How come a Hollywood stunt pilot acquired 475 Oklahoma airplanes in a day?

How come a Hollywood stunt pilot acquired 475 Oklahoma airplanes in a day?

From How Curious by KGOU Radio

May 26, 2026 · 14 min

About this episode

This episode tells the remarkable story of how a Hollywood stunt pilot acquired 475 surplus World War II combat aircraft in a unique sale in Oklahoma.

In 1945, the U.S. government chose Searcy Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a unique experiment: selling 475 surplus World War II combat aircraft in one giant field sale rather than scrapping them.This episode of How Curious tells the remarkable story of how a Hollywood stunt pilot became the winning bidder — and what he did with the planes afterward!

People in this episode

Host: KGOU Radio

Topics covered

  • aviation history
  • World War II
  • Oklahoma
  • stunt pilots
  • aircraft sales

Keywords

  • Hollywood stunt pilot
  • Oklahoma airplanes
  • aircraft sale
  • World War II
  • Searcy Field

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. government

Places: Searcy Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma

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