Willow Grove Naval Air Station

[BSteinIPMS]

As a lad I used to ride my bike to Willow Grove Naval Air Station, northwest of Philadelphia, to look at the variety of aircraft taxiing by the fence: Grumman S2F Tracker, Lockheed P2V Neptune, Vought F8U Crusader, North American FJ4 Fury, Douglas R4D & R5D, and so on.

There used to be a line of historical aircraft just inside the fence on display, some owned by the Smithsonian and reclaimed by them over the years for restoration and display. There was at one time a Vought F7U Cutlass, A6M5 Zero, Lockheed P-80, Japanese Kyofu (Rex) floatplane, a German Arado 196 floatplane, Me 262, Curtiss P-40, Convair Sea Dart, and so on.

I see now there has been a smallish museum built to house these, which can now be toured at:

http://www.dvhaa.org/

If you view the history of the Bell UH-1, you'll see it sitting on the main ramp of the NAS with a very Corgi-like hangar in the background... :)

[Agent X20]

As a lad I used to ride my bike to Willow Grove Naval Air Station, northwest of Philadelphia, to look at the variety of aircraft taxiing by the fence: Grumman S2F Tracker, Lockheed P2V Neptune, Vought F8U Crusader, North American FJ4 Fury, Douglas R4D & R5D, and so on.

:)

I didnt know there was a prewar (as in WW2) Tracker, Neptune et al.... :D :D :D

[BSteinIPMS]

Agent, I think yer need yer glasses prescription updated..... ;)

Here's a link to the historical aircraft line as I remember it:

http://www.dvhaa.org/images/1957.jpg

[Agent X20]

Interesting stuff about the 262's....

[BSteinIPMS]

Yep, when I first saw the Me 262 as a lad it was painted flat black, strange for Luftwaffe camouflage, but historical accuracy wasn't on the list of priorities then. It was a two-seater with the full array of radar antennae on the nose. Looked wicked.

[Typhoon-MKV]

It looks superb - now if we could only see one flying over here...