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Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

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  • Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield


  • #2
    Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

    DF, this post is going to spawn more questions of when or if a book of this stuff is in the future from you. Thanks for all you do for us!
    Jeremy George in Windsor NY

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    • #3
      Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

      DF thanks for this. When I was at Speed Week in 2003 (unfortunately the only time I've been there.) we stopped by the airfield and visited the museum. Although small, it was quite an experience. While there an older guy stopped me and asked what I thought of the place. I told him I was rather awed by it. Come to find out he was stationed at Wendover during WWII. As a 19 year old he helped load practice bombs, and later one of the A bombs on the B-29s there. He had just come from the funeral of one of the flight crew members of one of the two planes that bombed Japan. He had lots of cool stories about life at Wendover at that time. I am so glad to hear that some level of historic restortation is taking place at the air field.

      We wandered around and looked at the old buildings. It was sort of spooky, but in its own way filled me with a sense of pride.

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      • #4
        Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

        Once arriving in Australia I picked up a Book at the Local Borders that was called, "The Legend of Burt Munroe". Supposedly Bert spent many days here in the Wendover Airfield Machine Shop rebuilding the Indian Scout engine. He had made many trips to the US to run the Indian and became friends with a few Chair Force servicemen that allowed him access to their machine shop to repair engine parts that did not withstand the abuses of nitro, that Mickey Thompson had conviced Bert to tun in the Ol' Indian. Could it be a historic Hot Rodding site? I am sure that there are many stories of the servicemen assisting some of Bonneville's finest. I would have likely been the most well equipped machine shop within 200 miles of Bonneville.

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        • #5
          Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

          Dave;

          FYI, Wendover Airfield was recently awarded $450,000 in Grant money for some much needed repair to the Enola Gay Hangar. Thanks for the topic!
          Utah’s independent news source since 1871, The Salt Lake Tribune covers news, entertainment, sports and faith for Salt Lake City and the state of Utah.


          Tom Shannon
          Course Steward
          Magna, Utah

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          • #6
            Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

            That's awesome, thanks! I've seen the plans they have to turn the entire hangar into a museum.

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            • #7
              Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

              Originally posted by JRoberts
              DF thanks for this. When I was at Speed Week in 2003 (unfortunately the only time I've been there.) we stopped by the airfield and visited the museum. Although small, it was quite an experience. While there an older guy stopped me and asked what I thought of the place. I told him I was rather awed by it. Come to find out he was stationed at Wendover during WWII. As a 19 year old he helped load practice bombs, and later one of the A bombs on the B-29s there. He had just come from the funeral of one of the flight crew members of one of the two planes that bombed Japan. He had lots of cool stories about life at Wendover at that time. I am so glad to hear that some level of historic restortation is taking place at the air field.

              We wandered around and looked at the old buildings. It was sort of spooky, but in its own way filled me with a sense of pride.
              Great story, thanks. However, the A-Bombs themselves were never at Wendover. The parts were trucked from White Sands to San Francisco then shipped aboard the USS Indianapolis to Tinian Island, where the bombs were assembled and loaded in the Enola Gay and the Bockscar. The Indianapolis was sunk by Japanese subs on its return leg.

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              • #8
                Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

                There is a book on the history of the Wendover area. Wendover Winds of Change: A History, by Ronald R. Bateman.
                Check it out on amazon.com and read the review for more information. Sounds like another could yet be written. Also, what a wonderful setting Wendover would be for a series of historical novels!

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                • #9
                  Re: Freiburger's Pic of the Week: Wendover Airfield

                  That explains a lot more on the 'haunting' feeling I got the night I rolled in...I'll have to stop by and see the airfield next time. It's funny, I don't get that feeling when I go to Fort Worden or to the OLD fencepost line of Fort Lewis (which is buried in shalal and blackberry bushes...)
                  Editor-at-Large at...well, here, of course!

                  "Remy-Z, you've outdone yourself again, I thought a Mirada was the icing on the cake of rodding, but this Imperial is the spread of little 99-cent candy letters spelling out "EAT ME" on top of that cake."

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