Stack o' Stearmans

[garybrantley]

Sometimes, one can have too much of a good thing. 😁  I guess we won't be seeing many more photos like this again...and something we don't see every day either. 





...And then there were the Stearmans, many of which had only just begun their flying careers providing primary training for young wartime pilots, but which would go on to expand their careers into civilian training, banner-towing and crop-dusting. But in the first instance, when those WW-II training bases fell silent, the survivors of the 8,594 Model 75 Stearmans produced had to find some secure accommodation. In this remarkable photo, an estimated 150+ Stearmans have been very carefully 'racked and stacked', standing on their noses to minimise their footprint on the floor. Notice how the space between the upper and lower wings of each aircraft is occupied, right up to the inter-plane struts, by the wings of two adjacent aircraft, weaving them all together. Note also the necessary walkway allowances created to facilitate passage between these otherwise log-jammed biplanes!

[armornutii]

  Interresting way to store planes. Could you imagian the PITA it would be when farmer John buys the one in the middle. Oh my.

[lyle]

These pictures make me sad. I want to take them all home.

[Tojo72]

Gary,here's a couple of shots from a nearby airfield,the pilot used to hire out for quick flights around the field.





This one is from a CAF show

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 9:44:12 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Interresting way to store planes. Could you imagian the PITA it would be when farmer John buys the one in the middle. Oh my.

I just read about this subject last week. 

Really cool pics and a good read here: www.airplaneboneyards.com/post-wwii-military-airplane-boneyards.htm    

It was pretty much the standard way to store aircraft prior to resale or scrapping.

When you consider this one line " In November 1945, it was estimated a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus" then it makes sense to save as much space as possible.

[kyledehart5]

Good looking old airplane, the Stearman.

[aaronw]

Many of these and the similar N3N went on to find new employment after the war. Much less common but I still occasionally see one being used as a crop duster in the central valley (CA).

This one became famous after getting hired to harass Cary Grant. 

[406 Silverado]

Feb 29, 2024 17:51:32 GMT -5 aaronw said:

Many of these and the similar N3N went on to find new employment after the war. Much less common but I still occasionally see one being used as a crop duster in the central valley (CA).

This one became famous after getting hired to harass Cary Grant. 

it’s just good to see that they are being used.

[stikpusher]

I'm always partial to this Stearman scene myself...

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 18:06:24 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

I'm always partial to this Stearman scene myself...

TORA TORA TORA

[buddho]

Such a beautiful plane.

[tcoat]

OK so who is going to model that picture? You only need 150 or so kits.

[aaronw]

Feb 29, 2024 17:59:43 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Feb 29, 2024 17:51:32 GMT -5 aaronw said:

Many of these and the similar N3N went on to find new employment after the war. Much less common but I still occasionally see one being used as a crop duster in the central valley (CA).

This one became famous after getting hired to harass Cary Grant. 

it’s just good to see that they are being used.

For a couple of years from 1955 to the early 1960s they were used for fighting fires until larger aircraft took over. The first operational air drop on a fire took place over the hill from me, near Willows, CA. N3Ns and Stearman were used at that time.

Photo is of a test drop, not on a fire.

 

[aaronw]

Feb 29, 2024 19:12:41 GMT -5 tcoat said:

OK so who is going to model that picture? You only need 150 or so kits.

I've got about 6...

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 20:03:53 GMT -5 aaronw said:

Feb 29, 2024 19:12:41 GMT -5 tcoat said:

OK so who is going to model that picture? You only need 150 or so kits.

I've got about 6...

[Steve Zuleski]

I always hate seeing those old beauties in a bone yard, that's history. I also hate seeing the fast birds like the F-15's, 16's, 14's, etc. It's painful, but at least they aren't all scrapped, ....yet.

[Steve Zuleski]

Feb 29, 2024 20:16:59 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 29, 2024 20:03:53 GMT -5 aaronw said:

I've got about 6...

Sounds like you will be leading the charge, Tcoat, thanks for volunteering, HA! Who's next? Anyone,...anyone, please step up, HA!

[tcoat]

Feb 29, 2024 21:29:42 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

I always hate seeing those old beauties in a bone yard, that's history. I also hate seeing the fast birds like the F-15's, 16's, 14's, etc. It's painful, but at least they aren't all scrapped, ....yet.

Since the Stearman (to to some extent the other trainer aircraft) were not combat machines many, many more of them were sold off to the public instead of just straight scrapped. There are over 1,000 still on record as flying today. Compared to most WW2 fighters where there are only handfuls if any at all left flying. The post war demand for consumer goods meant they scrapped as much military equipment as fast as possible to get the materials to fuel the booming economy. Everybody was just sick of war and the thought of keeping equipment around as museum pieces just did not exist. By the time people got sentimental enough to say "hey we should have some of these for museums (flying, sailing or rolling) it was usually to late. Now of course they will pull a wreck out of a swamp, lake or glacier and spend millions getting it back into flying condition but back then people just wanted new cars and refrigerators. 

[Steve Zuleski]

Ya, hind sight is crystal clear, ain't it? It's a shame, but Uncle Sam does have a jerky knee!

[aaronw]

Mar 1, 2024 7:02:28 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Feb 29, 2024 21:29:42 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

I always hate seeing those old beauties in a bone yard, that's history. I also hate seeing the fast birds like the F-15's, 16's, 14's, etc. It's painful, but at least they aren't all scrapped, ....yet.

Since the Stearman (to to some extent the other trainer aircraft) were not combat machines many, many more of them were sold off to the public instead of just straight scrapped. There are over 1,000 still on record as flying today. Compared to most WW2 fighters where there are only handfuls if any at all left flying. The post war demand for consumer goods meant they scrapped as much military equipment as fast as possible to get the materials to fuel the booming economy. Everybody was just sick of war and the thought of keeping equipment around as museum pieces just did not exist. By the time people got sentimental enough to say "hey we should have some of these for museums (flying, sailing or rolling) it was usually to late. Now of course they will pull a wreck out of a swamp, lake or glacier and spend millions getting it back into flying condition but back then people just wanted new cars and refrigerators. 

This is particularly evident with the pre-war aircraft. Not made in huge numbers to start with and obsolete at the start of the war there was little opportunity to save any for civil uses (racers, cargo, private transport) since even fully civil aircraft with potential military application was being "enlisted". Older equipment was either used up as target drones, or adapted to non-combat roles and used until destruction or recycled (scrapped). A few survived all the way through the war as trainers or utility hacks, but most of the existing pre-war aircraft in museums these days came back from outside the US.  

The two original P-26 Peashooters came from Guatemala, the single remaining Martin B-10 came from Argentina, a handful of Grumman F3Fs remain, all were recovered and rebuilt from wrecks.


Trainers and cargo planes unlike combat aircraft offered many practical private civilian uses, which has resulted in a very high proportion surviving. They were also built in large numbers. AT-6 Texan, PT-17 Stearman, Beech Model 18 (multiple military variants),Piper Cub / L-4 etc. There were far more C-47s built than DC-3, and most "DC-3" that fly today were actually built as C-47s. Post war Air Sea Rescue services and the US Coast Guard are probably the only reason were have as many B-17 and B-24 as we do. 


Same thing happened after WW1, JN-4 "Jennys" were sold surplus in huge numbers, and it is one of the few WW1 era aircraft to have more still flying than you can count on one hand.