2. Aircraft

IWM Duxford

Ross and I had a superb day at the Imperial War Museum Duxford 20 odd years after our first visit. The sound of warbirds flying all day just added to the atmosphere. The vehicles in the Land Warfare building are in the Military Vehicles folder. 10/5/2022
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    Blindfolded Spitfire JG891 was built as a Mk Vc (T) at Castle Bromwich and delivered to 39MU, RAF Colerne on January 2nd 1943. It moved to 215MU at Dumfries for overseas shipment packing and sailed to Australia on 4th February aboard the SS Tijuga arriving on 13th April. Issued to 79 Sqn RAAF on 6th May it moved operating bases several times before being based at Kiriwina in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. A flapless landing on 12th January 1944 resulted in the aircraft flipping over and being written off, with the pilot suffering only minor injuries. After spares recovery the hulk was pushed into undergrowth along with two other Spitfires. Incredibly it remained there until being discovered in 1973 when it was removed. Restoration was undertaken at Duxford from 2003, and first flight ensued on 2nd November 2006. It has recently been repainted in the authentic colours of a Spitfire MkVc(T) of 249 Sqn operating from Ta Qali airfield, Malta in 1943. G-LFVC
    This is a Curtiss P-40F Warhawk and is fitted with a Rolls Royce Merlin 500 engine. Operated by the 347th Fighter Group in the Solomon Islands in 1942, it was recovered from a dump on the island of Espiritu Santo in the 1970s. Restored to airworthy condition, it has been flying since 2011. As the aircraft's exact wartime history is unknown, it is painted to represent Lee's Hope, a Warhawk based in Italy in 1944. G-CGZP
    Yet another Curtiss product is this, the Curtiss P-36C. This airframe is the last oned constructed in 1939. This P-36 is the only flying example of its type. It saw some World War II service in the United States before being allocated to a technical school. Post-war, it passed through several private owners before being acquired by the Fighter Collection and restored.