Category: WW2 Era (1939-45)

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Hefty Tax Bill Could Lead to Destruction of Restored Avro Lancaster Nose Section

A painstakingly restored Avro Lancaster cockpit section is in danger of being scrapped due to a hefty inheritance tax.

The aircraft was relegated to a field in Lincolnshire following WW2, where its remains were discovered by Jeremy Hall in the 1970s. He spent 20 years restoring the nose section and it has since been widely exhibited for educational purposes and as a tribute to Bomber Command.

However, Hall’s descendants are reportedly facing an unaffordable tax bill of roughly $60,000 on the machine – a prospect that could result in it being destroyed upon or before his passing.

The cockpit recently arrived at Royal Albert Hall to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the day the green light was given for Operation Chastise. Conducted in May 1943, 19 Lancasters of 617 Squadron attacked a number of German dams, resulting in severe flooding that destroyed or damaged power stations, factories and mines.

Click below to learn more about the display.

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New Video Shows How USAF Museum is Making Room For “Memphis Belle” Display

The USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio is currently in the final stages of restoring the iconic B-17F “Memphis Belle,” which became the U.S. Army Air Forces heavy bomber to complete 25 missions and return to the U.S.

The machine is scheduled to debut in the museum’s WW2 gallery on May 17th, and in preparation for the event, restoration crews have been working to make room. Recent work included the delicate task of removing the collection’s Fieseler Fi-156C-1 Storch and Culver PQ-14B from the gallery’s ceiling, a process that was captured in the newly released video seen below.

The B-17 currently on display at the USAF Museum, “Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby”, will be moved out of the facility and eventually transferred to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. When complete, the Memphis Belle exhibit will reportedly include interactive displays, rare archival film footage and many personal artifacts which have never before been on display at the museum.

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Special Hobby Releases Marking Options for Upcoming 1/32 Tempest Mk. VI

Special Hobby has released the marking options for their upcoming 1/32 Hawker Tempest Mk. VI.

“The Tempest Mk. VI was a Tempest V airframe modified to accept the 2,340hp Sabre V engine. Externally similar to the Tempest V, the Mk.VI featured wing root air intakes similar to those installed on the Tempest II.The Sabre V´s higher power output made it necessary to have this extra cooling which was especially important since the Tempest VI had been selected to be the standard RAF fighter for service in the Middle East.”

The new kit (SH32055) is reportedly based on the company’s new tool Tempest Mk.V released in 2016 and will reportedly feature four livery options, including NX201 and NX135 of 6 Squadron RAF NX126 of 249 Squadron RAF and NX179 of 213 Squadron.

The kit is currently slated for release in April. Click below to check out the newly released livery profiles.

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Eduard Releases New Details on Upcoming New Tool Fw 190A-5 Light Fighter

Eduard has released new details on its upcoming new tool Fw 190A-5 Light Fighter model kit in 1/48 scale.

The offering will be released as a ProfiPACk edition kit containing new tool sprues and five marking options representing the classic fighter/JaBo variants. The decals were “carefully selected with regard to the armament variant (two-cannon wing), which is an important difference between this and the Fw 190A-5 kit of the previous generation.”

Liveries represent W/N 0152 594 flown by Maj. Hermann Graf, W/N 0157 298 flown by Maj. Josef Priller, W/N 1501 flown by Oblt. Walter Nowotny, W/N 538 of 6/Schl.G 1 and an A-5 flown by Oblt. Rolf Strohal of Stab I./JG 1.

The kit (82143) is currently slated for release in March. Click below to check out additional images.

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SL721, One of the World’s Most Original Airworthy Spitfires, Finds New Home in Europe

Supermarine Spitfire XVI SL721, formerly operated by Vintage Wings of Canada in Ottawa, has been sold to an enthusiast and will be making its way to a new home in Belgium.

As previously reported, SL721 was built in August 1945 and delivered to the RAF, where it became the personal aircraft of Air Chief Marshall Sir James Milne Robb, a WW1 pilot who served as Commander-In-Chief – Air Forces Europe following WW2. The Packard Merlin 266/R55-powered machine was sold in 1967 and transported to the US, where it would stay until 2002, when it was acquired by Vintage Wings of Canada. Today it is considered one of the most original airworthy Spitfires in the world.

Details regarding a home base and future plans are reportedly forthcoming.

(via Belgian Aviation Preservation Association and Platinum Fighter Sales Photo: Ahunt via Wikimedia Commons)

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Eduard to Release New 1/48 He 280 Model Kit

Eduard is planning to release a new Heinkel He 280 ProfiPACK edition model kit in 1/48 scale.

The He 280 was the first turbojet-powered fighter aircraft in the world, however, it was plagued with engine problems and only nine examples of the type were built before the project was cancelled.

The new kit (8068) will reportedly include options for machines powered by either HeS 8a or Jumo 004 engines, as well as pre-painted photo etched parts, paint masks and markings for three aircraft (although the ones shown are provisional).

The new kit is currently slated for release in April. Click below to see more.

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“Ultra Rare” WW2 MiG-3 Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

An “ultra rare” MiG-3 Soviet WW2 fighter / interceptor has hit the market.

The aircraft (S/N 4958) was reportedly built in 1941 and experienced a forced landing near Murmansk in December of that year. After the wreck was discovered in 2000, it was recovered and restored by Rusavia of Moscow.

The machine was test flown in 2005 “using parts salvaged and restored together with a compete Mikulin Am-38 engine ex Il-2.” It is currently painted in Soviet AF colors and is said to be fitted with an Allison V-12 engine “for easier operations.”

It appears that the price is available on application. For additional information click here.

(via Historic and Classic Aircraft Sales Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

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F4U-7 Corsair Performs First Engine, Taxi Tests in New AU-1 Livery [Video]

Flying Colors Aviation of Benton Harbor, Michigan has reported the first run up and taxi tests for an F4U-7 Corsair which they recently refinished.

The aircraft appears to be B/N 133714, which was once on display at the USMC Museum in Quantico and flew in the TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep. It now wears the colors of AU-1 B/N 129378 (pictured above) flown by Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. John F. “Jack” Bolt, who served in WW2 and the Korean War and earned ace status in both conflicts.

The aircraft will reportedly by departing soon, although an exact date and time had not been announced at the time of this writing. Click below to check out a photo of the repainted machine and a video of the recent engine test.

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Udvar-Hazy to Host British Warbird Fly-In Commemorating RAF Centennial

In order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia will be hosting a fly-in featuring a number of British warbirds.

“The Great British Fly-In” will reportedly feature more than ten former RAF aircraft that are either currently on display at the museum or will be flown in for one-day-only event. In addition to Spitfires, a B-25 Mitchell and a P-51 Mustang, the fly-in will feature talks by RAF officers and museum experts, presentations about the museum’s newly acquired Sopwith Camel (featured in The Flying Machine #6), interactive STEM demonstrations and performances from the RAF Band and drill displays from the Queens Colour Squadron.

The event is currently scheduled to take place at the museum on April 15th from 10am-4pm. Admission is free, although parking will cost $15. Click here for additional information.

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Sim Developer Flight Replicas Releases Screenshots of Upcoming Handley Page Halifax

Flight Replicas, which creates “high quality simulator aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX and Lockheed-Martin’s P3D” has released new screenshots of their upcoming Handley Page Halifax Mk.III.

The aircraft is still a work in progress and additional details are scarce, although the package will reportedly include a representation of the HP.70 Halton civilian Halifax variant.

Click below to check out additional images.

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