Model Forum / General / Models / December 2006

I concur.  I'm a volunteer at the local air museum
(www.wingsmuseum.org) which puts me in contact with a large number of
former military aviators either on the museum volunteer staff or as
visitors.  On average, there is only about 1 in 10 aircrew that can
recall what their plane was painted like and far fewer that can
actually recall any specific markings.  This seems to apply to just
about any military pilot regardless of era or combat experience.  But
remember, after all, these guys were just doing a job and sometimes
just trying to stay alive, not doing historical research.  So if you're
interested in doing aircraft marking research using a veteran as a
primary source, don't expect too much information.  Although I will say
that one of our staff vividly recalls flying with Charles Lindbergh
when he visited this guy's P-38 unit in the Pacific.  He vividly
recalls their first mission when they were scrambled to intercept a
group of Japanese fighters.  The group gets airborne and they look
around and can't spot Lindbergh.  They call him on the radio and he is
still on the ground methodically going through the startup checklist!
This person is also one of the few that recalls the marking details of
one of the aircraft he flew.  He told me, "I think it might have been a
famous P-38.  It was named "Putt Putt Maru" and it was the commander's
aircraft.  The CO was a guy named McDonald and I remember being pretty
intimidated stepping up to the airplane and seeing all those "Rising
Sun" flags on the side of the cockpit".

HOWEVER, talking to a veteran is a GREAT WAY to discover fascinating
stories that will never be published.  I recently arranged for a WW II
B-17 pilot on the museum staff to speak at our monthly IPMS meeting and
he gave quite a presentation.  Although on paper, he was a fully
qualified B-17 pilot, he had never actually flown in the left seat by
the time he got to North Africa.  He had plenty of hours in the right
seat when his commander asked him to be the aircraft commander for a
newly arrived rookie aircrew.  He said he wondered if the new crew was
impressed by his meticulous adherence to the checklist on all the
procedures and hoped that they didn't notice that he'd never actually
"flown" a B-17 before.  He also told a story of how they were assigned
to destroy a bridge near a village in southern Italy.  Their first
mission wasn't totally successful.  Their second mission wasn't
completely successful either.  On their third try, the noticed that the
villagers apparently had blown the bridge themselves because they were
tired of the aircrew's poor marksmanship and the errant bombs dropped
on the village.  He also had another amusing story of how they had
repeatedly attacked a German airfield in southern Italy to put the
runways out of action, which they did.  As the allies advanced, their
airbase advanced too and they ended up flying out of the very airfield
they had routinely been bombing and now had to fix all the damage they
had done!

Talking to veteran pilots is also a great way to learn about how they
actually used their aircraft.  I found out that a guy I work with was a
Huey aviator with the HAL-3 Seawolves in Vietnam.  Again, he had great
stories that no one will ever hear along with some interesting
information about the HAL-3 UH-1s.  He noted that the older UH-1Bs were
preferred over the newer UH-1Cs because the hydraulic system was
simpler and would usually keep working when hit while the more
complicated C system usually failed.  He also said they used to pile
flak jackets in the lower nose viewports to stop small arms fire.  "I
could see forward and down plenty good through the main windows and I
didn't want to take any rounds from that angle, if you know what I
mean" he said.  So that's a little detail for a future UH-1 project
(now I've got to figure out how to model a pile of flak jackets!).

One other way that you can get useful modeling information from
veterans is to ask if they have any photos you can take a look at.
I've gotten some great material for modeling details from photos in
veteran's collections.  In one instance, a former Army National Guard
member that was an acquaintance of one of our IPMS members recently
passed on and left a large unbuilt aircraft kit collection to be sold
at an IPMS-arranged garage sale.  One of the items was a box full of
old photo albums which I quickly glanced through before deciding to buy
a couple.  When I got home and took a closer look, I found I had
acquired a number of high-quality color photos taken in the early 60s
on the flight line of the local ANG base.  There were some beautiful
color photos of 60s-vintage military aircraft markings that I had never
seen before.

So my main point with all this is - Talk To A Vet.  Be aware that some
feel uncomfortable talking about wartime experiences with complete
strangers so approach the subject "diplomatically".  I usually start by
asking about their branch of service, rank, their job, and where & when
they served.  Most modelers know quite about their particular area of
modeling interest and most veterans are surprised and impressed with
that knowledge and usually appreciate that they are talking to someone
that is genuinely interested in what they have to say.  Once you get
past the preliminary questions above, that is usually enough to get
them talking on their own.  One of the things I became aware of early
in my experience as a museum volunteer is that veterans are EVERYWHERE.
I would work with guys who looked just like ordinary worn-out old men
that turned out to be lively, fire-breathing young men in their youth
who told stories of guts and courage that would curl your hair.  It
also taught me a lot about people and how you really can't judge a book
by its cover (just like everyone always told you, right?).

So get out there and Talk To A Veteran!

Martin