Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society. Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum. April 2018

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1 Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum airscoop The word museum usually conjures up images of dusty relics in a building that started life as a home or business or government office. And the image usually is static it s a museum what could change? The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum started life as a natural consequence of existing at a place where several obsolete military aircraft had been parked. Because Pueblo was home to the Pueblo Army Air Base, used for training B-24 and B-25 pilots, an organization was created to track veteran B-24 pilots and crew. The retired military aircraft living at the Pueblo Airport suffered from the high desert climate, bright sunshine and marauding visitors who helped themselves to keepsakes commemorating their visit. Almost from the very beginning of the museum, it was evident that more indoor room was needed, to not only display the B-24 tail details and the artifacts and photos relating to military aviation, but to provide a space to showcase the aircraft themselves. As the museum s collection of artifacts and aircraft grew, a concerted effort was made to fund a hangar that would house our star attraction, the B-29 named Peachy. Hangar One was completed in 2005 and Peachy moved indoors. But by that time, it was clear that we already had more aircraft than we could fit in the hangar, so work began to acquire funding for another hangar. Hangar Two was completed in 2010 and space for more aircraft was available. But, it still wasn t enough. Even though Hangar Two houses over a dozen aircraft in addition to the Space Flight Museum, we are still parking airplanes outside. Throughout the years, interested people have come to the museum, been impressed, and left to come back later with their own memorabilia to donate to the museum. This is how the museum constantly grows and changes. A visitor to the museum two years ago would be impressed at how different a visit today is. More things to see, displays and aircraft that are constantly being updated and changed, and the faces of the museum volunteers, the docents and restoration crew as old members fly west and new members join weekly. The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is a dynamic, organic entity that is constantly growing and changing. We are proud to note that our restoration crew is recognized nationwide as one of the best, that our guides and docents are knowledgeable, and that everything we do is on a volunteer basis, with no government support. Page 1

2 Featured NOTES Aircraft is a free publication produced by and provided to the members of the PUEBLO HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT SOCIETY Magnuson Avenue Pueblo, CO (719) airscoop@pwam.org OFFICERS President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Mike Wright Dick Wood Mac McCormack Dennis Murphy DIRECTORS Curator Historian Restoration Facilities Docent /Tours Newsletter STEM Lab Space Museum Shawn Kirscht Danny Passig Rex Hefferan Roger Brown Paula Haskell Steve Galusha Howard Hayden Steve Janssen The MIG-15 and MIG-17 are here, have been painted and on display. A team from PHAS has traveled to AMARG in Tucson and seen to the transporting of the F15 and F16 back to Pueblo. The F15 is being worked on first, in order to be ready for the June 2 event. We have been advised that the museum will receive a donated Learjet 25 this spring. Check back for more details. The Vagabond has been sold for $15,000 plus delivery of the B-52 training cockpit to PWAM We have the donated Harley-Davidson motorcycle for sale The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is the property of the City of Pueblo. It is operated and staffed entirely by the volunteer members of the Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society and is funded by private donations. The Museum is open 10am to 4pm Monday through Saturday, 1pm to 4pm on Sunday. THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED ON: New Year s Day Easter Sunday Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Stealth technology at AMARG Page 2

3 PHAS OFFICERS 2018 PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT Mike Wright Dick Wood PHAS member 4 plus years PHAS member since 1993 President for 1 year I have watched the museum grow from the aircraft parked on the dirt to hangars for the display aircraft. I have been able to help with many of the projects that have happened at the museum. Retired USAFR Retired tech industry teacher Originally from New Hampshire SECRETARY TREASURER James Mac McCormack Dennis Murphy Mac is a 28-year active duty Marine. He has been a docent at the museum since Mac was elected as secretary in Dennis is a former Air Traffic Controller with an accounting degree and computer experience. He joined the PHAS in Dennis lives in Colorado City. Page 3

4 BO GEN HUANG HO Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum recently had the pleasure and honor of a visit from Mr. Shawn Ho. Mr. Ho is the grandson of a Chinese aviator that trained at what was then Pueblo Army Air Force Base during WWII. That aviator was a member of the Republic of China Air Force that trained as an aircrew as part of the lend lease program initiated just before the second world war. Another member of the Chinese command was Da Do Wu. Da Do Wu was the best friend of Bo Gen Huang. Da Bo Wu is standing first on the left Bo Gen Huang is standing second from left On the completion of their training and the certification of their preparedness by the USAAF the Chinese command returned home. Once there the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) became an integral part of the allied effort to defeat the forces of Imperial Japan. Huang and Wu probably served in the 10th Bomb Group of the ROCAF flying the Consolidated B-24 heavy bomber. On May 11, 1950 Bo Gen Huang and his crew were shot down on a raid against Shanghai, China by the air defense forces of the communist Chinese. None of the crew survived. Mr. Ho calls Da Do Wu as the only grandfather he ever knew. Mr. Ho presented a painting to the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum depicting the Consolidated B-24 that both of his grandfather s flew during the war. His painting both honors, respects and remembers Bo Gen Huang and Da Do Wu. Page 4

5 Peachy: Bringing Home a Legend The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propellerdriven heavy bomber designed by Boeing, and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. It was one of the largest aircraft operational during World War II and featured state-of-the-art technology. Including design and production, it was the single most expensive weapons project undertaken by the United States in World War II, exceeding the cost of the Manhattan Project by between $1 and 1.7 billion. Innovations introduced included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled, tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system that directed four remote machine gun turrets that could be operated by a single gunner and a fire-control officer. A manned tail gun installation was semi-remote. The name "Superfortress" continued the pattern Boeing started with its wellknown predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress. Designed for the high-altitude strategic bomber role, the B-29 also excelled in low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing missions. One of the B-29's final roles during World War II was carrying out the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The B-29 production total was 3,970 aircraft. Dozens of B-29s remain as static displays, but only two examples, Fifi and Doc, have been restored to flying status, with Doc flying again for the first time from McConnell AFB on July 17, B29 Rear gun turret being delivered 1976 B was stored out in the open for many years in poor conditions at the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, CA. This aircraft was donated to the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Colorado in 1976 and underwent an extensive restoration. In 2005 Peachy was moved into Hangar One and is currently on display inside the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum. Peachy is named in honor of all the crews who fought in the Pacific Theater. A B-29 by that name was piloted by a native of Pueblo, Lt. Robert T. Haver, who gave it his pet name for a younger sister. The original Peachy flew 35 combat missions into enemy territory from Tinian Island in the Marianas islands chain in the central Pacific. Forward fuselage being unloaded 1976 Peachy moves into the new hangar in 2005 Page 5

6 Peachy: Bringing B29 Facts Home a Legend Peachy in Hangar One at Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum B29 Facts 3,970 B-29s were produced between 1943 and That's an average of over 2.7 aircraft built per day. The B-29 was one of the first military aircraft to have a pressurized cabin with the fuselage designed as a cylinder to handle the pressurization. The Superfortress was initially designed as a high altitude bomber, but after poor results, it was primarily used in night time low-altitude bombing missions. The B-29 was capable of reaching 31,000 feet, which put it out of range of most Japanese fighter aircraft. When the B-29's role of high-altitude bomber was changed to lowaltitude night bomber, Curtis LeMay ordered the removal of most of the sighting and defensive equipment, so it could carry more fuel and bombs. The B-2 9 had a 'Central Fire System' that included 4 remotely controlled guns turrets, each armed with two.50 caliber machine guns. The guns were aimed electronically from the nose, tail, and mid-fuselage. The gun system also used analog computers to help operators aim, compensating for airspeed, gravity, temperature and humidity. During WWII, B-29s dropped over 180,000 tons of bombs, and shot down 27 enemy aircraft. The most famous B-29s were the 'Silverplate' series, which were modified to drop atomic bombs. On August 6th, 1945, the 'Enola Gay' dropped the first atomic bomb in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.Three days later, on August 9th 'Bockscar' dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. During WWII, four B-29s made emergency landings in the Soviet Union after making bombing runs over Japan. The US asked the Soviets to return the aircraft, but they refused. Three of the B-29s, which were repairable, were flown to the Tupelov design bureau in Moscow. The bombers were then reverse-engineered and turned into the Tu Tu-4s were produced by the Soviet Union. Page 6

7 The Strike Eagle and Fighting Falcon Come to PWAM F-15 and F16 at the AMARG boneyard As an organization dedicated to the preservation of historical military aircraft, members of PHAS are constantly on the lookout for possible additions to our collection. One primary source of planes is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona. Sometimes we get hints of aircraft there we would like to have but we have to consider our resources, including space to store and display planes. If we had the money and space, we would want them all! For the past couple of years we have been aware of an F- 15 and F-16 at AMARG and looking at them wistfully, but the estimated cost of transporting them to Pueblo was in excess of $40,000 too much for our limited donationonly budget. And then the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum was visited by Air Force General Glen Davis, who was impressed with our work and had a personal interest in F-15s. Learning of the museum s interest a particular F-15, he got involved, contacted friends and colleagues, pulled Rex Hefferen and Dick Wood preparing the F-15 for shipment some strings and helped turn the acquisition of the plane from wishful thinking to reality. That s when a crew of PHAS members, including Rick Sandridge, Rick Sargeant, Rex Hefferan, Dick Wood, and Paula Haskell traveled to Tucson to get the planes loaded and on the way. The F-15 and F16 both arrived at the museum in March, this year. A crew of PHAS members went to Tucson to dismantle the planes and load them on flatbed trailers. The planes were transported to Pueblo at a cost of about $50,000, money raised from donations to the museum. Loading the F-16 at AMARG On June 2, 2018 the PHAS will host a free admission day at the museum, featuring the newly acquired aircraft and recognizing the help from General Davis, the man responsible for moving the aircraft acquisition along. As a bonus to this entire episode, we have learned that the F-15 we now have was involved in combat during the Gulf War and earned a kill over a MIG- 23. The Restoration Crew have determined to preserve the original win info painted on the side of the plane. F-15 being unloaded at the museum Page 7