What Happend to all the WW2 Weapons

What happend to them? I know there was like 15,000 P-51's made, 6,000 Hurricanes, there must have been Millions of tanks and veichles, what happend to them?

 

Many were completely scrapped--many are still in great boneyards and many are in collectors hands. I was reading in a book on the Mustang fighter that had a somewhat complete listing of ww2 Mustangs that were in private collections and others that were being restored--an impressive list and I think it listed over 100 of them. If im not mistaken--I THINK this list is in a book about the 352nd Fighter group or one similar to them.

 

Scrap metal merchants made it rich in the late 40s.

Rows and rows of Lancasters, Spitfires, you name it....broken up and scrapped. Near where I used to live in East Anglia there was a housing estate where people would occasionally find chunks of melted aluminium while digging their gardens. The estate was built on the site of a field where USAAF Marauders were broken up and melted down on the spot.

Try to catch the classic old late 40s movie 'The Best Years Of Their Lives' on TV - it has a famous scene of rows and rows of B17s in the desert, all waiting for the scrapman.

 

Sad eh.
Think of how much those scrap men made for a lets say B-17, they probably didnt make as much off of 500+inflation as one person selling one today.

 

Dead right - I think the 'going rate' for an airworthy Spitfire is currently around half a million pounds or so. After the war a complete Merlin engine could be had for around fifty quid ; today you'll pay a hundred just for one piston.

Even worse - Mosquitoes had no scrap value except for the engines - the airframes were simply chopped up and set light to

And to me the greatest tragedy of all - Guy Gibson's Dambuster Lancaster simply broken up for scrap in 1947

Today it would be absolutely priceless

 

For the US 352nd fighter group there around 6 members with P-51's painted in the colours of famous pilots of the group.
As martin said the scrappers had a field day, and what isn't in museums, collectors or re0inactors hands is long gone, although personally I know of wrecked armor still sitting in the Russian plains just rusting away, and I know of one or two Bf 110G-4's being rebuilt from parts left behind in Denmark. All captured arms basically/ for a/c were field tested, evaluated and then within a 5 to 6 year time fram destroyed. On the east coast there are a few prime examples ready to be rebuilt but they are at the end of the listing, these being the He 219, and refitting and repainting of the Ta 152H. A P-61 was in being rebuilt, it's wreck was brought over from China and completely cleaned. The unit is being revamped, and cleaned, straightened out by former P-61 maintenace crews and their son's.
So yes there are still some old timers around, just have to look closely and find out at least with a/c when a fly over or fly through is coming towards your airfield. I can imagine the thrill it would be as Martin has previously posted and others when an RAF Spit with Lancaster would do a fly by......unreal. i've had the pleasure of at least 6 times seeing B-17 and B-24 fly together and land at our miniscule airport in Merlin. Great place by the way to interview vets !

E

 

I think there are only 12 flyable B-17s, 1 flyable B-24, and 1 flyable He-111 left out of the thousands made.

The latest price I know of for a flyable B-17 was when the "Fuddy Duddy" was sold by the "National Warplane Museum" to the "American Airpower Museum" for $2.5 million last year to pay off its debt.

[ 09. February 2003, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: Greg A ]

 

Confederate Air Force has something like ..what 3 of them ? Also there is one stationary on the old 99 in southern California. What a mess and incredible potential to get this thing back in order, but it just sits in the sun taking a beating and rusting in what little rain hits the area.

E

 

... and I think that Heinkel is actually a Casa 2-11 made under licence in Spain !

I shouldn't moan too much..in the UK we are luckier than most, having a fantastic 'warbird' scene.

I know one cannot preserve everything , but it does make me blow a fuse to think of the post-war orgy of destruction. I mean, no Stirlings left, no original Halifax, only one Typhoon in the entire world, and Gibson's Lancaster .....

Stop me someone...I'm 'off' again

( PS : I know we've been here before, but..handkerchiefs at the ready.....

http://www.skylighters.org/luftwrecks/index.html

boo hoo ! )

[ 09. February 2003, 02:29 AM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]

 

Martin I read that there is a Halifax in England someplace that they found in Holland in the 70's while draining off some land. They decided to leave it in the same condition they found it in for display. I can't recall the museum off hand.

Old timers where I live on the old Camp Swift in Bastrop Texas, said after the war when they closed the camp they dug big trenchs and dumped all the surplus jeeps,helmets,cots, ect. in the trench and covered it with barbed wire and then covered this with dirt.

Many of the WWII fighters were donated to central and south American countries and they are a good source for the restorations we have today. Some countries still use the North American Texan as a trainer for their forces.

I am not sure what they did with all the old Liberty ships and other old ships. Seems like they stored them for awhile and then scrapped them.In the 60's they sold old M-1 rifels at surplus stores for around $12, but they were very beat up.

 

You're right up to a point, Ta152.

The Halifax is lying at the RAF Museum, London but is in decidedly 'relic' condition - not a pretty sight ! 'Friday The Thirteenth' up at Elvington is a brilliant recreation but it is a facsimile, not an original aircraft.

There's another one in Canada - also found in a Scandinavian lake - which may even fly one day.

But when you think original aircraft lay around in this country until the early '60s in some cases - and even then were scrapped on the spot....

 

Also planes like the P-51 and F-4U were used in the Korean War as ground support so by then people started realizing the historical value, probably why they still have a few more of those.

I remember back in the 80s they actually talked about reproducing the P-51 for ground support in case of a Soviet invasion of Europe! Can you imagine that? lol.

I checked the Commemorative Air Force (name changed for some reason) has 2 B-17s and the He-111.

Commemorative Air Force

Greg

[ 09. February 2003, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: Greg A ]

 

It's a little bit naughty of the CAF - their website insists that it's a 'Heinkel' but it is, for sure, a Casa 2-111 ( if you look closely, you can see that it's got Merlin V12s.... )

 

The most impressive fly-by I've ever witnessed was when I was shopping in our local town center (Stockport) about 15 years ago with my wife. 6 Avro Shackeltons did a low fly-past on their way to the airfield at Woodford where they had been built, on a final fly past before decommissioning.
The noise!!!! you could feel the ground vibrate

 

That must really have been one to remember, Redcoat !

A feature of the annual 'Flying Legends' display every Summer at Duxford is the show-closing 'balbo' ; all the aircraft which have taken part in the displays group together for a massed 'flypast'.

As 'Legends' is for piston-engined warbirds only, this results in usually about 30 to 40 'birds ranging from B17s and B25s to Mustangs, Hurricanes, Spitfires with the odd Blenheim, Lysander , Tigercat, Hellcat etc roaring overhead.

It does give you just a small taste of what the massed aerial fleets of WWII must have sounded like.....

 

Gents, please be considerate of the less fortunate on these forums.

I know there is a Chino Air Show on one of these days too. Bunch of 91st BG vets are going to be there and I am trying to get it out of my system....As I am sure they don't have one when I am there in June...

It is just that I get these knots in my stomach when I read this kind of stuff and feel I am missing out on life...that's all...nothing drastic...

 

Stevin :

Can you make it in October at Chino ?

I was there two years ago for some researach with my nf partner and we chatted with KG 51 pilot Hans Busch. They rolled out ther REcon Me 262 for all the public to touch. first time in many years. They had 3 P-51's doing lfy by and a B-25 powereing up across the field. Top it off is that they or someone in southern California has the rebuilt Bf 109E of H.J. Marseille when he flew in the Ost Front briefly with JG 27. It was very cool to see that baby fly and that engine......yeah man, well what can I say. !

Sorry I just had too......

E

Ich steige aus !

 

Awwwww, come on, Stevin !

Holland isn't that far from England !!

 

Erich, I'm afraid not. We'll be there in June and I don't think october will be possible.

Martin, That IS true. Airfare from A'dam to London is pretty cheap nowadays, so that shouldn't really be a problem. Going by car (i.e. ferry) is do-able too, but takes a long time. God knows how many times I have done that before. I do intend to visit England more often. Like to make trips, though Freiburg is still top of the list.

 

So there you are...you can come to London, take in the PRO, the IWM, RAF Museum, Mosquito Museum - and then Duxford is only an hour away by car ( did I hear someone shout 'DIVORCE!' in the background.... )