World Warbird News

Author's details

Name: Bertrand Brown
Date registered: April 23, 2011

Latest posts

  1. Bréguet Alizé flies again in France — May 21, 2013
  2. Pilot killed in Ha-200 Saeta crash in Spain — May 5, 2013
  3. A6M-3 Zero could become Japan’s first flying warbird — May 2, 2013
  4. Doolittle raiders gather for final meeting — April 23, 2013
  5. Henri Bourrassier † — April 7, 2013

Most commented posts

  1. Mid-air collision at Duxford — 29 comments
  2. Burmese Spitfires: are they really there? — 18 comments
  3. Burmese Spitfire excavation to start soon — 14 comments
  4. Anna Walker belly-lands Seafire in France — 13 comments
  5. A Potez 63-11 will soon fly in Texas — 9 comments

Author's posts listings

May 21 2013

Bréguet Alizé flies again in France

The Bréguet Alizé n°59, restored by Alizé Marine, flew again last Saturday in Nîmes. Two test flights were made, lasting 12 and 30 minutes. The flights were made by Jean Ivars, a former French Navy pilot, and were satisfactory. The aircraft will possibly be presented at the Salon du Bourget airshow this summer in Paris. …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/05/21/breguet-alize-flies-again-in-france/

May 05 2013

Pilot killed in Ha-200 Saeta crash in Spain

Ha-200 Saeta EC-DXR in flight. (Photo César Astudillo (CC BY 2.0))

A pilot was killed today when a Hispano Ha-200 Saeta crashed during an airshow in Madrid. The causes of the accident are unknown at this time. The pilot is Ladislao Tejedor Romero, a 35-year old experienced military pilot and assistant to the Spanish Defence Minister. Romero died from burns suffered in the crash after he was …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/05/05/pilot-killed-in-ha-200-saeta-crash-in-spain/

May 02 2013

A6M-3 Zero could become Japan’s first flying warbird

(Photo cclark395 (CC BY-NC 2.0))

Japanese businessman Masahide Ishizuka recently presented his project of basing his Mitsubishi A6M-3 Zero (registered N553TT) in Japan, where it would fly at airshows. This would make it the first flying warbird in Japan and could lead to other warbirds flying in the country, such as those of Nobuo Harada, whose collection includes many World …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/05/02/a6m-3-zero-could-become-japans-first-flying-warbird/

Apr 23 2013

Doolittle raiders gather for final meeting

Left to right: Lt. Col. Richard Cole, Lt. Col. Edward Saylor and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher at Eglin Air Force Base. (Photo USAF/Thomas Brown)

Three of the four surviving members of the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo gathered from April 17 to 21 at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for a final meeting. The members who were present were Lt. Col. Richard Cole, le Lt. Col. Edward Saylor and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher. Lt. Col. Robert …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/04/23/doolittle-raiders-gather-for-final-meeting/

Apr 07 2013

Henri Bourrassier †

(Photo Bernard Delfino)

We are saddened to learn the death of Henri Bourrassier, who passed away on April 6. Henri Bourrassier flew the B-26 Marauder with the Free French  “Bretagne” bomber group during World War Two. He later flew Dakotas and Noratlas transport aircraft for the French Air Force in during the wars in Indochina and Algeria. He …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/04/07/henri-bourrassier-%e2%80%a0/

Mar 28 2013

Flying Heritage Collection F6F Hellcat first flight

Flying Heritage Collection test flew their newly restored Grumman F6F-5N for the very first time on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 with Steve Hinton at the controls. The Hellcat is their latest addition to the collection and will be flying for the 2013 season here at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Source: fight2flyphoto on YouTube

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/03/28/flying-heritage-collection-f6f-hellcat-first-flight/

Mar 25 2013

Breguet Alizé to fly in France

A Breguet Alizé preserved in Southern France by the CAEA. (Photo Jérome (CC BY-NC-BD 2.0))

The association Breguet Alizé, which is mostly composed of former French Navy personnel, has been working for the last few months on restoring their Breguet Alizé ASW aircraft back to flying status. Engine runs and taxiing tests began at the end of 2012 and the association has now received permission to make test flights with …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/03/25/breguet-alize-to-fly-in-france/

Mar 24 2013

Col. Robert J. “Shorty” Rankin †

Photo USAF

Col. Robert J. “Shorty” Rankin, a World War II fighter ace of the 56th Fighter Group, passed away on March 14, 2013 in his winter home in Florida, aged 94. He was credited with 10 confirmed, 1 probable victories and 2 damaged e/a, and was the first P-47 Thunderbolt to achieve “ace-in-a-day” status by destroying …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/03/24/col-robert-j-shorty-rankin-%e2%80%a0/

Mar 05 2013

Thomas Griffin †

(Photo USAF)

Thomas Griffin, who was the navigator on the ninth aircraft of the 18 April 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo , died on February 26 aged 96. With the passing of Thomas Griffin, there are now only four surviving members of this legendary mission. Its success was mostly psychologival, as America needed some positive news in …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/03/05/thomas-griffin-%e2%80%a0/

Feb 20 2013

Ken Jernstedt †

Ken Jernstedt

Kenneth Allen Jernstedt, who flew with the legendary Flying Tigers, died on February 5 aged 95. Born in 1917, Jernstedt flew with the US Marine Corps before joining the American Volunteer Group in 1941 to fight the Japanese in China. By the time he left the AVG in 1942, he was credited with three confirmed …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/20/ken-jernstedt-%e2%80%a0/

Feb 18 2013

Pierre Lorillon †

Pierre Lorillon

Pierre Lorillon, a fighter ace from the French Normandie-Niémen group that fought on the Russian front in World War Two, died on February 17th in Bastia (Corsica). With his death, there are now only two surviving pilots of the legendary French fighter unit: Gaël Taburet and Jean Sauvage. Pierre Lorillon was born on May 13, …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/18/pierre-lorillon-%e2%80%a0/

Feb 17 2013

Hurricane P3351 bought by a Frenchman

Le Hurricane Mk II P3351 à Wanaka (Nouvelle-Zélande) en 2010. (Photo Paul Nelhams (CC BY-SA 2.0))

The Hawker Hurricane Mk IIa P3351 has been dismantled and shipped to France where it will be received by its new owner, whose identity has not been revealed. This aircraft was part of Sir Tim Wallis’ Alpine Fighter Collection in New-Zealand. Hurricane Mk IIa DR393 (registered ZK-TPK) was originally a Mk I P3351. It was …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/17/hurricane-p3351-bought-by-a-frenchman/

Feb 16 2013

EAA P-64 engines runs for the first time in decades

The North American P-64 of the EAA AirVenture Museum was started by Paul Poberezny on February 8, this being the first time after 25 years of static display. Source: EAA

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/16/eaa-p-64-engines-runs-for-the-first-time-in-decades/

Feb 14 2013

Myanmar’s phantom Spitfires: how a legend was born

With the ongoing debate concerning the presence of crated Spitfires deep in Burma’s soil, one of our visitors, Peter, shared a link to an article from the Myanmar Times by Derek Tonkin: Myanmar’s phantom Spitfires: how a legend was born. This article provides some useful insight on how the Burmese Spitfires legend began, and whether …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/14/myanmars-phantom-spitfires-how-a-legend-was-born/

Feb 08 2013

Squadron Leader Tom Bennett †

Tom Bennett

Squadron Leader Tom Bennett, who has died aged 93, flew as a navigator in one of the specialist crews on No 617 (Dambusters) Squadron. After the war, he remained with the RAF until 1955 and then worked at the Port of London authority. He stayed close to 617 Squadron and is the author of an …

Continue reading »

Permanent link to this article: http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2013/02/08/squadron-leader-tom-bennett-%e2%80%a0/

Older posts «