![]() ![]() Although an amusing situation, it was felt there was a chance he could hurt someone, perhaps a visitor, who got too close to 'his' aircraft, and that wouldn't do at all. He took particular exception to one mechanic and wouldn't let him approach the planes the man was chased round the hangar and up a ladder, with Bob growling and hissing at its foot. However, as time went by a curious thing happened: Bob started to be over-possessive about his Warbirds. ![]() Both back legs were broken and he was in plaster till they mended, which cramped his style but they healed well and he apparently suffered no permanent damage. One day the temptation must have become too much, so he followed them and was hit by a car.īack to the vet's he went. Bob was trained to remain in the hangar and not to venture into the road but the squirrels would taunt him by running along the edge of the street, chattering and taunting him before running to a tree on the other side to see whether he would chase them. But it was apparent that he preferred to oversee work on the Warbirds rather than civilian planes and so Warbird Bob he became.īob had a further disaster later, owing to a family of squirrels that lived across the street from the hangar. He was promptly rechristened 'Bob' (presumably as in 'bobtail'), which was at least a more manageable name. Straight to the vet's he went, to emerge a few days later minus most of his tail. One day The Hangar Cat came in crying loudly, with a badly mangled tail possibly he'd come too close to a moving fan belt and had got caught up in it. ![]() Often a mechanic would shine a light into an inspection hatch, only to find a pair of eyes watching him from within or they would reach into an inaccessible corner and a furry paw would brush against their hand, or sometimes grab it. Very soon the cat made it his business to check each new aircraft as it came in, aided by his amazing balancing and climbing abilities. Wherever he had come from, he apparently decided the hangar was to his liking and it became his new home, while he became known at first simply as The Hangar Cat. He proceeded to check out all the humans and all the aircraft however, it seemed the B-17 was his particular favourite, and it's possible that he had stowed away in it, as he seemed very familiar with every corner. One November day in 1997 a handsome tabby cat, little more than a kitten really, appeared in the hangar of American Aero, shortly after a Boeing B-17 bomber had been brought in for its annual inspection and servicing. These aircraft, or the military ones at least, are popularly known as 'Warbirds' (see Wikipedia article). Not far south of Daytona Beach, on Florida's eastern coast, is New Smyrna Beach, the home of American Aero Services, a facility that restores and maintains World War 2 and other vintage aircraft. Left-click thumbnails for enlargements (JavaScript should be enabled) Purr-n-Fur UK | Museum Cats | Warbird Bob, from FloridaĪrticles in Featuring Felines are written byĬertain features on these pages use JavaScript ![]()
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