2018 Road trip

[Micdrow]

Morning,

Well just got back from my vacation. Most don't know but my son had turned 16 and I told him we would go any where in the US for his birthday. Since both of us are aviation fans it was no surprise he picked museums. 7 Museums and 4000 miles later and this was the result. This may take a while to get things up so check back often as I am dog tired and have tons of pictures to go through.

First museum was the Flying Heritage and Combat museum in Washington state.
FHCAM - Home

The first set of pictures are of the most complete Fw-190A-5 in the world. If you remember this aircraft was found almost complete in a swamp in Russia near Leningrad. The aircraft has been restored back to flying condition and does fly. It is the only Fw-190 running its original BMW 801 engine.

For those of you that this aircraft is new can see it found in its original state in this Youtube video.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jueDXiuU6aM

 

[Wurger]

 

[Jeff Hunt]

Oh, this is going to good. I have a front row seat and a bag of popcorn. On with the show.

Jeff

 

[Micdrow]

Plane number 2 is a Fw-190D-13 that survived the war and was surrendered to the allies. It is restored but not flown as its the only one of this version in the world. This plane was known to have served with JG 26.

 

[Jeff Hunt]

Deadly looking bird that is. Nice job Paul.

Jeff

 

[Wurger]

 

[Micdrow]

Thanks guys, the next one is a Ki-43-IIb Oscar and found on the island of Rabaul. This aircraft has been flown since restoration many times but now fly's very rarely as it is a very rare aircraft. Luckily I have seen 2 more on this trip that I will post later. I only know of 4 left in the world so if some one knows more please let me know.

 

[Micdrow]

One of my favorite, a Bf-109E-3. This aircraft was known to have flown with JG 51 and piloted by Eduard Hemmerling. His aircraft was shot down in an air battle over Dover killing the pilot. Airplane was restored back to flying condition and does fly off and on.

 

[Micdrow]

Next is the Polikarpov U-2/Po-2 which was made famous by the female Russian pilots that flew her. Also known as the night witches.

It is painted in wartime colors, with honorary markings of the female 46th Guards Regiment. The tail number honors the 23 Night Witches who earned "Hero of the Soviet Union" citations by the end of World War II. The lettering on the fuselage translates to "Revenge for Dusya," a tribute to Dusya Nosal, a Night Witch pilot killed in combat.

 

[Micdrow]

Next one is a Supermarine Spitfire MkVc with a cool history.

This airplane was allocated to the Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 312 Squadron (a Czech unit) on September 11, 1942. Squadron Leader Tomas Vybiral was piloting this plane when he led his squadron on a daring wave-top raid against enemy shipping at St. Peter Port, Guernsey. On that day, his plane was hit by flak just behind the cockpit, narrowly missing Vybiral. After extensive repairs, the Spitfire served with other RAF units during the war.

The RAF used the plane as an instructional airframe, gate guard, and display aircraft after World War II. It was classified as scrap and sold to a museum in Canada in 1964. The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum purchased the plane in 1999.

 

[Micdrow]

Next one is a set on the Hawker Hurricane Mk XIIA

This aircraft was manufactured as a Sea Hurricane—designed to be launched from merchant ships on a one-way mission to protect a convoy. It was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on January 22, 1942, but never saw combat. Later, it was converted to a Mk.XIIA Hurricane. After the fighter was involved in a crash landing, it was discarded by the RCAF. After it was recovered from a farm in Ontario, Canada, Hawker Restorations Ltd. rebuilt the fighter at Milden, England. The first flight of the restored aircraft took place March 15, 2006 at Wattisham, England.

 

[Micdrow]

Next is the P-40C Tomahawk which has a colorful history.

This airplane was manufactured in the U.S., was then purchased by the British, and nearly immediately given to the Soviet Union in 1941. For almost a year, this airplane flew in combat in the skies over the Karelian Front in Russia, defending Murmansk against invading German forces.

Major Ermakov was flying the aircraft on September 27, 1942 when the oil tank was punctured by enemy fire. Ermakov managed to glide the aircraft to a safe belly-landing on a patch of snowy ground near Murmansk. It was abandoned there. The plane was discovered in the early 1990s and recovered. The plane was ultimately rebuilt in Chino, California, and became part of the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in 1999. To bad it was not put back in those colors but the interesting thing is that the tiger sticker on the side was reproduced from Disney's archive collection who created the emblem years ago. It's an exact duplicate of the original.

 

[Micdrow]

Next is a A6M3-22 Zero.

This Zero was one of many Japanese combat planes damaged by American bombing in New Guinea during World War II. In the early 1990s the wrecked plane was discovered by a warbird hunter. Three recovered Zeros, including this one, were sent to Russia for restoration. The fighter's salvageable parts were retained, while missing or heavily-damaged components were created by Russian craftsmen.

In order to operate dependably, each aircraft was fitted with a specially-modified American radial engine created by Fighter Rebuilders in Chino, California. The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum's Zero, modified to carry two passengers, was purchased in 1998.

 

[Micdrow]

Next is a Mosquito D.H.98 T Mk.III

The FHCAM's Mosquito was built in Leavesden, England, as a training aircraft in 1945. The plane was among the last of the type to be retired from RAF service in 1963. Turned over to the Imperial War Museum (IWM), the Mosquito appeared in the 1964 film 633 Squadron.

After filming, the plane was displayed in an IWM facility until 1988. The plane was traded to the FHCAM in 2003 and sent to Avspecs Ltd. In New Zealand for restoration to flight status. It returned to the skies in late 2016. While the plane retains some aspects of a trainer, additions were made to give the Mosquito the appearance of a wartime FB.Mk.VI fighter-bomber.

 

[Micdrow]

Next is a P-51D

History of the Artifact
This P-51 is a combat veteran with the Eighth Air Force's 353rd Fighter Group. It was assigned to Captain Harrison "Bud" Tordoff, who flew the aircraft during many of his air-to-air combats, including the day he shot down a German Me 262 jet fighter.

After the war, the plane served in the Royal Swedish Air Force and was later sold to the Dominican Republic. The plane spent more than 30 years in the Caribbean, most likely flying again in combat. The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum acquired the aircraft in 1998.

Tordoff was reunited with his plane in the summer of 2003—the first time he had seen it since the end of the war. This Mustang is restored to be almost exactly the same as it was in 1945.

 

[Airframes]

Great pics Paul, and sounds like you both had a fantastic tour. Looking forward to more.

 

[Micdrow]

Great pics Paul, and sounds like you both had a fantastic tour. Looking forward to more.

Thanks Terry, yeah it was a great time and the history was awesome, The reason why some of the covers off at this museum is they do some maintenance in the museum along with inspections to get ready for the airshow circuits which is nice because you get to see some area's you normally don't get to look at. I will see if I can get a few more up today

 

[Airframes]

Yes, it's useful when a visit coincides with maintenance work, especially for detail shots. Quite a regular thing at Duxford.

 

[Micdrow]

Yes, it's useful when a visit coincides with maintenance work, especially for detail shots. Quite a regular thing at Duxford.

Unfortunately here they usually take them into a maintenance shop and no one is allowed in there so you never get to see that aspect.

 

[vikingBerserker]

AWESOME!