US Navy Photo Album

[musec04]

Hello,


Currently on ebay is a photo album containing several photos of interwar US Navy aircraft at



https://www.ebay.com/itm/40478283936...0AAOSwLSNlwSES


Regards,


Clint

[twocee]

Thanks for the lead to that interesting Pensacola photo album.

It wasn't easy to try and date it as some of the aircraft shown, such as the Boeing F4B-3s, 8892 and 8904, and the Stearman NS-1, 9691, were there from 1935 to 1940, or thereabouts. However, a clue came from the photo of the SU-3 with the washed out landing gear. The serial number on the fin is difficult to make out but I made a stab at 9133 and it turns out that this did have an accident at Pensacola on 11 March 1937, when a groundloop caused damage to the landing gear.

The early 1937 time period enabled me to track down Cadet Stell's lucky escape. He was practicing spins in Consolidated NY-1 , 8375, on 17 February 1937 when he lost control and had to bail out.

[R Leonard]

And from the caption for one of the photos "Terwilliger".

Albert L Terwilliger was designated a naval aviator, #5340, as an AvCad USNR on 25 Aug 1937.

And "Hutchins" looks to be Roger D Hutchins, naval aviator #5343 also an AvCad USNR on the same date.

Can't find one to correspond with "Preston". Closest in date were Ben Preston, but he was not designated until 26 Dec 1940 #6995 and Eden T Preston, 24 Aug 1936 #4875; don't think the Preston noted was either one of them.

That was fun.

[Leendert]

Is Edmond T. Preston a possibility? He graduated at Pensacola in 1935 to become a USCG Chief Aviation Pilot. He was (also) co-pilot for Finance Secretary Morgenthau in the early 1940s.

Regards,
Leendert

[R Leonard]

Hmm, neglected to check my USCG listing . . . certainly don't have them all, but I've got 394. Anyway . . .

Edmond T Preston was an ACMM (NAP) before he was commissioned on 1 Feb 1942. Generally, generally, especially pre-war, enlisted men in flight training were in separate classes from the AvCads.