Tired of statues and would like to jump to another topic: museum aircraft
Most, but not all, of these shots were taken at the US Naval Air Museum, on board NAS Pensacola. I’ve been to the Smithsonian, Wright Patterson and scores of lesser museums but this museum is right at the top, world wide. The Blue Angels are based out of Pensacola, so you’ll see a lot of that. The Naval Museum concentrates on Naval stuff as you may suspect but there’s other noteworthy stuff there too, like a Messerschmitt Me 262 one of the very, very few still in existence. The ME 262 was the first ever jet to be used in combat.
This Navy NC-4 was the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Unlike Lindberg, it wasn’t solo and it wasn’t non stop. But it was in 1919 when most aircraft had max ranges in the hundred mile range or so. This by the way, the actual aircraft, not just the aircraft type. Talk about a beautiful restoration.
Corsair: The museum tends to be crowded with stuff just everywhere competing for visual attention. I shot this picture and was looking at it wondering what could be done with it and somehow ended up here.
An F18 outside one of the museum buildings.
00683: A B25 Mitchell bomber. This was principally an Army aircraft but the B25 won fame in early 1942 when the famous raid on Tokyo was launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
A little humorsep
That Corsair is cool. Good photo.
It was also known as the “SLUF: Short L’il Ugly Fu…um…Feller”. Great for CAS missions, they could literally carry their own weight in ordnance!
The Navy also had their variant of the B-25; they designated it the PB-J Patrol Bomber. Kirk Douglas takes one for a joyride in “In Harm’s Way”.
These museums are a photographer’s playground. I went to the Air and Space museum thirty five years ago but I wasn’t a photographer at the time so I have nothing to show but my memories.
Museums are a target rich environment for photographers but they sure present challenges in creating effective photos. The US National Naval Air Museum has so blasted many important aircraft almost crammed together despite 7 acres under roof and another 20 or so acres of exterior storage.
I guess at that point photoshop has to step in and separate them.
My dad worked at North American Aviation from the 50s thru the end of Apollo. Some of the aircraft he worked on were the F86 Sabrejet, A5 Vigilante, F100 Super Saber, X15, B70 Valkyrie bomber, B1 bomber, Apollo Command Module and the 2d stage of the Saturn 5 rocket. He also worked on ICBMs through the subsidiary Rocketdyne and Rockwell.
It was a magical time. The USA led the world. Public schools were strong and not full of political indoctrination. I miss that time.
I know damn near everything about everyone of those aircraft. Starting with the P51, North American was a great company.
I grew up in the north Atlanta metro, close to the Lockheed plant that employed the fathers of a large number of my friends. My dad was a chemical engineer and his specialty wasn’t exactly in demand in the aviation industry.
You miss that time? Good Lord, yes! I an so disappointed to have the shining future devolve into this squalid mess. It sucks.