DEC 1953 DOW AFB

1950 - 1952, M38, questions, discussions, regarding anything related to the M38.
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DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat Dec 11, 2010 4:29 am

The USAF was finally taking delivery of the new F-84F Thunderstreak, The 506th SFW at Dow was the first unit to take delivery of the new Jet Fighter Bomber. They started arriving on a very snowy afternoon on non stop flight from the Republic Aviation Factory in Long Island NY. They were Greeted by yellow colored M-38 "Follow Me" Jeeps. There were at least 3 of these Jeeps assigned to the 506th, one for each Squadron, 457, 458, 462. All had the Hard Top Enclosures and Personell Heater Kits which had been recently installed at the base. These Jeeps were quite busy for a few weeks as the new jets arrived. The USAF Registrations began with 52K-XXXX and were stenciled on the doors. Two of these Jeeps eventually were surplused in 1961 and ended up at the local mental hospital campus where they were used and patched up for about 20 years.
It was reported that Chuck Yeager was one of the acceptance pilots that delivered the Jets.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Jan 05, 2014 7:10 pm

60 years sure went by fast. There are still a few veterans of the 506th that married local girls and came back here to live after their hitch was up. A local equipment dealer, Bangor Autobody, aka Koritzkys got a little added business from Dow Field. They were given a local purchase contract to install snowplows and snow hauler dump bodies on some of the new M-51 5 ton Dump Trucks that Dow Field was just issued. The new M-35's, 530B Airfield Fire Trucks, M-108's, 5 Ton, M-51 Dumps and M-52 Tractors soon replaced most of the WWII 6X6 trucks at Dow. In addition to the yellow M-38's with winter enclosures, there was a handful of new M-43 Ambulances. There is no sweeter sound that M-35's and the new 5 ton gassers being shifted thru the gears on a military base.
One of the original Dow Field M-38's still exists at a local gunsmith shop, it was surplused to the local mental hospital and in a roundabout way it appeared at the gun shop under mysterious circumstances.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:32 am

It was quite a sight to watch large transient KB-29 and C-124 Aircraft being escorted to the parking ramps by a small yellow M-38. The Base Exchange had the latest Monogram Models including the Speedee Bilt Corsair, F9F Panther and the new Monogram Super Kits. I still have the Corsair and B-24 wooden models. The 49th Fighter Interceptor began getting new F-86F's. Sonic Booms were being heard off and on,and the Maine Air National Guard had C-47, F-51H and T-33A's. The familiar WWII trucks were disappearing from the base. "Marie" by the 4 Tunes and "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" were favorites on the jukebox in our Burger Joint, "The Jetburger" we had plenty of Jeeps for sale and the Fisher Snowplows were selling as fast as we could get them. I miss the hangar flying from all the WWII and Korean War Vets stationed across the street and the familiar noise of the B-25 and T-6 aircraft overhead. Just about this time of the year there would be a Coast Guard PB-1G (SB-17) fly in from it's annual iceburg patrol off Newfoundland, one of the pilots Lester Slate is in his 90's and lives about 20 miles from here. He recently made a parachute jump just for fun of it.. Captain Slate flew the PB4M Mariner during WWII in the Navy, and afterward in the Coast Guard. He retired in 1982 after flying in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by wc16 » Mon Apr 28, 2014 7:00 pm

My older brother joined the Ia ANG 132nd fighter wing here in Des Moines maybe 1951. Shortly they were sent to Bangor to replace a unit which I believe went to Korea. From memory i think they had P 51's. From Bangor he went to a base in Louisiana. Some old memories.

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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Apr 28, 2014 7:33 pm

Many of the kids in my class had dads in that unit. Some of the men of the 132nd were sent off to other USAF units, one we called "The Cowboy" his name was Harvey, was transferred to Loring AFB, he was from South Dakota. I have a wing tank from an F-84 that was from one of the ANG Squadrons during that time. The best boss I ever had, Kenny Jacobs from Nebraska, was an armorer on the P-51's in that unit. He moved to Maine afterwards.
It was exciting back then, Mustangs were constantly in the air, T-6's were cris crossing town exercising their props which made lots of noise. One of the pilots rented an apartment from my uncle Harry and would get calls in the middle of the night to rush to the base and fly. Good memories of lots of activity.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by wc16 » Sat May 03, 2014 6:49 pm

The dentist assigned to my brothers unit met and married a lady from Maine, they returned to Iowa and raised a family. He was our family dentist for many years. He talked about the AF flying personnel from Loring (Limestone Me?)to Dow to get dental care. Also one of my brothers friends was from Lincoln Ne. He restored a 29 Franklin Air cooled Sedan that had belonged to a prominent Maine family. My brother drove it from Bangor to Des Moines. His favorite restaurant was "The pilots Grill". I visited Bangor in the early 80's. Base was decomissioned, buildings used by local folks. Bangor commercial aiport was there. 132nd just lost its F 16's to drones. Drones arent here. A good sized crowd watched the jets roll out for the last time. We were used to watching them fly in and out of the base for years.

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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun May 04, 2014 4:40 am

Loring was just under 200 air miles from Dow, we used to see their B-36's pass over Dow often, there is no mistaking their engines. Several B-36's landed at Dow during that period with engines out, the first was in Sept 51 and it parked at Hangar #1 for several days and sunk into the bituminous paving. Pilots Grill was originally dead center at the end of the NE/SW main runway, I witnessed many close calls and sat a T-33 clear it by 25' on takeoff and a KB-29 with 80' of flame from #1 Engine that barely cleared it on take off. The activated Iowa Air Guard with P-51's had many men from Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The Base expanded in 1956, and Pilots Grill, just a few hundred feet down the road was moved a mile and a half cross country to its present location. The owner, Billy Zoidis retired and closed the restaurant 10 years ago. I sure miss it, as just about everything in the inventory passed thru, our businesses were thriving,, the burger joint was constant hangar flying, and all the 50's tunes were on the jukebox. It was just like being in the USAF for me. The highlight of each year was Armed Forces Day, there was nothing like crawling over P-51's, F-80's, F-84's F-86's,B-25's, T-6's KB-29's, etc and the Army Guard would display a CCKW with Quad 50's and there would be firefighting displays.
The ANG base is home to ME ANG KC-135's. The Air Guard has quite a heritage, Col. Phillip Tukey of WWII 56th and 356th Fighter Group fame was the CO from the 40's thru the 70's.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:05 pm

What I miss is the familiar sound of the APU's used to power up the F-80's, F-84's and F-86's during the late 40''s thru 50's, their drone was a familiar daily sound as well as the short bursts of the .50BMG's as they were being bore sighted by the armorers across the field.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:50 pm

The new M-Series trucks that started appearing at DOW around this time were an even mix of Strata Blue or Yellow. The 3 M-38's were blue and soon were painted yellow with new hard top kits.]
Hand Signals were the rule-no directional signals on the new M-Series vehicles until the 60's.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Jun 13, 2016 2:17 am

The USAF at Dow had M-51 Dump Trucks that had the original Dump body removed and replaced by GI Issue high sided "Snow Hauler" dump bodies.
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:26 am

One of the original Dow Field M-38's from that period still exists about 35 miles from Dow. It was mysteriously reassembled from salvaged parts around 40 years ago.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:57 am

How many of you remember hearing T-6 Texans and C-45's flying over your neighborhood and exercising their props. It creates lot of noise and signals to family and friends that they are flying over their neighborhoods.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:35 pm

It was just about this time that the Air Force started getting the Long Wheelbase M-246 Wreckers. Dow got a couple. They were a longer wheelbase version than the M-62 Wrecker and had a hydraulic Austin Western crane with a 3 section boom and a 5th wheel. Their mission was to salvage wrecked aircraft. The units at Dow were yellow. The Air Police on Town Patrol sure looked sharp in their new Dress Blues and new Strata Blue Chevy Pick Ups with the white band around the cab.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by DieFledermaus » Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:54 pm

I wonder who mysteriously re-assembled the M38 ;)
I'm sure it was a pre-g503 member who currently lives in Hampden, Maine.
My family member ran Republic during this time. Do you have any good picturesof USAF M38s?
Thanks Joel!
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Joe Gopan
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Re: DEC 1953 DOW AFB

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:32 pm

Hi,
I have no photos of USAF M-38''s, wish I did tho.
Surplus mvs were not always well monitored back in the 60's. If one kept their eyes open, vehicles and parts could be discovered in wrong hands. Those involved are long gone as it is pushing 50 years.
The disappearing M-38. It was surplus property declared salvage by the agency that used it for a few years. It probably was declared scrap and sold for scrap metal with receipts. It was then disassembled into sub components cleaned and reassembled. Rumors were generated, and supposedly investigated but nothing ever happened of it.
I had several M-38's at the time that I bought thru DRMO at Ft Devens.
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HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
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