Jump to content

Looking for B-18 Bolo pre-war/early war photo’s


Corsairfoxfouruncle

Recommended Posts

Hello everyone .. I am planning on doing a B-18A Bolo as an early war Sub-hunter in the Maritime patrol Group build. The kit I have is the Special Hobby 1/72nd “Digby” release. I was planning on doing an early war USAAF sub-hunter from the Caribbean. Though I can fall back on the RCAF Scheme if needed. However I’m now considering a Pre-war NMF/Alum. dope maritime Reconnaissance aircraft (Same job as Sub hunting, just no weapons strictly observe and report)? Im looking for Photo’s of either scheme ? I’ve exhausted Google for what is out there ? I keep finding new sites that just show the same 5-10 core photos. If anyone has anything to share/point me in a direction please let me know ? 

 

Dennis

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello everyone .. I am planning on doing a B-18A Bolo as an early war Sub-hunter in the Maritime patrol Group build. The kit I have is the Special Hobby 1/72nd “Digby” release. I was planning on doing an early war USAAF sub-hunter from the Caribbean. Though I can fall back on the RCAF Scheme if needed. However I’m now considering a Pre-war NMF/Alum. dope maritime Reconnaissance aircraft (Same job as Sub hunting, just no weapons strictly observe and report)? Im looking for Photo’s of either scheme ? I’ve exhausted Google for what is out there ? I keep finding new sites that just show the same 5-10 core photos. If anyone has anything to share/point me in a direction please let me know ? 

 

Dennis

Dennis,

 

I have two pretty good but pricey written references- The B-18 and B-23 by Dan Hagedorn, and the B-18 Bolo, by William Wolf. Both have excellent detail photos and color photos, with the Wolf book being by far the most comprehensive. If you want, I can pull both references to see what photos  of nmf sea search B-18's are there. I'm assuming the Special Hobby Digby you mentioned has the nose turret below the bomb-aimer's position?

Mike

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello

In Wolf's book Mike and dnl42 mentioned there is photo of 21st Reconnaissance Squadron Bolos flying Neutrality patrol in 1941.

21st_Reconnaissance_Squadron_-_B-18_Bolo

Leading the flight of five aircraft is No 29, shown on the above photo, found here, with prominent Neutrality nose markings (pre-war USAAF national markings) and Squadron badge on the fuselage. This badge is included on decal sheet of another Special Hobby kit, 72095 B-18 Bolo ˝Pre-war service˝. On that earlier aircraft, however, the badge was painted on the nose which was also without Neutrality markings. Unfortunately I was unable to find the B-18 formation photo on the web, but if you want, send me a PM with your e-mail so I can send it to you. Cheers

Jure

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, dnl42 said:

There is Douglas B-18 Bolo: The Ultimate Look: from Drawing Board to U-boat Hunter.

 

I have the B-25 and B-29 books, and they're excellent.

Yep- that's the William Wolf book I mentioned in my post- I think it and the Hagedorn book are the two best referenced works, but they aren't cheap! I guess I should have entered the complete title- my mistake!

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

If these two photos help you Mike.

Dennis,

 

I will pull my B-18 references this week end; now that I know the two schemes you are interested in, I will see what I can find and can make scans and send them to you. I'll be back! It's an ugly but loveable spud- the one at the Air Force Museum was very pretty, but they have it suspended and the lighting in the museum is horrible for photography- I'll have to see what detail photos I took when I was there.

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks mike I have quite a large number of photos of the NMUSAF. Ive spent to many hours there 😉.  Last count was 1500 but currently they're locked down. I used to have all of my photo’s on my laptop but thats dead, i still have the originals on chip but need a new computer to download them into.

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Thanks mike I have quite a large number of photos of the NMUSAF. Ive spent to many hours there 😉.  Last count was 1500 but currently they're locked down. I used to have all of my photo’s on my laptop but thats dead, i still have the originals on chip but need a new computer to download them into.

Sorry to hear that! I have so many photos, kit builds/reviews, and reference articles on my laptop that I finally got smart after my original HD crashed (luckily my repair guys were able to retrieve everything!) that I now have a service that backs up everything daily...I would have crashed myself if I had lost everything I had saved over the past 15 years! I got an external 3.5" floppy drive a while back so I can retrieve hundreds of walkarounds that I had saved on disks back when I had my desktop computer.

 

I also took about 1,000 photos when I was at the AFM- just wish they had let us have more time in the building across the runway where they had all the rare prototypes, research, and Presidential aircraft- the hour we were given wasn't nearly enough...I ended up shooting tons of photos of the rarest aircraft and those I had no decent references on rather than just a few photos of every airplane on display. I need to go back there and the Naval Air Museum, both of which have a lot more new display aircraft than the last time I was there. You are soooo lucky being close to the AFM!

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello @Tweener ... Though im not looking for them O-47’s sound interesting. I'm currently developing a taste for the interwar aircraft.  

I am lucky to have picked up the AML kit for cheap a few months back. It is beyond my current skill, no doubt, but I also don't imagine we will see one again anytime soon. I was even lucky enough to get a few books to go with it. If I feel adventurous, I may convert it into the GA-15 prototype, or perhaps the Phoenix. There are definitely some nice options for markings even if I make no changes.

 

As for the Bolo, I may have found a few pics. I will try to get them up after dinner.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...