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 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 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 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 (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. Rather than its original purpose as a “disposable” piece of training equipment, today the generic 5300 pound T-6 is seen in expert hands, performing at airshows, passing in formation

5Unidentified serviceman at K-6 Air Base (Camp at fly-ins, and even racing — in large numbers and at speeds Humphry) in mid-South Korea. Photo: Walt Przpek unimagined by their early pilots.

WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 41 3(Inset) Walt runs-up the Tonopah Queen at Long Beach prior to departing for Reno 1965. Photo: Walt Ohlrich Col.

Walt and the TONOPAHTONOPAH QUEENQUEEN Story by Stephen S Chapis

n April 2012 Walt Ohlrich sat down with Warbird Digest at his quiet Virginia 5(main) Three Bearcats on the Reno Beach home to talk about the early years of the Reno Air Races where he flightline in 1966. raced the Navy’s hottest piston-powered fighter—the Grumman Bearcat. Darryl Greenamyer’s dominating Smirnoff I Bearcat took the BOY THIS IS LIVING! (VF-11) “Red Rippers” in the early 1950s. One day Championship that Walt suddenly found himself interviewing for the job year. In the Conso- In the late 1930s Walt Ohlrich, Jr’s father took him as the Bearcat’s pilot. He talks about the impromptu lation race Sandy to the Cleveland Air Races. The youngster enjoyed meeting with the F8F’s owner, “Tom Mathews was Falconer in Race 10 the races so much he told himself he would try it the owner and he stopped me in the hangar one day and Chuck Klusman someday. That day arrived unexpectedly over 25 and said someone told him that I used to fly Bearcats. in Race 11 took third years later in 1964 while Walt was attending the I said that was correct. Then he asked me if I would and fourth respec- Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, do him a favor of test flying his Bearcay “...and then tively. Falconer took over piloting duties California. He noticed a Grumman Bearcat was take it air racing! I said, ‘Does a cat have an ass?’” being refurbished in the corner of a hangar at in ’66 while Walt was deployed to Vietnam Monterey. Walt thought to himself, “Boy, somebody Walt’s soon-to-be racing mount was Grumman flying A-4 Skyhawks is going to have fun with that airplane.” Walt’s F8F-2 BuNo 121752 that rolled off the Grumman off USS Intrepid. opinion was backed up by memories he accured production line on September 30, 1948, and delivered Photo: Doug Fisher while flying F8F-1s with Fighter Squadron Eleven to the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Alameda, California.

WARBIRD DIGEST #44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 51 STARS and Stripes Town Story andMiG Photography by Luigino Caliaro

LTHOUGH THE MiG-21 (NATO code name “Fishbed”) has often been considered a global weapon system significantly inferior to its Western A counterparts, it was without doubt the most produces fighter of the Cold War. Incredibly, more than 13,000 examples were constructed, including those aircraft built under licence. MiG 21

3(inset) Paul Van den Heuvel (left) and Wil- liam Ward (right) are passionate operators of these Soviet Cold War era fighter jets. 5(inset) Paul Van The first Russian jet fighter to exceed Mach 2 in level production YE-6 examples. (main-photo) William den Heuvel deploys a flight, it was a single engine, delta winged aircraft In 1958 the final design that was approved Ward III banks his speed brake to slow designed by OKB 155 under the direction of Artëm for production was characterized by a delta wing MiG-21MF to the left down for the camera Ivanovic Mikojan and Michail Iosifovic Gurevic. It with a single air intake in a central position on the to show off the plane’s plane over Dekalb, IL. was developed in 1953 and entered service in late nose, from which a pointed nose cone housed a unique paint scheme, The MiG-21UM’s nose despite its excellent speed and manoeuvrability, the aircraft was progressively improved, especially which represents air intake is noticeably 1960. Conceived from lessons learned during the radar unit. Entering service in 1959 with the Soviet it demonstrated the limits induced by the Soviet with the implementation of upgraded avionics and Stressova Letka, a smaller in diameter Korean War, the MiG-21 was intended to be a light designation Type-72, the essential peculiarities of manufacturing philosophy. A prime example was armament. This made the MiG-21 an extremely flight test squadron of than the MiG-21MF’s. interceptor/fighter with a remarkable speed and the aircraft were quickly demonstrated. With the MiG-21’s minimal endurance, which required versatile aircraft, with its most prized characteristic the Czech Republic. climb rate, and capable of confronting the USAF’s simplified electronics the early series lacked flying with supplementary tanks, a characteristic being reliability. This resulted in incredible success recently introduced F-104 Starfighter. the radar used in subsequent variants, and the that quickly attracted the unfavorable nickname for and popularity among the air forces of nations armament consisted of a 30mm cannon and either a combat aircraft of a “supersonic sports plane.” within the Soviet sphere of influence. On June 16, 1955, MiG flew the first prototype two rocket launchers or a pair of K-13 Atoll YE-4. In the following year MiG debuted the YE-5 missiles, which in their early variants proved Building on the relative effectiveness of the early During the the MiG-21 gained an variant to the public, followed by several pre- to be particularly ineffective. Once in service, versions during the course of the 1960s and 1970s, excellent reputation, proving to be a formidable

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