[Milsurplus] Unobtanium shock mounts and a sad ending to the story

[boeing377 at aol.com]

Mnay years ago I was sightseeing at the old North Field at the Oakland CA airport. Even as late as the early 90s I'd still see a few old propliners there from time to time. I spotted a Lockheed Harpoon in?Navy?markings near the fence. A guy was on top working on an LP 21 ADF loop. I yelled across the fence asking him if he needed some help and that I had spare loop parts if he needed them. He opened the gate, introduced himself as Doug Lacey?and showed me his plane. I was astounded. ART 13, BC 348, ARN 7, and many more WORKING authentic mil radios were aboard. He lacked an I 82 navigator's ADF indicator and I told him I would give him an extra that I had. We saw each other a few more times and exchanged a lot of info about planes and radios. I was offered a ride on the plane and looked forward to it.

What amazed me was that Doug had all the shock mounts for his radios. I asked him where he obtained them. He said the real mounts?were too expensive even when he could find them so he just made his own. He said it was actually pretty easy. He told me, just "cut and paste" some common cheaper mounts using heliarc welding. Until he told me that I had just assumed the mounts were original. They looked great.

He was also working on restoring the powered gun turret to full operation and had only to repair a crack in?a turret frame. He had all the Amplidyne servo stuff just about fully operational. He had also found and installed a?new Lawrence 4 cylinder gas APU which he said was original equipment on Navy Harpoons.

There was a flyover scheduled for a seaplane meet at Clear Lake CA. Doug promised me a seat. He called?shortly before the event and asked if I could take a raincheck, that he really owed a big favor to the owner of a maintenance shop at Sonoma County Airport and?needed ?to give my seat to the owners sister. He promised a later flight where we could play with all the radio gear in flight. I reluctantly said OK.

Doug was hotrodding over the Clear Lake seaplane meet, doing low passes, zoom climbs and pushovers. On one pass he got too slow at the top of the zoom climb and stalled. The awful plunge into the lake was fully documented in news footage and is horrible to watch. All 8 persons aboard perished. I was so lucky to not have been among the dead.

I wonder if anyone else on this group saw the interior of Doug's Harpoon? It was a sight to behold. Radios galore, including vintage ECM gear that all worked. Doug confided to me that he proved it in a broadcast TV jamming episode over an urban area put on the for benefit of a few freinds who doubted that he could do it. As I recall him telling it he briefly wiped out the TV station for?over a pretty big area below him. I don't condone jamming of any kind, but better airborne vintage mil ECM gear than a dirty CB linear.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/pv2harpoonregistry/pv2harpoon-84061.html

73,
AF6IM