917962

Where do I start!

First and foremost. I wish you the best on your up-coming operation.

There is something to be said of the historical significance of your find in the field. That must have been something to take in. Two of my Grandparents served during the Pacific Campaign. I have a relative still on the USS Arizona. I even belong to a local WWII book club that has excellent guests including those that served.

The picture of that gorgeous P-38 really struck a cord with me. As an adolescent I used to fly with my father. Have you ever been to the Smithsonian's collection outside of DC? Very impressive. I stood alongside the Enola Gay for some time.

Thanks again for sharing with all of us. May your replacement go as intended and your recovery be quick.

Mike in CA

Sorry to butt in, but couldn't help but notice your mention of a relative still on the USS Arizona. My uncle was a Yeoman 2nd Class on the Arizona and the ship is also his final resting place.

Best,

Z356

Thanks for the note. Yes, that war touched quite a number of Americans and many gave their lives fighting for their country in that epic struggle!

I have not yet been to the Smithsonian's outside of DC. I only visited the Washington collection when I was a college student in the late 1960's!

If you are interested, take a look at the link to the articles written in the MAIN POST in Germany by Norbert Vollmann, my host in Gerolzhofen, regarding 'The Iron Maiden' and the her last voyage in October of 1943!

http://stillwaterclub.org/wordpress/?p=1161

Also here is a link to an extended interview of my friend Roland Martin for an oral history book written a few years ago. Roland was, in 1943, the youngest B-17 pilot at the time in the US Army Air Corps! He was only 19 years old when he was shot down over Schweinfurt in command of the 'Iron Maiden'! He currently lives in Carmel Valley, CA and is a good friend! He is nearly 90 years old and in excellent health!

http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm...I/id/150/rec/3

Attached photo #1 is of the field where Roland's B-17 landed near Gerolzhofen! Next photo is of my German hosts looking for remnants of the B-17 that crashed after it's crew bailed out near Gerolzhofen! The 'live' 50 cal. ammunition was found at this location. Final photo is of the actual pieces of Roland's 'Iron Maiden' B-17 which we found on the field on Saturday, April 20th. It includes .50 shells, plexiglass & aluminum pieces and assorted pieces of bolts & fittings! The plane was disassembled by the Germans a few days after it unexpectedly showed up in this field, but a few parts where left behind! It is just incredible that we were able to find these pieces and reunite them with the last surviving member of the Iron Maiden B-17 crew - Roland Martin - some 70 years after his crash landing in Germany!

You are not butting in. This is an open forum and we are in gratitude of your uncle for giving his life in the service to the cause and to this great country!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO

917962

Definitely not butting in! I visited Pearl Harbor twice when I was in elementary school and even at that young age it was moving.

May your uncle rest in peace.

917962

What a memorable trip Eduardo. Very happy to hear that you were able to reunite the pieces with the last remaining survivor. I wish that I could shake his hand. I have been lucky enough to have met several brave souls whom have been kind enough to talk with me about their service. I have listened in awe and am grateful of their sharing with me.

In regards to your links. I will absolutely look into them. I have always felt that there is so much to be learned from history. It's a shame that more people don't see it that way.

Z356

Something like this?

Saludos,
Eduardo

Z356

Just a quick comment on the change of uniforms at Porsche. This has been implemented in the past few years and the color is a now a 'dark grey'! (see first three photos attached). The supervisors & more specialized workers wear a coat, similar to those used by doctors in hospitals, but in a dark grey color too! (photo #4).

From my first visit in 1981 to my last (2007) before this one, the factory worker uniforms were a rich Cobalt blue! It was quite attractive! Supervisors and other specialized factory personnel often sported a different color 'top coat' to signal their field of expertise (e.g. Quality Control).

Other auto factories in Europe are using much more exciting colors on their worker's uniforms than Porsche does now! BMW has several shades of 'blue' on their factory supervisor's coat (photo #5). Ferrari is mostly 'red' overalls (photo #6). Audi (not pictured) has a mostly white uniform with red & grey trim! All quite attractive - compared to the dull 'grey' of Porsche!

I own three factory uniforms from Porsche's past (last photos). Two 'Blues' and one 'Red'. I found one of my 'Blue' at a recent memorabilia meet. The other 'Blue' I liberated on a personal visit to the factory in 1996! Don't ask me how - it's a state secret! The 'Red' Porsche factory uniform is really old. It probably dates back to the late fifties or early sixties. On the 'blue' uniforms, the Porsche logo is found in a pre-made 'label' which is then sewn on the front of the uniform! But on the 'Red' uniform, the logo is beautifully embroidered in thick yellow thread! I purchased this example from a ex-factory worker that had kept this uniform for over 40 years since he left the company! All three garments are made in Germany by a uniform company called 'W. Golz', as best as I can make that name out (last two photos).

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, Colorado

Mike in CA

Interesting stuff about the uniforms, Eduardo. When I was in Zuffenhausen to pick up my first Porsche in 1984 (factory strike.....long story) my wife wanted to surprise me and tried to purchase a pair of factory coveralls but was told they weren't for sale. Clearly, given the "skills" you displayed in 1996, we should have had you along!

TRAKCAR

Eduardo, you have al lot of cool stuff and knowledge, please keep posting

aussie jimmy

i like eduardo's outlook on life.
too many people just go on holidays to the same resort and lay in the sun.

pdxjim

Eduardo, thanks SO much for this and your other knowledgeable posts. You are in good hands at Steadman. Here is to speedy and full recovery.

Z356

The one thing you notice on every new trip to Zuffenhausen is how much Porsche is expanding its facilities in this suburb of Stuttgart! I have already talked about the paint facility across from Werk II, which seats behind Werk I (see photo #1) which has been there for a while. There are now new buildings on 'Strohgäustraße' which are connected to Werk II via a walking bridge over that street. That is now called Werk III (see photo 2, 3 & 4). Porsche now controls many other buildings around Werk I & II that, when I first visited in 1981, used to belong to various vendors, subcontractors and independent businesses! It is also believed that Porsche recently acquired a large facility formerly owned by ITT on the other side of the S6 railroad tracks, way in back of the new Porsche Museum! Apparently, future expansion for Porsche in Zuffenhausen will come from this area across the 'Neuwirtshaus / Porscheplatz' railroad station! This western part of Zuffenhausen is particularly desirable because of the easy access to Route 10 and the Autobahn located just a few minutes away (E41/81). That all has vital importance in a production environment that relies heavily in 'just in time' and 'just in sequence' arrivals of key components from its vendors! The most frequently used word in the German auto industry today is 'Logistics'!

https://maps.google.com/maps?client=...ed=0CAgQ_AUoAg

This expansion in Zuffenhausen is proceeding at an enormous rate, regardless of the fact that: all 981 Cayman & a good % of Boxsters are being assembled at the VW's Karmann plant in Osnabrück; Panamera & Cayenne are built in Leipzig, Marketing is done in Ludwigsburg; Research is done at Weissach (whose buildings are also growing leaps & bound) and quite a bit of testing is done at the recently acquired Nardo Technical Centre in Italy! From what you can see on the surface, business seems to be going very well for Porsche in Germany at this moment!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Colorado

PS Thanks for all the positive comments, guys! And yes, I hope things go well for me at The Steadman Clinic on Wednesday. They are hopefully sharpening the knives and saws that will be used on my shoulder as we speak!

aussie jimmy

YES! that's the one.
thank you!

frayed

Cool stuff!

Z356

On Wednesday evening, April 17th, a friend that works at Porsche picked me up at my Hotel Neuwirtshaus on his 'brand new' 991 coupe! He had just taken delivery a few days before under the special pricing giving to Porsche employees. He is a designer whose current task involves the interior of the 918 Spyder! By the way, he selected a manual transmission for his 991, not PDK! He took me to the Stuttgart apartment of Dieter Landenberger, Manager Historical Archives at Porsche, which is located in the architectural significant neighborhood known as the Weissenhof Settlement! (see photo #1). We had a delightful bottle of Riesling wine from Dieter's family vineyard in the Mosel region on the Rhine and then we boarded Dieter's Cayenne for a tour of historical landmarks related to Porsche in Stuttgart!

Our first stop was number 48 on the Feuerbacher Weg, the Porsche Family Villa (photo 2). This is the place where Ferdinand, Ferry and their associates put together the first prototypes of the Beetle in 1936! (photos 3 & 4). This villa is located in the most desirable hilltop location in Stuttgart since medieval times - with striking views of the city all around the elegant homes in this neighborhood! (photo 5). It believe this villa is still the home of Dr. Wolfgang Porsche when he is in town. It was also the Stuttgart home of Ferry & Dorothea Porsche while they were alive!

http://www.flat4.de/proto_37.htm

We then paid a visit to Stamhaus Augustenstrasse 82A, near the city center of Stuttgart. This was the Reutter shop where the first steel body 356 prototypes were assembled in 1950 after Porsche decided to return to Stuttgart from the Carinthian provincial town of Gmund in Austria (photos 6 & 7). Dieter & other historians at Porsche have now documented that these first steel body 356's were NOT assembled at the larger Reutter factory in Zuffenhausen (as was first thought), but instead at this location near city center in Stuttgart! After the few prototypes were built, the series production was transferred to a space within the Zuffenhausen facility owned then by Reutter (whose real name was 'Stuttgarter Karosserie Reutter & Co, GmbH)!

http://translate.google.com/translat...40%26bih%3D691

Finally, Dieter took us to the design office (on the second floor of the building pictured) where Dr. Ferdinand Porsche established in the early 1930's his first office as an 'independent' auto engineer consultant! (photo 8 & 9). This building is very close to city center Stuttgart and survived the war without major damage! From Wikipedia: "During the 1930s, Stuttgart had already established itself as a center for the automobile industry. Germany's most important car companies had settled in the region by then. It was thus an ideal location for the new Porsche design company. When Porsche senior opened his offices in April 1931, his son Ferry was by his side. The firm was called "Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH Konstructionsbüro für Motoren, Fahrzeuge, Luftfahrzeuge und Wasserfahrzeugbau", meaning that Ferdinand Porsche's firm specialized in construction and consultation for engines, automobiles, airplanes, and motorboats. Porsche GmbH was founded in 1931 by Adolf Rosenberger, Ferdinand Porsche and Dr. Anton Piëch. While Rosenberger was the financial backer, he also brought technical knowledge and racing skill to the equation. Father and son were accompanied by renowned engineers."

After this magnificent historical tour in the early evening hours of the night, my two German hosts took me to a good restaurant/brewery in Stuttgart where we had a wonderful dinner & enjoyed the local brew! Although both of them work for Porsche, this was strictly a social evening in which they gave up valuable private time to show me around their city! I am eternally grateful for their friendship and for the marvelous tour they made possible for me of these significant Porsche historical sites! I intend to reciprocate in kind when they visit next Carmel!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO