[Milsurplus] WWII Landing craft sighted!

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

Now, I know people have been known to see some strange things in their 
days, but this is up near the top of my list....

This morning while driving in to work, I spotted a Higgins boat/landing 
craft traveling south on I-89 and the Berlin exit in north-central 
Vermont. It was painted two-tone gray and had numbers painted on the 
front sides (did these things actually have a real bow?) and looked to 
be in pretty nice shape overall! It did have some kind of a framework 
installed on it, as if to support a canvas roof or tarp over a specific 
area near the rear. Other than that it looked pretty damned good, and 
very military still. Doesn't appear to have been hacked up or converted 
for some other use. We're not expected to get much from hurricane Isabel 
up this way, so no - I don't think it was being rushed south to help out 
with the storm.

Anyone know anything about this move? Where it came from? Who acquired 
it? What a sight!

Next week the Collings Foundation will have their B-17G 'Nine-O-Nine' 
and  B-24 'All-American'. Last I knew it was the only real B-24 left 
flying in the world, the CAF having a converted cargo version (no doubt 
gutted of its original radio gear). I can tell you that when I saw them 
in '93, the B-24 was freshly restored and the radio gear looked 
excellent. The B-17 had much of its original gear but lacked wiring 
harnesses and spline cables - basically the radios were in place but not 
hooked up.

This group restores their aircraft, then flies them around to smaller 
airports where the public can see them. This is great for areas like 
northern New England and probably places like the mid-west and other 
more rural areas where there are no museums and few, if any, air shows 
close by. There is a fee to tour the planes, which is good for as long 
as they are there. If you really want to have some fun though, you can 
take a ride in one. I did this in '93 with the B-17G. It was $300 then 
and I think it's up to $400 now. The money goes to maintaining and 
flying the aircraft and lemme tell ya - it's worth every penny!

A Higgins boat on the interstate highway in a land-locked New England 
state.....who'd've guessed?  

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ