Surviving Artifacts
from
Kingman Army Air Field:
& Sales-Storage Depot No.41
Planes:
- THE SUPPLY HANGAR -
(currently under construction)
From its very beginning,
manned-flight has always had an irresistable
lure for record achievement and as high
performance aircraft became available on the surplus market after WWII, pilots 'chomped
at the bit' to destroy times previously set
before the War...
One of about two dozen of its type at Kingman, A-26 #44-34759 was built by
Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach and immediately flown straight to
SALES-STORAGE DEPOT No.41
spanking new, never even having been
accepted by the U.S. Army Air Forces...
Purchased specifically for breaking a Howard Hughes record, ball point pen magnate Milton Reynolds aptly named this sleek Invader
REYNOLDS BOMBSHELL and together with
Capt. Bill Odom as pilot and Tex Salee as
copilot, the trio set out to break the
Around the World Speed Record.
Their breed had a War reputation as being 'fighter-fast' and this Invader didn't let
anyone down, for visible on her left
engine nacelle is painted:
"AROUND THE WORLD!
78 HRS. 55 MIN. 12 SEC."
...clobbering Hughes' old record
by nearly 13 hours.
While it's believed that every Kingman Invader had the good fortune of being purchased by the post-War Charles Babb Co. & flown away, each bomber no doubt breathing a metallic sigh of
relief as the smoke from the furnaces faded
from view, few, if any, of the loose items
taken out those planes when they first arrived
at SALES-STORAGE DEPOT #41 found their way back into the bombers.
Part of the Depot 41 Museum Collection, this
is the actual Load Adjuster removed from
A-26B-66-DL #44-34759 as she was signed over to the War Assets Administration at Kingman:
(Image secured to prevent fraud)
has many more details on these intriguing artifacts
in the Depot 41 Museum Collection...
photo credits, this page:
Upper image shows
REYNOLDS BOMBSHELL being refueled in
Japan during her record-setting flight.
courtesy of
Patricia McGinnis / Boeing Archives
Lower image was taken Stateside
sometime after the flight.
courtesy of
William T. Larkins' impeccable photography