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WD44 Preview.Pdf Lend-Lease Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk IA ET574 HS-B of 260 Sqn. Story by Mark Sheppard T THE HEIGHT of the battle for North Africa during World War Two, a pilot and aircraft went missing in the vastness of the Egyptian Desert. Incredibly, Ahis airplane remained untouched for over seventy years. To date this is the most complete report about the mystery and history behind this miraculous discovery. DISCOVERY the planet Mars. Someone in the team noticed an 5(main) Photo of On February 27, 2012, a team of surveyors in a unusual shape on a plateau and the driver turned Curtiss P-40E Kitty- couple of 4x4 survey vehicles working for the to see what it was. Approaching slowly, the object hawk IA ET574 when first discovered. It is oil and gas industry was travelling through the began to resemble the shape of an aircraft fuselage, then the outline of the wings and glass cockpit generally thought to Al Wadi Al Jadid Desert in central Egypt. That have been untouched morning, the European seismologists with their became clear. What they had found was a plane for 70 years. Egyptian field workers and drivers had left their that had crashed into the middle of nowhere. Photo: Jakub Perka containerized campsite 100 miles from El Farafra Oasis on another routine workday. The group was totally shocked. It was not every day 5(inset-top) F/Sgt such a unique and precious relic is found, especially Dennis Copping taken It began as a day like any other. They went to in such good condition! The plane looked like it had in Egypt, 1942, age 24. Photo: Copping Family the desert to survey possible suitable locations to just crash landed, except for the closed cockpit with undertake a seismic profile. As usual, some of the its sandblasted and weathered opaque glazing. They 5(inset-top) F/Sgt team slept while others looked out of the vehicle, were afraid of what they might find behind the glazing, Dennis Copping stand- admiring the scenery. The desert in this region is but to their relief they found the cockpit was empty. ing in front of a P-40E very diverse, not only endless sand but also rocks Located near the plane, they discovered a broken radio. Kittyhawk IA of 260 and pinnacles carved by the elements with colors One of the team went to see what was inside the case Sqn in North Africa. ranging from yellow, red, black to white. but found only a scorpion. Luckily he was not stung! Photo: Copping Family At one point the team was driving on a fairly rocky, The team tried to find some identity numbers on the flat terrain that reminded them of the landscape of plane, but after being exposed for 70 years to the WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 11 (main-photo) When it made an unsuspected arrival New Kid on the Block at AirVenture, the newly restored B-25J Georgie’s Gal drew lots of attention. Pilot Paul Stojkov with copilot Mack Deeds and Liberty Aviation Museum Paul Draper in the nose, Story by Harvey H. Lembeck fly for Warbird Digest and photographer Scott Slocum during AirVenture 2012. N THE SPAN OF less than 15 months, an ambitious new Photo: Scott Slocum aviation museum has sprouted from a little-used soybean field I at a mid-sized county airport in Northwest Ohio. Located on the western basin of Lake Erie at the Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport in Port Clinton, Ohio, The Liberty Aviation Museum has taken the aviation world by storm. The museum’s first foray into the warbird world began in November 2010 with the acquisition of the B-25J Martha Jean (Serial No. 44-86777, N345BG) from Dave Wheaton in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A plan that started as the performance of minor maintenance and the addition of a new paint scheme ultimately lead to a full-blown aircraft restoration. Renamed Georgie’s Gal, in honor of the Museum’s adhesion. Correct stenciling was also applied 5(inset) The B-25J primary benefactor, George V. Woodling Jr. (now to both the interior and exterior surfaces. The Martha Jean upon its deceased), she was flown to the well-known B-25 cockpit was completely disassembled, cleaned, arrival in Port Clin- experts at Aero Trader in Chino, California, in repaired, repainted and reassembled. The nose ton, Ohio. Soon after late 2011 to begin the restoration process. Under bowl was removed from the airframe, then it being purchased by the fledgling Liberty the supervision of Tony Ritzman and Carl Scholl, was stripped, walnut shelled, and reassembled. Aviation Museum, it the aircraft was almost completely disassembled The props were removed, rebalanced, refinished, was flown to Chino and airframe gutted. New avionics, top engine rehung, and then dynamically balanced. Ammo California for what overhauls, complete new interior, armament, and boxes with flex chutes were reinstalled in their became a full restora- new plexiglass were refitted and added. Correct proper configuration. Period correct phenolic tion at Aero Trader. period sky felt was also added to the interior. All fiber laminates were utilized in all areas of the Photo: Brian E Maciag exterior and interior surfaces were walnut shelled, aircraft when restoring items including the ammo primed, and painted, including all hydraulic cans, flight folder cases, and storage bins. lines. The landing gear wheel wells were also completely stripped and repainted. Every single By mid-June nearly every employee at Aero Trader exterior rivet on the aircraft was cleaned by hand was working on the aircraft, seven days a week using a small brush to allow for proper paint from 5 a.m .to 5 p.m., to insure the B-25 would 16 WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 17 The Aussie (main-photo) The world’s only flying CAC Sabre, seen here on a 2009 photo flight, is the result of a Public-Private Partnership. Photo: Rob Fox Story by James Kightly with Aerial SABREPhotography by Rob Fox 5The CAC Sa- bre with the CAC Mustang, both over RAAF Point Cook. Photo: James Kightly 4Squadron Leader Paul Simmons with the Sabre. Photo: Rob Fox James Kightly introduces the one flying Australian CAC Sabre and examines future possible fliers. HE F-86 SABRE was one of the most successful fighter aircraft of all time, and a popular warbird, in part because it was a finely balanced design It’s a Sabre, But Not As We Know It fact the USAF needed all the Sabres that North T American Aviation (NAA) could produce. that incorporated the best mix of firepower, speed, As the 1950s arrived the Royal Australian Air and manoeuvrability. There is one Sabre currently Force (RAAF) needed a new jet fighter. In that Luckily, the idea of an Australian Sabre didn’t die. decade Australia was still expected to “buy The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) flying that has a bit more punch and power. British.” Because of its commitment to NATO of Australia had an effective working relationship in sending forces to the war in Korea, Australia with the North American Aviation Company tried to buy F-86 Sabres but couldn’t. The road (NAA), having undertaken licence production of was blocked due to a lack of U.S. dollars and the two earlier NAA designs, the P-51D Mustang and 26 WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 27 ZERO RESURRECTIONS Story and Photoraphy by Frank B. Mormillo ERTAINLY THE MOST FAMOUS Japanese airplane of all time, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter was also produced Cin greater numbers than any other Japanese airplane. While there is some confusion about the exact number of Japanese Zero fighters built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War Two, it appears that the total was probably 10,449. Little known is the fact that about two thirds of all Zeros produced (6,570) Photo: The Planes were actually manufactured under license by Nakajima. While the total number of of Fame A6M5 Zero flying in a temporary Zeros produced may seem to pale in comparison to some other aircraft like the color scheme and German Messerschmitt Bf 109 (33,675), the British Supermarine Spitfire (22,000), fitted with a dummy bomb for use in a the American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (15,683) and the Russian Il-2 Shturmovik Japanese film about (35,000), it was a big total by Japanese standards. In comparison, the next most Kamikaze pilots. The flying sequences for produced Japanese airplane was the Japanese Imperial Army Nakajima Ki-43 the film were photo- Hayabusa (Oscar) fighter, of which 5,919 were manufactured. graphed in California. WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 33 The Evolved T-6 Walt Orth’sLTA-6 Mosquito Story by Tim Kern 6(inset-top) LTA-6s in revet- ments on flight line at K-14 (Kimpo Air Base) located south of the DMZ in Korea. Photo by Walt Przpek via the Mosquito Association Main Photo: Jose Ramos Defining the Breed The big North American trainer was called, depending on its service, the SNJ, the Harvard, or the Texan. Originally designated the AT-6, the T-6 and its close relatives, with more than 15,500 produced, trained thousands of World War Two and Korean Conflict aviators. After their use in military hands, they were made largely obsolete by the introduction of the T-28. Many continued their pilot-making tasks in both military and civilian hands for decades afterward until eventually their worth as collectibles overwhelmed people’s willingness to put them in the hands of the relatively inexperienced.
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