hear the story of the flight several times over the years from both T.D. Davies AND E.P. Rankin! They both loved telling the story - you could tell that they really felt like young men again while telling that story! It was great!

An interesting (?) tidbit for any possible Turtle fans out there...

My grandmother, Eloise English, married Thomas Davies and had 4 kids (luckily for me). After Tom Davies passed away, a little while later, she married E.P. Rankin (the copilot of the Turtle). E.P. Rankin also passed away after a few more years. This is how I was fortunate enough to hear the Truculent Turtle story told by both of them.

If anyone has any Turtle-specific questions, feel free to ask. I'm not sure if I can dig up the answers or cover anything that isn't already out on the web with a Google search, but I could always call up my Grandma and see if she knows the answer :0

Brian

 

[Konigstiger205]

You people are so lucky....the military museum in my city is so poor in material...I mean there are a lot of stuff from 2000 years ago and so on but not so much from WW2 and the modern times...

 

[davparlr]

Is the Truculent Turtle on display there currently, or is it in storage? The next time I'm down near that area (who knows?), I plan to stop by and check it out!

Brian

It used to be on display in the back field (behind the museum). I have seen it many times. Every time I went there, I made an effort to see it. However, since they remodeled the musuem, I did not see it on display, however, I think they have tours to other areas which I did not take. It may be on display there.

Even though I was a AF guy, I loved those Navy planes. I grew up with them. In fact, when I joined the AF, I had to research to see what the AF aircraft were all about, but I knew the Navy ones by heart.

 

[ccheese]

Is the Truculent Turtle on display there currently, or is it in storage? The next time I'm down near that area (who knows?), I plan to stop by and check it out!

Brian

I believe the "Turtle" is in outside storage.

It was a gate guard for many years at NAS Norfolk, Va. It sat on the
corner of Taussig Blvd and I saw it on the way to the main gate. Of
course, this was many, many years ago.

Charles

 

[R Leonard]

It used to sit near the intersection of Bainbridge Ave and Bellinger Blvd in front of the HQ building, with the XFY-1 nearby.

Just down at the north end of Bainbridge was the H8K Emily that they eventually gave back to the Japanese.

Rich

 

[ccheese]

I remember seeing the XFY-1 (Pogo) when I was going to TTY repair school
back in the late '50's, but when I saw the Turtle it was on the corner of
the old Taussig Blvd and I think it was Granby St., but don't hold me to
that. It was just a stones throw from where the groups use to hold their
cookouts and picnics. I can't remember streets on the base, it's been too
long. And, I remember seeing Emily.....with one engine missing, if memory
serves....

Charles

 

[R Leonard]

Long, long, ago in a far away galaxy . . . no . . . wait . . . you are right, it was at Taussig and Granby, but when they punched the interstate through it was moved over to Bainbridge. Actually got to look inside the Emily once, a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I must have been in 2d or 3d grade . . . Gee, it was dark in there, is all I remember.

 

[ccheese]

Yea..... Taussig Blvd was a three lane road (center lane for passing). Saw
many a head-on collision on that road. Then they punched I-64 through
and that's when they might have moved the Turtle..... donno about that.

My memories of Emily was there was an inboard engine missing.....

Gosh..... that was HOW MANY YEARS AGO ???? The middle '50's ??
whew (long low whistle, here). I MUST be old !

Charles

 

[comiso90]

Do they still have the L-19 bird dog that landed on the Midway there? ... cool story.

Although I'd like to see that Aircraft displayed on the Midway in San Diego..

On 30 April 1975, a Bird Dog flew a remarkable journey.
During the evacuation of Saigon, a South Vietnamese Air Force major boarded his wife and five children into the two-seater plane. He left from Con Son Island and flew to the US Navy's aircraft carrier USS Midway.

With his fuel tanks almost empty, he requested permission to land by means of dropping a note onto the deck as he circled above.

After the deck had been cleared he was given permission to land by means of an interpreter over the radio. Without assistance of a tail hook or a barrier, the South Vietnamese pilot made a slow approach to a successful landing, becoming the first Bird Dog to land on a carrier deck.

 

[comiso90]

I found it:

NATIONAL MUSEUM of NAVAL AVIATION - COLLECTIONS - AIRCRAFT

 

[R Leonard]

Gosh..... that was HOW MANY YEARS AGO ????

Well, Charles, old man, we lived on Dillingham Blvd in 1960-61 when my father worked for ComNavAirLant . . . I was in 3d grade. He went from there to CO Ranger in Alameda and we moved out into town to Pinewell, where Granby ends at Ocean View (didn't want to move everyone to CA for a one year assignment, especially since my brothers were finishing up high school).

The next time we lived at NAS was when I was a freshman in college (I spent most of the year in Lexington) and had quarters behind the BOQ at Breezy Point. That was my father's last tour, he retired in the summer of 1971 as CO of the Safety Center.

In between we lived at CinCLant/SacLant behind the Staff College, then Boston, then DC.

But Norfolk was the place we went every summer as my mother's family was from there. Grandparents had a house right on the beach in Ocean View which made summers just grand.

Rich