San Marcos Army Airfield visit December 2009

Transcription

1 January 2010 Newsletter San Marcos Army Airfield visit December 2009 While visiting my aunt and cousin in Austin Texas I travel 45 minute South to visit San Marcos Municipal Airport. San Marcos was the home of our C-45H during it s entire WWII career from 1943 to 1945 as an AT- 7 Navigation trainer. The old WWII control tower and some hangars are still there (now housing the Central Texas Wing of the CAF). Photos of an AT-7 above. The old tower today and in WWII (right) and today s airport sign on the highway 1

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3 In one of the San Marcos AAF WWII hangars the CAF houses a B-25J Yellow Rose. They have a Doolittle Raiders display and have the armor seat back from LtCol Doolittle s plane, apparently the only piece of his B-25 ever recovered. (see above) The CAF B-25 Yellow Rose in the large WWII hangar. They also have a replica Jap Kate Torpedo Bomber, a P-39 Aircobra, a Jap Zero, and AT-6 and a T-34 all comprising the Central Texas Wing of the CAF. Another shot of the their large hangar and a photo of Gary AFB Base (San Marcos AAF was renamed Gary AFB in the s. The base is now closed and most of the USAF building house a job corps center. 3

4 San Diego Military Vehicle Collector Club SDMVCC 2010 EVENTS / news Upcoming Events 2010 MAR St Patrick s Day Parade APR MV Off Road Camp Out Borrego Springs APR Tierra Santa Armed Forces Day Patriot Parade May Memorial Day 105mm Cannon Firing Glen Abbey Cemetery 04 JUL Julian Parade and 105mm Cannon Firing JUL Pine Valley Parade JUL Fort MacArthur Days 105mm Cannon Firing / Encampment OCT Miramar Airshow MV Display OCT Glenn Elliott s Off Road Camp Out Borrego Springs NOV Mother Goose Parade El Cajon CA Texas Military Forces Museum Austin Texas In 1986, a project was started at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas, to establish a museum and archival collection, dedicated to the men and women who served in the military forces of Texas. In 1987, a military historical holding was established, sanctioned by the United States Army Center of Military History. The storyline begins with the Texas War for Independence and extends through all major conflicts. In addition to the main gallery, separate galleries include the history of the Texas Air National Guard, the history of the 36th M4A1 half track Mortar Carrier. Armed with an 81mm Mortar it was operated with a crew of 6 and propelled by a 6 cylinder White engine. Used in WWII and Korea Infantry Division, and the Lost Battalion (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery); the Great Hall exhibit of aircraft, weapons, equipment and vehicles; Armor Row (historical armored vehicles) and the new Artillery Park located on the West side of the museum. 4

5 SdKfz German half track could carry and entire German Squad and was armed with (2) MG-34 machine guns. It was captured in Tunisia and sent to the Aberdeen proving grounds. Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer Tank Destroyer was one of the most common late-war German tank destroyers. The Jagdpanzer 38 weaknesses were its very limited gun traverse, poor internal ergonomics and poor visibility. The gun traverse was so limited the entire vehicle sometimes needed to be turned to track a fastmoving target. M2.50 caliber Browning Machine Gun in a Quad Mount MGR-1B Honest John Battlefield Support Missile was truck mounted and delivered either a 1500# HE or 100KT nuclear warhead. Used Replaced by the MGM52 Lance. M3 Stuart Light Tank: Produced March 1941 thru October The M3 was armed with a 37 mm M5 gun and Browning M1919A4 machine guns: coaxial with the gun, on top of the turret in an M20 AA mount, in a ball mount in right bow, in the right and left hull sponsons. 5 M7B1 Priest Self Propelled Howitzer: Utilizing the chassis of the M4 Sherman tank and the standard M101A1 105mm Howitzer mobilized the division s artillery. First seeing action in 1942 with the British at El Alamein in North Africa. Nicknamed the Priest by the British since all British Self Propelled Artillery was named after church officials.

6 Glamour Gal 105mm Howitzer Iwo Jima News Angelia Bratcher Bess (granddaughter of one of Glamour Gal s gun crew from the Iwo Jima invasion) was contacted at the end of the year by a man who bought this attached map (looks Japanese) on ebay. He saw the 5th Marine Division site on Facebook that Angelia had set up) and forwarded her a copy. M24 Chaffee Light Tank. The Chaffee was developed to correct several problems with the M3 Stuart light tank. Armor protection was increased, the main gun was increased to 75mm and torsion bar suspension was used for the first time by an American tank Chaffees were produced by the end of WWII by Cadillac and Massey Harris. After WWII the Chaffee was used extensively in Korea and Vietnam, and was replaced by the Walker Bulldog M41. The Chaffee remained in service with many countries until the late 1990s. 6

7 Armor Row, starting with the M26 Pershing tank. Over 1400 Pershing tanks were produced between Nov 1944 and June 1945 M26 Pershing Tank. First delivered to Europe in January 1945 representing a substantial improvement over the M4 Sherman with the addition of a 90mm vs 76mm main gun, thicker armor and improved suspension. M60A1 Patton Main Battle Tank with a 105mm main gun and a diesel engine. Over 14,000 built M1 Abrams. This version has a 105mm gun (today M1 use a 120mm gun) the M1 replaced the M60 Patton tank M114 Command and Reconnaissance Carrier. Meant to replace the Scout Jeep it has a low silhouette and is light weight. Small numbers were sent to Vietnam but withdrawn due to poor cross country performance 7 M42 Duster Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Gun. First entered service in we produced by GMC between Twin 40mm guns fired up to 240 rounds / min. Lack of radar control and jet aircraft made the Duster obsolete.

8 C-172 Rental at KSEE Here are the particulars for Ken and I. The school is called Rison Aviation (there will be a web site in January). The airplane will be here early January and will be kept down at Gillespie. We will be doing all ratings except multi engine. Attached is the Syllabus we will be using for private pilots, feel free to give it to the students who are interested in flying with us. Ken has access to an Arrow to teach commercial level stuff. We are ready to go as soon as we pick up the plane from Lexington, KY. Let me know if you have any questions! Here are the rates: Airplane Instructor QC- Airplane QC- Instructor Hourly hour Hour We are giving all QC employees a discount. Additionally there are no monthly club dues, no deposit and no initiation fees. Compared to a lot of the other clubs around this is really a great deal. Payment: We will accept Paypal, Check or Cash with a billing account option. Airframe Engine 2461 Total Time 425 SMOH by Penn Yann 8

9 WWAM 2010 Schedule of Events January Monster Trucks at Qualcomm Stadium February Fort MacArthur (outdoor) Dinner / Dance March Antique Aircraft Association: Cactus Fly In Casa Grade AZ (C-45) 13 NAF El Centro Airshow (C-45) Daylight Savings Time Changes Davis Monthan AFB Airshow (C-45) 27 MCAS YUMA Airshow (C-45) April March ARB Airshow (C-45) May March ARB Airshow (C-45) 7-9 Palm Springs Air Museum Annual T-34 Fly In 29 Glen Abbey Memorial Day Glamour Gal 105mm Howitzer Firing June Ft Smith Arkansas Airshow (TBD) July Julian 4th of July Parade Glamour Gal 105mm Howitzer Firing Old Fort MacArthur Days Glamour Gal 105mm Howitzer Firing 24 Pine Valley Days Parade September Super Safety Seminar SDASM (Gillespie Field) Travis AFB Airshow (C-45) October MCAS Miramar Airshow (Everyone and Everything Attends) 24 Los Alamitos AAF Wings, Wheels, Rotors Show November 2010 TBD Nellis AFB Airshow (T-34s, T-28s) Try the NEW WWAM Calendar Online at now using Google Calendars Receive Updates by AS THEY ARE POSTED just sign up!!! Avionics GARMIN GNS430WAAS GPS/NAV/COM IFR Certified GARMIN GMX200 Multi-Function Display GARMIN GDL69 XM/Weather Data Link Garmin GI106 Glideslope Indicator Bendix/King KX155NAV/COM w/glideslope Bendix/King KT76 Transponder Century I Autopilot Bendix/King KMA24 Audio Panel Avionics Master Clock 4 Place Intercom Airframe Options Wingtip Strobes Rotating Beacon 9

10 WWAM Aircraft and Military Vehicles Military Vehicles Kaiser M35A2 6 x 6 Cargo Truck (1967) GMC M1010 CUCV Ambulance (1985) GMC M1009 CUCV Blazer (1985) GMC M1008 CUCV Pickup (1985) Ford M151A2 Jeep (1971) M2A1 105mm Howitzer (Glamour Gal) M149 Water Buffalo Tank Trailer M105A2 Cargo Trailer Military Aircraft: North American L-17A (1946) Beechcraft C-45H (1951) Beechcraft T-34A (1953) North American T-28C (1957) Aero Vodachody L-29C #53 (1968) Mig 21 Cockpit Trailer Volunteer Opportunities: Contact warbirdswest@cox.net (858) BACK IN THE AIR AGAIN (over El Capitan) 1940 RYAN STM-2 Winner of the Hap Arnold Trophy ( National Aviation Heritage Invitational ) Reno BILL AND CLAUDIA ALLEN Leslie Day s PT-19 in the restoration shop WWAM Hangar 1942 Joe Crosson Dr Board of Directors: Jim Ostrich Mark Bauer John Widay John Flippen Larry Bierma Patrick Joyce Hangar 1942 B Joe Crosson Drive (Gillespie Field CA) Beechcraft T-34A North American T-28C L-17A Navion Mig-21 Fishbed, Military Vehicles Beech C-45H Expediter Aero L-29C Delfin Jet Mailing Address: 7918 El Cajon Blvd N#363, La Mesa CA Contact Info: WarbirdsWest@cox.net Web Site: Hangar: (619) Cell (858)