Defense Department chops up WWII vintage display aircraft

"62imperialcrown" (62imperialcrown)
06/21/2014 at 13:53 • Filed to: None

This little T-6 trainer was built in WWII. It served the USAF for many years and went on to serve the Japanese JASDF. It was retired in 1961 and maintained in good condition on display for many more years on the base museum at Hamamatsu.

Over the following decades, the T-6 has become a coveted vintage aircraft, with many examples lovingly restored and flown around the world.

Recently, this historic aircraft was returned to the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency.

Guess what they did with it?

DISCUSSION (100)

$kaycog > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:06

What a shame. I'd think that aircraft museums would love to have it on display.

f86sabre > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:24

Dahhhhhh! That hurts!

ptak appreciates old racecars > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:37

damn it.

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:41

Too bad someone wasn't able to keep it, this tells me they didn't even try, there are lots of quirky people in Japan that would find some place for it. At least sink it in a bay somewhere to let divers see it, better than that. I don't have room at my house Kawaguchiko or I would have put it in the yard ala Jezza Clarkson.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:41

They clearly didn't bother asking the NMUSAF. While there is already a T-6 on display, it is of different vintage and displayed for a different time period.

This really should have been saved.

I hate short-sighted governments that can't see that the cost of not preserving our history far-outweighs that small amount needed to transport and preserve such artifacts.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:44

Kinja'd!!!

You evil motherfuckers.

ranwhenparked > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 14:51

Probably just blindly following written policy for returned surplus aircraft without any thought as to making exceptions for something of historic value.

Either that, or they may have tried to get some museum to take it for an extended period of time and couldn't wait any longer.

WarShrike > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:13

They fed it to a giant pair of tin snips? WTF?

Somebody out there would have loved to get their hands on this. It's not like it is full of new military tech and the potential owner could start WWIII with it...

Hifrequency > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:18

Nooooooooooo!

HellPhish89 > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:21

wtf? fucking assclowns.

HellPhish89 > ranwhenparked
06/21/2014 at 16:22

then put it on gov liquidations and let someone fucking buy it.

jimmythered > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:25

Why? Why!? WHY?! It's not the '70s anymore! This why there aren't anymore B-24s

Jetstreamer > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/21/2014 at 16:26

Well, there's something to say for not preserving one of every year or every paint job. Those are usually the details that very little people care about, and for general preserving of history, one type of T-6 on display will do just fine.

Besides, it's not a really rare aircraft, with several hundreds still flying...

justregisteralready > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:31

"plane only recently came to DLA for demilitarization. Currently, the scrap material from the demilitarization is being offered for sale."

WAT? Demilitarization means shredded?

toecutter (so grey, I gotta wear shades) > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 16:46

Just following orders.

Lyle Petersminkle > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/21/2014 at 17:01

And how long before we run out of room because all you short-sighted people just want to preserve every little piece of history. This is the digital age now bro, and when there's already plenty of these aircraft in museums and still flying, there's no reason yet another has to be saved when we can just have photographs of it. What actual benefit is it to have a huge piece of equipment laying around over images of the thing?

People like you are why we have the show Hoarders.

Lyle Petersminkle > Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken
06/21/2014 at 17:02

That's a great idea. Have all that rust spread into the water, not to mention all that paint which will eventually deteriorate and also make it into the water. I like where your head's at: pollute the planet to death!

Lyle Petersminkle > $kaycog
06/21/2014 at 17:04

I love how you guys assume nothing was attempted with this, that no one was contacted. You think it's so easy for a museum to just put yet another piece of "history" into their space, as if they have unlimited space. As if they have infinite amounts of money. I got news for you, I've done accounting for a museum for almost a decade a while back, and we definitely do not have infinite resources. We can make offers for items we want, but often times, what we can afford falls at a lower price than the amount of money that would be saved by whatever agency is storing it to simply get rid of it.

f86sabre > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 17:10

Your right. There is more out there and we could use the raw materials, right bro? We need something to make iPhones out of and aluminum mining hurts the environment. Where else should we look? Plenty of red cars in the world, right...

Comparing vintage aircraft, with a known and thriving market place, to Horders is a joke.

Kinja'd!!!

$kaycog > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 17:16

I figured that it was because of something like that.

fdomestic > f86sabre
06/21/2014 at 17:16

nail on the head Bro!

Count Smorkula > Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken
06/21/2014 at 17:18

Not a whole lot of people with the space to buy an old aircraft in Japan.

ohio991 > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 17:19

Aluminium

the planes made of aluminium

aluminium corrodes

it dosen't rust

also it would do less damage than you think.

David E. Davis > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 17:27

Yup much better off with the scrap aluminum.

#deepsarcasm

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 17:29

Fuck you. Go troll somewhere else asshole.

Old-Busted-Hotness > justregisteralready
06/21/2014 at 17:39

Apparently so. The T-6 was only good for training pilots of prop fighters. We don't want our enemies getting their hands on that technology! Look what happened the last time our enemies used single-engine fighters against us; nobody wants a repeat of Pearl Harbor.

kidcampbell71 > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 17:44

Yeah shit, why not bulldoze the Lincoln cabin, and turn the Mighty Mo' into lunchboxes? History is toilet paper I guess, you frekn' morons. This ef'n sucks big hairy balls......sure it could have been sold somewhere, to someone......rather than making Godzilla confetti out of it like a cheap ass pinata'.

evil2win > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 17:58

For something like this to have existed for so long. So many people would have loved a chance to own and care for it, then to have some ass-clown decide it's too much of a bother to deal with either selling or donating it, and just scrap it is criminal.

journeymanbaiter > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:04

Bullshit. You're a fucking moron.

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > Count Smorkula
06/21/2014 at 18:08

Actually where we live has a lot of open space, my neighbor has enough room. Our place has two more narrow strips of land instead of one big area. We are two hours from Tokyo.

fintail > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:12

Let's see the so-called authorities prove they indeed made attempts and contacts. I love how you assume this was handled properly, given the insanely responsible and high quality reputation of such groups.

Link it, or it didn't happen, "bro".

Prophet of hoon > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 18:12

So the Japanese destroyed another one of our airplanes.

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:17

Aircraft are mostly aluminum, certainly non corrosive, but that doesn't really matter. many ships, train cars etc... and planes are sunk as artificial reefs. They of course clean them first and weld open or remove doors in ships for diver safety. Before you decide what is good for the planet you might want to further your education, your comment is rather stupid.

Kinja'd!!!

webmonkees > f86sabre
06/21/2014 at 18:17

Kinja'd!!!

No, even with the Ferrari's self-smelting feature.

Why they didn't just park it here..

davedave1111 > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:32

If it's worth more money as a plane than as scrap, it's because people value it. It could have been sold, so scrapping it was silly.

C-5M Load Smasher > Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken
06/21/2014 at 18:34

Boom. Knowledged. I was gonna respond to his ignorance but you beat me too it. Thank you!!!

Mike Bonner > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 18:38

WTF? My brother had a T6, which he just sold. It was a bunch of fun to fly...fully aerobatic and loud as he'll. Why the fuck wouldn't they just sell it?

zetec duratec ECOTEC > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:41

2/10.

Count Smorkula > Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken
06/21/2014 at 18:48

Yeah, I know where Kawaguchiko is. It's not a typical situation, though - even in inaka people don't generally have space for something like a plane.

Have Jeep, will travel. > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:48

not sure if you're a troll, or just an idiot. Either way, go eat a bag of dicks. Not going to try and explain the reason this plane shouldn't have been scrapped since you will never get it.

Reborn Pyrrhic > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 18:57

I am sure the aircraft, even as a display piece, is worth more than the scrap metal. Idiot.

BigGatorChris > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 19:00

For fucks sake, relax.

It was a trainer. There are still bunches of them.

You guys are acting like we just crushed COL Tibbets Hiroshima ride.

This was a cavalier used by drivers ed.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 19:05

remember, this is the same government that gave the us people many years of hell in the Cold War... -Nick Naylor

Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 19:05

The article says, "Currently, the scrap material from the demilitarization is being offered for sale." ... wouldn't it have been worth a bit more to a collector in its original non-scrap configuration?

Galant Enthusiast > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 19:11

You're being a little extreme, maybe even sarcastic, but you do have a good point. We don't need to save every single thing just because its old. Its not like this plane saw combat, or was even the same model as one that did. If they could sell it to a collector that would have been great though.

Autolegend86 > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 19:29

This is without a doubt the worst/dumbest comment i've ever read on this site.

Autolegend86 > f86sabre
06/21/2014 at 19:29

Don't even listen to him. There are rare times meth heads can be seen in print but that was one.

TheCraigy > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/21/2014 at 19:52

TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL ;)

DrGonzho > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 19:55

Kinja'd!!!

FZappa > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 20:05

Finally! Someone who can beat the auto-post ad drones for "Shittiest Commenter on Gawker".

G/O Sucks > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 20:08

This is the single most idiotic comment I've ever seen here. Seriously.

What good is the Mona Lisa if we can just have digital copy, Bro? Why have a car when we have video games, Bro? Why have sex when you can jerk of to internet pron, Bro? Destroying objects of value because "this is the digital age now" is utterly ridiculous.

If you really can't see the value of enjoying something real, tangible, that people can work on and learn from, you have no business being here. And by here I mean, Earth.

G/O Sucks > Autolegend86
06/21/2014 at 20:09

Without question. They should dip this idiot in bronze to preserve his stupidity in perpetuity.

G/O Sucks > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 20:12

Funny how this ad was displayed next to the story. Given that they made scrap metal out of a valuable old war bird, I think it definitely qualifies for "reporting suspected fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement."

Kinja'd!!!

RidgeR5 > Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter
06/21/2014 at 20:17

And the government would have gotten more money for it, with less effort and expense. That's why it's the government.

RidgeR5 > jimmythered
06/21/2014 at 20:20

Hey there, sonny! Would you like yourselves a surplus aeroplane? Well too bad!!

Kinja'd!!!

G/O Sucks > Jetstreamer
06/21/2014 at 20:22

There are hundreds of rare cars worth $100,000 that aren't that important either. Should we turn them into scrap too?

G/O Sucks > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 20:28

Why does it have to go to a museum, mr. museum accountant? A private party would buy this airframe for $100,000.

FZappa > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 20:46

Sir, let me ask you this. Why in all that is sensible, would you go on a rant about how you believe this plane rightfully deserved to be destroyed. How, if it had not been destroyed, it would pollute our environment to the point of no return. And finally, How taking pictures of it will make up for said plane being destroyed. I must why rant about all this on a website dedicated mostly to transportation, usually giant fuel sucking, carbon monoxide producing killers in your opinion it seems.

Sir, I must ask if you have a death wish, for no person in their right mind would put a comment up with that tone without wanting backlash, or are you trolling just for your sad amusement.

Nellie R. Brewington > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 21:06

Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail

http://www.jobs700.com

Vincent Davidson > DrGonzho
06/21/2014 at 21:57

So do I...wait. What?

anonymic > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 22:13

Comments like this are what happens when everything a person has ever owned or wanted is made of plastic and particle board. Personally, I'm glad that right before his modern plastic car is recycled into Tupperware, my old steel jalopy will still be shining in the sun.

anonymic > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 22:18

You do know that they do this with old ships all the time to create reefs and to rehabilitate ecologically damaged areas, right? They undergo specific cleaning and preparation before they're sunk. But since you seem to already know everything and have very well informed opinions, I'm just wasting my breath.

Lyle Petersminkle > Reborn Pyrrhic
06/21/2014 at 22:25

Way to go, name calling! I thought you booboisie had better things to do on a Saturday night than be on the internet.

Again, don't be so shallow to think this wasn't attempted to be sold. Sometimes you cannot find a buyer. Let me dumb it down for you: I've sold antiques on ebay. Not everything has sold. I only have so much room in my house. If it's not selling quick enough, eventually it gets tossed, even if it has some value. Guess what, that happens with "historical" items as well.

Lyle Petersminkle > Autolegend86
06/21/2014 at 22:26

That is without a doubt the most exaggerated comment I've ever read on this site.

Lyle Petersminkle > G/O Sucks
06/21/2014 at 22:30

How the fuck have you survived long enough to be able to use a computer while being that stupid. How on earth do you even come to comparing the Mona Lisa, of which there is one original piece, to an airplane, which is not art, and to which there are many of?

Where do you get off thinking that just because you think something has value, that everyone else will? Are you that fucking mentally retarded? Did you ever stop to think that perhaps the owner just did not want to go through the hassle of selling it? One of these days when you mature, which I really fucking doubt will ever happen judging by your above post, and your previous posts on different topics, you'll realize that people's value systems are different. You may think this plane is important history, but other people will not. They'll see something that is not uncommon these days, and junk.

Wake up. If not, get the fuck out.

Lyle Petersminkle > Have Jeep, will travel.
06/21/2014 at 22:31

Were you the owner? Then you have no say in what should or should not have been done.

PS, nice steal from Louis CK. Bag of dicks. Real original.

factsonly1 > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 22:37

Its essentially giant trash in the modern world. They might as well get rid of it. Cant blame 'em.

Fuel_of_Satan > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 22:40

This is an enthusiast-blog, get out of here with your un-educated guesswork. You're making yourself look a fool using what I presume is your real name.

Fuel_of_Satan > G/O Sucks
06/21/2014 at 22:42

I'd buy it myself for the scrap value of aluminum and put it in my yard....

Fuel_of_Satan > toecutter (so grey, I gotta wear shades)
06/21/2014 at 22:44

Invalid excuse, everyone is responsible for their own actions. Everyone involved had the choice to leave, maybe military prison for disobeying a superior officer, when they were told to scrap it.

Philip Gmein > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 23:00

What an amazingly short sighted, small minded comment.

RobertSSanders > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 23:09

carsonjamesiiiv > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 23:18

Thanks Osama!

Widget_Master > 62imperialcrown
06/21/2014 at 23:37

What an utter waste...but after witnessing "cash for clunkers" this seems about par for the course.

62imperialcrown > $kaycog
06/21/2014 at 23:37

Saddest thing is, the USAF does have a heritage program that provides aircraft such as these to qualified museums - including museums at our own air bases . This could have come back to the USA and made into a nice display somewhere (with the usual CYA stipulation that the aircraft would not be flown). Since T-6s already in the civilian market are valuable enough that they're not getting donated to museums, this would have been a more appropriate action. I honestly think - hope - this was a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing.

Widget_Master > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 23:38

A quick 1 week drive across the country will reveal that nobody is running out of room anytime soon.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > Lyle Petersminkle
06/21/2014 at 23:58

Because nothing inspires quite like being able to get up next to a "thing", be it a plane, a car, a train, or a spaceship. You look at the pictures, or even a spin-able 3D image on a screen and you lose so much impact. Have you ever seen a picture of an aircraft carrier? Have you ever seen an aircraft carrier in person? The impact the physical object can convey is so much greater than anything you just look at on a screen. You see the tin can the astronauts went into space with, and you understand just how dangerous (insane) it was. You press on the metal of an old plane like that and you feel the thin metal flex against your hand, and you begin to understand what the people who trusted them with their lives must have felt, if only a little. And none of that can come from just looking at a digital image.

BurnerExtra > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/22/2014 at 00:01

It is not some goverment that made the decision to "demilitarize" the plane but some just some lazy bureaucrat who just didn't care to figure out if the plane was worth anything to someone. Probably thinking how do I get rid of this with the least amount of effort.

fintail > FZappa
06/22/2014 at 00:21

x100 ...that POS is in superfine form today.

fintail > G/O Sucks
06/22/2014 at 00:24

He's an accountant and scientist and photographer with an R8 on order. Don't question renaissance men!

NYSS > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/22/2014 at 00:34

yeah fuck him, not to mention, aluminum is the most abundant natural resource on earth.... that shoulda been saved

wynder > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 00:45

Run out of room? Are you kidding me? Images over seeing the real thing? Let go of your dick and come up out of mommy's basement and take a look at the REAL world, the three-dimensional one that exists outside of that computer you probably stare at 18 hours a day.

YOU should care about this, because someday "bro", the government just may come after something YOU care about, that is, if you care about anything at all.

People like you belong on heavy doses of lithium.

G/O Sucks > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 01:20

"Where do you get off thinking that just because you think something has value, that everyone else will? Are you that fucking mentally retarded?"

Where? Try googling the prices on T6's. Okay, now google the price on scrap aluminum. One is about $100,000 - more in parts - the other is about $1200: You're the dumbest commenter in Jalopnik history. Honestly, you are. "Bro."

G/O Sucks > fintail
06/22/2014 at 01:26

He also sells antiques...Or throws them away when they don't move on eBay to make room in his palatial home. What a connoisseur!

Graflex > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 01:40

You've obviously never really tried to restore (and keep driving/flying) something old, have you? The only reason there ARE so many of them still out there and flying is because there are old ones out there serving as parts donors, or templates for new OEM parts to be made.

And if there are a number of them out there in museums, or even still flying, then there is a market for parts. There are probably parts out there that are too expensive to have fabricated in small numbers. It could have had value as an object, or as parts. You don't just shred it and toss it in the dumpster. Its a way of thinking - today a $25,000 airplane. . .tomorrow, a $500,000 tank. There's a difference between a 5-cent soda can and a vintage world war two aircraft.

wagnerrp > ohio991
06/22/2014 at 01:57

the planes made of aluminium

Actually, the majority of the cockpit and fuselage is chromoly steel.

RustyBRucks > 62imperialcrown
06/22/2014 at 02:47

http://www.Jobs700.com

Jetstreamer > G/O Sucks
06/22/2014 at 04:13

Where did I say that scrapping was the best solution? I just pointed out that it makes no sense to have a T-6 of every vintage or spec in a museum (unless you are running a dedicated T-6 museum, or perhaps a museum dedicated to trainer aircraft). And again, the T-6 is not really all that rare, plenty to appreciate still flying.

G/O Sucks > Jetstreamer
06/22/2014 at 04:28

Why does it have to be a museum? Why scrap it at all? There's no point in demolishing something of considerable value, regardless of how many are around. It's a desirable object, period.

4thwall > 62imperialcrown
06/22/2014 at 04:58

So sad.

I'd sell my nuts to have it. I'd look after it.

Evil13RT > 62imperialcrown
06/22/2014 at 07:08

Government ruins everything...

Jetstreamer > G/O Sucks
06/22/2014 at 07:22

Did you read the post I replied to? That's why I was talking about a museum. I'm not the enemy here, lol. I'm just looking at it from both sides.

It is only a desirable object for people who are in the market for one or have emotional ties with it. Look at it from another perspective...

It was stored outside since 1998 and a display piece before that, who knows what kind of state it was in? How much trouble would it have cost to get it airworthy, or at least ferry flight worthy? You would have to fly it off the military base, probably back to the U.S., and probably before selling it. The find the buyers, write up all the documents, certificates, whatever. A lot of work and manpower required probably. And if you sell it as-is with all those problems transferred to the buyer, you will never ever get the price that a lot of you are finding online for airworthy, flying T-6 Texans.

Compare it to finding some rare muscle car in a barn somewhere. A restored one might be worth $100.000, your barn find might require $120.000 worth of work put into it... (I know, extreme example).

And again, I'm just looking at different sides here. I'm a pilot, and always sad to see a plane get scrapped like that ;).

Mr Joshua > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 07:38

Has anybody here told you what a dickhead you are ? Yes ? Well let me add my voice to that overwhelming chorus . YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE DICKHEAD.

Mr Joshua > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 07:42

Let me dumb it down for you: I've sold antiques on ebay

No let me dumb it down for you although I doubt I could do so into the single syllable grunts that you may be able to understand.

Selling a few antiques on e-bay does not qualify you to make comments of the worth of a WWII aircraft. You really need to eat more than one bag of dicks. I doubt even a truckload would suffice here.

Mr Joshua > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 07:45

Listen Brains. What the fuck are you even doing reading this site if you have no appreciation of older machines. Why don't you go read the gossip columns or something more suited to your intellect.

bdk6017 > 62imperialcrown
06/22/2014 at 08:04

DRMO it! Sell it to the highest bidder! My eyes. What the fuck were they thinking??? B

bdk6017 > ohio991
06/22/2014 at 08:06

um rust IS corrosion

Stromend > 62imperialcrown
06/22/2014 at 08:26

last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My neighbour's sister has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out.

This is what I do,,,,,,,,,,

www.bam80.com

darthd > Lyle Petersminkle
06/22/2014 at 08:58

Just Cars for Joe Bryant > G/O Sucks
06/22/2014 at 09:40

With all those skills, sounds like a millitant hipster to me.