A6M5 Model 52 Zero

Considering he had his citizenship papers and a handwritten letter explaining the situation in his pocket when he was captured, I'd say he was defecting back home at first opportunity. He rapidly joined the ranks of Allied test pilots until the war ended.

Of course, there is another explanation, too. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because the USAAC did at the time. It might be as you seem to think ... might not be. After 80 years, I don't think it matters a great deal. He isn't likely to go steal prototypes and defect to Canada or Mexico. I'm 63 years old and I could run him down any day of the week if he was hobbling away with secrets.

But, you could be right, Tom. There are always at least two sides to a question like this, if not more.

Lovely pictures there, Greg. Would it be, by any chance, that you have any of the Mikulin's V-12s around, like AM-38 or AM-42?

Wish we did!

Unfortunately, I don't even know where one IS other than in Russia. There is one running in Moscow, but the supply of parts is unnelievably small and I'd bet it would be hard to keep it running if you had one. You MIGHT be able to use Hispano-Suiza parts, but I'm not sure about that.

I think the Russians have a running Klimov, too. They certainly have almost all the parts that are left!

We have Allisons, Merlins, lots of radials. We have an unrestored Mitsubishi MK4R-A "Kasei" 23a in our Mitsubishi Raiden (the one with the long prop shaft) and a couple of very corroded Mitsubishi MK4A-11 "Kasei" engines (short prop shaft) in the Betty. We have an Argus AS-10 V-8 in our Feisler Storch that is begging for restoration (I'd love to start on it ... but no go as yet), and one DB from the Messerschmitt Bf 109E that was pulled from a Russian lake. It is currently in restoration at Vintage V-12's to running condition for the owner. We also have a variety of early and 2nd gemeration jets engines including the running engines in our MiG's ... and ONE running Russian radial in an AN-2 Colt. It has sat for along time, but starts when we try it. Oh yeah, we have a DB in our Bf 109G-6 in Arizona, but it would need some work to run. and we don;t have a spare for it.

We have some older antiques that COULD be restored to running condition including a Liberty V-12 and maybe 8 - 10 older types including a couple of rotary engines, but there is no point in making them into runners since we do not intend to fly them. We are an aviation museum, not an engine museum. All our running engines are spares for operational aircraft.

Our Yak-3 has an Allison in it, as do all of the "new build" Yaks. The Fw 190F has a P&W R-2800 in it.

So ... I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately it is no.

Harold Bauer:

84-year-old Harald Bauer of Atascadero, CA appears on the September 15 and September 22 editions of Hometown Heroes on KMJ. Bauer was raised in Germany, flew HE-162 jets for the Luftwaffe, and after being shot down on March 24, 1945, was rescued and nursed back to health by American forces. He served in U.S. intelligence, and later as an American reconnaissance pilot during the Korean War. Bauer is a longtime supporter of Estrella Warbirds museum in Paso Robles, and will be at the Warbirds Over Paso airshow there on September 29.


Source: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmJqjx9VVKM

PeninsulaSrsVideos @ youtube said:

Harald Bauer's presentation about how he was recruited into the Luftwaffe during the waning days of WWII and was quickly pressed into service as a test pilot for the Heinkel He-162 jet fighter. Hal made the presentation at the Western Museum of Flight Celebrity Lecture Series in Torrance, CA. Produced by Betty Wheaton and Jarel Wheaton.

Published on Dec 28, 2012

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Former Luftwaffe Pilot visits Edwards


Wheels

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Thanks Brian,

I figured you would add his name somewhere along the line.

Since the story I heard doesn't seem to jive with the writeup link above, and since YOU were there at his talk, maybe you'd give us all your synopisis of his story? I, for one, would appreciate a first-hand account of his talk instead of a second-hand synopsis.

When I first heard the story, I said much the same thing as above, like "how could we trust him?" The answer I got was what I said above and it just doesn't seem like it correlates with the link very well. I edited my post above to reflect this.

The real story is still quite astonishing to me since our He-162 actually WAS flown at least to the front line airfield. Many of the surviving German jets were captured at the factories, and I was not aware whether or not ours had seen action or even had been delivered. Now we at least know that part and a guy who flew it in the war.

That's pretty cool to me.

I wonder how much of this YOU have experienced at the museum.

I was told for 4 years by several people that our Zero was captured in the Phillippines before I found out it was actually captured at Asilito airfield in Saipan in June 1944 and shipped to the USA on the USS Copahee in July 1944. It was tested at Patuxent River and accumulated 190 flight hours there. At least we KNOW it was serial number 61-120 and it was the 2,357th Zero made and was delivered in May 1943.

Likewise, I was originally informed the Betty was found on Yap Island until the real story surfaced. It surfaced when the guy who recovered it visited the museum. I saw him looking at it and wandered over to see if he had any questions! He had all the answers instead. He recovered it in 1991 along with the remains of the D4Y Judy we rebuilt from Babo Airfield in Indonesia! So it sat as a wreck for 46 years in salt air. No wonder it has both exfoliation and intergrannular corrosion! I had simply never asked Ed Maloney about it before because we were always talking about the planes we were working on instead.

I dind't know the story of the Raiden either, and had heard nothing. Abandonded after the war, it was found in a playground in Los Angeles by Ed Maloney and acquired by him! Go figure! He finds a rare Japanese fighter in a local playground but had to all the way to Guatemala to find the Boeing P-26 Peashooter! Stranger than fiction.

Our J8M rocket plane was the first aircraft acquired by Ed Maloney to strat the museum. They only built 7 and he managed to find one in 1950.

Hard to believe that was 63 years ago, but it was.

That video explains it much better.

He may not have been a US citizen when in Germany, he had the RIGHT to US citizenship because of his mother. But if she never registered his as a US citizen he wasn't until he could apply for it himself after age 18, or that's the way the law is now.

One of my nieces had the same situation, German husband, two children born in Germany, those children never became US citizens until she applied for their citizenship at the nearest US embassy .

One thing we seldom think about is what the laws were back then. Good point!

People back then would have a hard time adjusting to present day laws if the changes happened all at once. We have lost a LOT of "freedoms," haven't we?

Before I start I wanted to say hello as this is my first post on this forum

wheelsup_cavu said:

Here are a few pictures I took in October 2012 of the Zero engine before it was shipped to Japan.
(Even though the engine is shrink wrapped in Greg's picture I don't think it's changed much since I took the pictures. 8) )

View attachment 254152


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That pictures are amazing but I have one question, has there ever been recorded in more or less good quality working Sakae engine ?
That would be amazing to hear it ...

Hi Hiromachi and welcome to the forum. Here's just ONE video clip:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57oP007VtDI

If you Google "Planes of Fame A6M5" or anything close to that, you should get many vidoes of our plane flying, taxiing, and running. There is a nice clip of it running while in Japan last time and and the second time as well. I'm sure I could dig up one from the first trip over in 1977 if I tried.

Ok, will do rest myself. Thank you very much Greg for your kindness

You are welcome and, again, welcome to the forum.

Here is my drawing of the D4Y that we restored and have at the Museum. It is not flyable, but can be started and taxied around.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6W9MBK1gJIHi Hiromachi,

Here is a video of Steve Hinton doing a cockpit tour:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6W9MBK1gJI

Enjoy.

And here is a flight from Chino Airport:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTAOEh4uY5Y

Amazing, truly amazing.

I also hope that one day the Raiden which you have shown at the very beginning will return to flyable condition

Hi Hiromachi,

The Raiden is restorable but the museum has a policy of only flying aircraft for which we have a spare engine. We are not aware of any other Raiden model Homare engines around anywhere else in the world. It is a very unusual radial in that it has a LONG drivehaft, so there are no other engines that can be adapted to work due to no long driveshaft. If we could restore two engines, then it would be worth it.

I think the original engine can be restored, but we would not fly it without a spare engine, so we also might not restore it. Possibly they might fly it, but only at the Chino airport. This is primarily a question for the Museum board of directors ... and we are knee-deep in projects right now with several waiting in the wings. It may happen, but probably after I'm gone ...

Before you ask, we DO have a spare Nakajima Sakae 21 engine for the A6M5. It is complete but is in pieces. If the primary engine breaks, we HAVE spares and can fix it. Nakajima was very helpful when we restorted the A6M5, as was Mitsubishi, and we still have a good relationship with both of them as well as Sony Corporation. All have been helpful in the restoration of Japanese items of interest.

Maybe what cannont be restored in US, can be restored in Japan ?

From Japan comes the exclusive news that last month a unique warbird restoration made its first flight. Former airline pilot Shigatsu B. made a succesfull 14-minute flight in a restored Nakajima Ki-44-II Hei, better known in the West as the "Tojo".

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Aviation of Japan ??????: Ki-44 Restoration Flies Over Japan!


Anyway, I have to go. I will revisit the thread in a couple of hours. Time to work for now.
Hiro

Thanks, Hiromachi. That is wonderful to see. I had not known it was even in the works!

Glad to see that happening in Japan. When we went there in the 1970's, there was nobody working on WWII resotrations to flight status.

We used to have a Ki-84 and it was sold to a museum in Japan, but they cut the wings off to transport it. Perhaps it is restorable to flight status ... we used to fly it. One prop blade was very slightly bent and it vibrated, but maybe a new prop copuld be fitted.

Goo luck with Japanese restorations!

Please pay attention to the date April 1.
Welcome to the forum, Hiromachi

Ha! Didn't notice that!

Appreciate that, but was not aware that Japan celebrated April Fools Day!

Great pic of a KI-44, though!

Shinpachi said:

Please pay attention to the date April 1.
Welcome to the forum, Hiromachi

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So it is a joke ... well, I would expect that in Europe or USA, didn't know that 1st April is also ... known as Fools Day in Japan, or at least on blog dedicated to Japanese Aviation.
Shame, for a few months I was living with hope to see fully restored Ki-44. Shoki is such a nice design.

GregP said:

Ha! Didn't notice that!

Appreciate that, but was not aware that Japan celebrated April Fools Day!

Great pic of a KI-44, though!

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I have a nice collection based on Maru Mechanic and Famous Airplanes of the World, Ki-44 is one of the planes I hope to see in my life restored.
Seeing such thing once again would be something :



And well, Greg, I have somehow contact with younger people living in Japan due to my own job. Lately younger people became interested in some WWII warbirds or tanks, because of game development. Projects like War Thunder or World of Tanks made people more interested in their own history, after all everyone is proud of his country and want's to know something. I saw a few pictures of restored Japanese tank Type 95 Ha-Go, and hope that something will be also done with planes.