This interesting short, silent home movie shows two PT-17 trainer aircraft that was wrecked during a training flight. Looks like the pilot just could not clear the pass he was flying through, or possibly there was zero visibility due to ground fog or weather.
At the 1:58 point you will see one of the aircraft’s markings and it clearly says “Thunderbird Field U.S. Army PT-17 Air Corps Serial No. 41-1938”. One aircraft has the number 108 on the tail portion of the fuselage.
As best we can figure this is an aircraft that crashed on February 29, 1942, based at Ryan Field near Tucson. The pilot was Hans E. Habermehl. However while the serial # is a match, that aircraft is listed as a PT-22 in the official records, and should have had Ryan Field markings. Plus the record says “Taxiing accident”. So there’s a little mystery here.. Visit http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaloc.asp?Loc=uc&offset=200 to do your own search!
Thunderbird Field was a military airfield in Glendale, Arizona, used for contract primary flight training of Allied pilots during World War II. Created in part by actor James Stewart, the field became part of the United States Army Air Forces training establishment just prior to American entry into the war and was re-designated Thunderbird Field #1 after establishment of Thunderbird Field #2 at nearby Scottsdale, on 22 June 1942. Thunderbird # 1 is located southeast of the intersection of West Greenway Road & North 59th Avenue in Glendale, Arizona.
After the conclusion on World War II, the property was sold as surplus for educational purposes, eventually becoming the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a post-graduate business school.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
