Report Date: May 1, 2005

Report No: 3

 

Plan

 

The New England Air Museum (NEAM) preservation effort is aimed at preventing or slowing the deterioration of outside display aircraft. The A-26C preservation effort was started in November 2003. The main preservation plan focuses on external aircraft surfaces and component repairs, tires, corrosion inhibition, painting and preparing the aircraft for public viewing. A parallel effort is focused on adding to the current NEAM historical records of the aircraft and crew during its World War II service.

 

Aircraft History

 

The NEAM A-26C (43-22499) was built by Douglas Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1944 and delivered to the 416th BG (L), 671st BS in November 1944 while the unit was stationed in Melun, France. Jack Buskirk, a pilot on the aircraft, visited the museum in 1994. Photos and other documents show our aircraft flew with the name “Reida Rae”. The aircraft was named for the wife of Ground Crew Chief Raymond Rohrdanz. The following people are known to have flown or maintained the aircraft during 1944-45.

 

·         John (Jack) A. Buskirk, Pilot

·         Robert C. Hanna, Bombardier/Navigator

·         C. Houston Corbitt, Engineer/Gunner

·         Claude J. Brown, Pilot

·         James E. Kerns, Bombardier/Navigator

·         Herbert E. Sunderland, Engineer/Gunner

·         Raymond R. Rohrdanz, Ground Crew Chief

·         Hartzell O. Stephens, Ground Crew

·         Elton R. Olmstead, Ground Crew

 

Buskirk, Hanna and Corbitt also flew the A-26C, “Disagreeable 4” shown in the progress report header. The NEAM aircraft was struck off US Air Force inventory in 1957 and the aircraft was used commercially until the late 1960’s. The NEAM acquired the aircraft from the City of Bridgeport, CT in August 1971.

 

Progress Report

 

Preservation

 

            General

 

·         Three wheel stands were designed and build. They are designed to hold the aircraft several inches off the ground to eliminate flats, save tire material and to provide a means for eventually lagging the aircraft to concrete slabs.

·         The aircraft was mounted on the stands.

·         Plugs were placed in the oil cooler inlets in the wing leading edge to prevent future bird nesting.

 

Engines

 

·         Painting of the front 1/3 of both engines was completed.

·         The rear portions of the engines were spayed with a corrosion inhibitor.

 

Cowls

 

·         Two large corroded holes on the left engine cowl were cut out and patched with sheet metal.

·         The left engine cowl was re-installed. The right engine cowl was left off while preparation is made to fix the right nacelle corrosion.

·         Plugs were place in the air inlet openings to prevent future bird nesting when the aircraft is outside.

·         The word “Bootie” was painted on the outside of the left nacelle. Bootie was the nickname of Hartzell O. Stephens’ wife.

 

Fuselage

 

·         The right side of the right engine nacelle has a skin corrosion hole of about 1 square foot. The right main 300 gallon fuel tank must be removed in order to get access to the corroded panel from the inside. This is necessary so that repair rivets can be bucked from the inside.

·         The right wing was shored up to remove all weight from the right main landing gear.

·         The fuselage, just aft of the gunner compartment, was shored up to prevent any sideways motion of the aircraft while the nacelle sheet metal work is done.

·         As of May 1, most stress panels and fuel tank connections were removed. The fuel tank should be removed in May or early June and work can proceed on replacing the corroded nacelle structural panel and, possibly, some damaged nacelle longitudinal stringers.

·         A new loop antenna was installed behind the gunner compartment.

 

            Flaps

 

·         Inboard and outboard flaps were removed. Linkages and bearing were freed up. Exposed aluminum surfaces were corrosion inhibited and painted, where appropriate.

·         Several flap linkage straps were completely corroded. The machine shop fabricated replacements.

·         Heavy surface oxidation was removed and the surfaces treated with protective coatings.

·         Gear boxes were greased and the flap actuation tube bushings were corrosion inhibited with lubricating penetrant.

·         The flap wing wells were sprayed with corrosion prevention sprays.

·         The right and left inboard and outboard flaps were re-installed and the flap system was actuated to ensure non-binding operation.

 

Empennage

           

·         Work was started to prepare the rudder, elevators and ailerons for fabric covering. Some of the access panels on the surfaces had missing or damaged nut plates. In some cases, access panels were missing. New nut strips with the proper spacing could not be located, so fabrication procedures were devised for making new nut strips and these procedures were applied successfully to the rudder refurbishment. When all nut plates and nut strips are re-installed in all the empennage and all missing access panels fabricated, fabric covering will commence.

 

 

History

 

Historical research continued during the reporting period. Claude Brown (671st BS) wrote an article about the Douglas A-26 Invader for the magazine, Logbook. (Vol 4, Number 1, Winter 2003). Carl Sgamboti received a copy of the article in late 2004 and noticed the photo below of some members of the 671st BS standing in front of an aircraft.

 

 

L-R Claude Brown, Pilot, James Kerns, Bombardier/Navigator, Richard Muir, Bombardier/Navigator, Herbert Sunderland, Engineer/Gunner. (Photo courtesy of Claude Brown, from article written by Claude Brown for “Logbook” magazine)

 

Note: This photo was taken after completing Mission #226, March 9, 1945 to Butzbach, Germany Marshalling Yard.

On the side of the aircraft is the bomb group aircraft number “186”. This is the aircraft number for Reida Rae. Subsequent contact with Jim Kerns revealed that the photo was taken on March 9, 1945 after completing Mission #226 to the Butzbach, Germany Marshalling Yards.

 

Mission #239 Historical Documentation

 

Research on Mission #239, March 18, 1945 morning mission to the Worms, Germany Communications Center continues. Since October 2004, a fair amount of information was gathered from veterans, bomb group and bomb squadron publications, Ralph Conte’s book, Air Force microfilms and documents. Initial research is focusing on identifying the crews that flew that mission. In April 2005, Carl Sgamboti visited the historical records center at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C. to look at all the documents available for Mission #239. Unfortunately, no aircraft loading lists were found for this mission, but various types of other documents were found about the mission. According to Air Force documents, 41 aircraft were dispatched on the mission. Most were A-26’s with at least one B-26 Marauder acting as a pathfinder flight (PFF). As a result of the research to date, thirty (30) crews are identified either fully or partially. That leaves eleven 416h BG crews still unaccounted for. If any veteran has any additional information on crews assigned to that mission, and you have not already contacted to Carl Sgamboti, please contact him via email, phone or letter. A list of the known crews participating in Mission #239 follows.

 

 

 

 

Carl Sgamboti

 

A-26C Preservation Crew Chief

Tel: 860-721-9569

Email: Sgamboti@cox.net

 

 

 

 

 

(SEE OVER)
Mission #239 Identified Crew List

 

Note: Only the aircraft pilot is shown for brevity.

 

1.      James Carter, 668th

2.      J. K. Colquitt, 668th

3.      Clifford Vars, 668th   

4.      James Kinney, 668th

5.      Hugh Evans, 668th  , Box I Leader

6.      Charles Anderson, 668th ,Box II Leader

7.      David Eastman, 668th

8.      Ross Cornell, 669th

9.      Carl Weinert, 669th

10.  Burton Stebbins, 669th

11.  Dan O. Turner, 669th  , Box II, Flight B Leader

12.  John Napier, 669th

13.  Harry Popeney, 670th , Window Flight Leader

14.  Wesley Chitty, 670th

15.  Francis S. Brewster, 670th   , Box I, Flight C Leader

16.  Robert S. Bower, 670th

17.  E. O. Turner, 670th

18.  John Wallace, 670th

19.  Rosell B.Hall, 670th

20.  David B.Grunig, 670th

21.  Jack Buskirk, 671st   , Box II, Flight C Leader          

22.  William Jokinen, 671st671st

23.  Alfred Remiszewski, 671st

24.  Joseph Lackovich, 671st  , Box I, Flight B leader      

25.  James Miller, 671st

26.  Hartwig Van Noorden, 671st

27.  L. J. Sutton, 671st

28.  A. J. Winn, 671st

29.  Donald Fero, 671st

30.  Floyd Henderson, 671st

 

Eleven 416th BG crews are still missing from the list. If you have any information about these missing crews, please contact Carl Sgamboti.