What happened to all the WW2 aircraft after the war?

[Flyboy15]

Most of them were manufactured in the thousands, and yet somehow only a few remain flyable today. What exactly happened? Did people really care so little about these machines after the war that they were scrapped

[GT]

Update.

[evangilder]

You also have to remember that after years of war, alot of people wanted to get on with their lives. I have pictures of B-17s and B-24s at Kingman Arizona that were left to rot for a number of years before being melted down for scrap metal. Some of those aircraft had as little as 10 hours on them. Others had 50+ missions under them. Sadly, very few people had the foresight to preserve them for the sake of history.

Fortunately today there are organizations like the Collings Foundation, Planes of Fame and the CAF that preserve these old birds in flyable condition. The question is how long it can continue. Insurance for these old planes get higher and higher every year and 100 octane avgas may be a thing of the past soon as well.

To see static displays in a museum is a nice treat, but to see them fly and hear the roar of the engines is almost orgasmic, if you love old planes.

[P38 Pilot]

It is sad. Champions back then are now rotting like they were useless. But Flyboy15 you have to understand that when the cold war arrived, jets began to replace the regular planes. The P51D was replaced by the F-80 Sabre in the Korean war while the B-29 was replaced by the B-52 Stratobomber in Vietnam. But there was a Aircraft that i was proud to see carry on.

When WWII was over, the C-47 still remained the basic paratrooper mobility aircraft. But when Korea was over we had thousands of these birds in our military yards ready to be scrapped. But some how the idea for a "Flying Platform" came about and the C47 became the AC-47 Flying Platform, with nicknames like, "Puff the Magic Dragon"or Ghosty. Because the AC-47 became the best night aircraft during the Vietnam War.

When things get outdated they are simply scraped. But in the hearts of WWII avition lovers, they still remain our heroes.

Like Macarther said when he was being decommisioned in Korea, "Old soldiers dont die, they just fade away..."

[evangilder]

The F-80 was the shooting star, the sabre was the F-86. The B-29 led to other developments like the B-50 before they got to the B-52, which was the stratofortress, not Stratobomber.

The C-47s were used in a variety of roles in Vietnam, not just the AC-47. There was also an EC-47 electronic reconnaissance platform and they were still being used for transports. A number of DC-3s are still in service in a number of countries laboring on to deliver cargo to remote locations in severe weather.

There were also some special built B-25s used in Vietnam, although not in significant numbers.

[P38 Pilot]

Thx for correcting me......

[the lancaster kicks ass]

yup, scrapped, it's such a shame, famrers were buying old lancs for £100 and using them for their sheet metal and wiring.........

[cheddar cheese]

When you see the pictures of perfectly good P-38's piled into heaps its such a shame. It would have at least been worth selling them off to other countries to make a few bucks.

[P38 Pilot]

And these planes were beautiful too.

[cheddar cheese]

Yup

[P38 Pilot]

I wish we could keep them but when the war was over we were so desperate for money to pay for all the aircraft and other material that we put these beautiful birds into the heaps!

[cheddar cheese]

Id buy one....or two...or 3 so the whole family could commute in them

[P38 Pilot]

There is a problem going around with WWII aircraft. When i went to a airshow in Auburn there was a beautiful C-45. It had the British insignia and camo on it! The pilot of the plane said he could give anyone who paid 45$ a ride. The sad thing is that he told me they are getting so desperate for money right now that she is hard to keep alive. The plane was rescued in a boneyard. They had to put in there own parts but some of the plane was still from the regular plane. Id show you what she looked like but i cant find the pictures....

[the lancaster kicks ass]

yeah money is a huge problem, luckily many planes have well supported support groups.......

[FLYBOYJ]

Unless you're very rich, a foundation is the only way you're going to keep a warbird flying. When I worked for Al Hansen his F-86 sucked about 300 gallons of jet fuel per flight. Right now Jet A in the States costs anywhere from $2.10 to 3.85 a gallon. Do the math!