Here are some pics (part 1) of my day at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor. Me thinks I’ll probably have to put up at least two threads for just general pics, then a separate one for my Huey pics.

Here we go...

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The “Alpha and the Omega”.

On the right, the “U.S.S. Arizona Memorial”, and on the left, the “U.S.S. Missouri”.  If you want to read an incredible book about the brave men that served as Navy Divers on the ships immediately after the attack, read “Descent Into Darkness, Pearl Harbor 1941” (http://www.amazon.com/Descent-Darkness-Pearl-Harbor-Story/dp/0891417451), I read it in one sitting....

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Hangar 37 where the WWII exhibits live. They have some astounding stuff. An A6M Zero, B-25, SBD Dauntless, F4F Wildcat and lots of other cool stuff.

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My favorite...Hangar 79 (where they do the restorations). On the day of the attack, it housed Navy seaplanes.

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As I’m walking between Hangar 37 and Hangar 79, I round the corner and “HOLY SCHNIKEY”!....A friggin B-17 sitting on its belly in the lot adjacent to the hangar. I COULDN’T WAIT to hear the story on her!

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OBVIOUSLY, she had spent years in some “shite-hole” of a jungle waiting to be found. I’m sure she’ll look amazing when they’re done with her...if only airframes could talk...

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Her story (one of the restoration folks later told me they did indeed pull her out of the jungles of New Guinea!)

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I dearly love the fact that they’ve never patched the bullet and cannon round holes in the doors at “79”...they NEED to stay the way they are (IMHO).

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When you enter the hangar, you immediately notice that current restorations are taking place around you...this doesn’t in any way detract from the incredible machines you see sitting on display. I read somewhere that the president of FedEX (Fred Smith) donated this P-40 to the museum...

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To the right of the doors sits the “Mig Alley” exhibit... Two beautiful, deadly machines gracefully displayed.

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End of part one...

BBall

We use to visit that wreck in New Guinea when we did our annual "Highland Trainer" exercise. It was in relatively good nick. I didn't realise they pulled her out.

Samri.

One thing for the bucket list is visit Pearl. Great photo's BBall. The only thing i got out of New Gunea was jungle ulcers and a real respect for beautiful woman......  

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the pictures BBall...

You’re very welcome gents.

Was planning on putting more up last night when I got to the hotel here in Osaka, but was rather bushed, and decided to check in at home and turn in.

We left Nagoya in the rain, did a “Guam turn” and landed here in Osaka in a “cow pissing on a flat rock” downpour with winds gusting to 30 kts (we had a lovely 50 knot tailwind down the ILS, but it sheared over to a crosswind at about 1000’AGL). Got to the hotel, and the jackass in the room above me was doing his “P90X” routine until long after lights out in my room. ALMOST got dressed, knocked on his (or her) door and gave them the “ugly American” routine. Decide to jam in some ear plugs and pass out...

To quote my main man Jimmy Buffett...”it’s not the quarters that push me to snap, it’s dealing with the daily unadulterated crap....”

        

Off to Guam in a few hours...plan to post up more from there...

BBall