Jul 11 2018
CAC Boomerang (via Wikipedia)
Two CAC Boomerangs are currently being restored in Brisbane, Australia. One of these, serial A46-54, is almost finished and should be flying soon. Out of 250 Boomerangs built between 1942 and 1945, only about ten have been preserved.
Read the full story on Warbirds News.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/07/11/cac-boomerang-nearing-return-to-flight-in-australia/
Jun 20 2018
Gloster Meteor T.7 WA591 in 2012. (Photo Steve Walsh (CC BY-ND 2.0)).
The Gloster Meteor T.7 WA591 flew again on June 18 at Hampton Roads Executive Airport in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The aircraft was previously owned by the Classic Air Force Trust in Coventry, England, and is now part of the World Heritage Air Museum based at City Airport in Detroit, Michigan.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/06/20/gloster-meteor-flies-again-in-virginia/
May 10 2018
The Vought F4U-5N Corsair (BuNo 124724, registered F-AZEG) of the Casques de Cuir flew again yesterday in La Ferté-Alais, south of Paris, after a ten-year restauration.
This aircraft was built in 1951 and served with the US Navy before being bought by Honduras and serving during the “Soccer War”. It was later transferred to the civilian market and reached France in 1986.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/05/10/f4u-5n-corsair-flies-again-in-france/
May 09 2018
TBM-3E Avenger VH-VTB in 2015 (Photo Wes Eggins (CC BY-NC 2.0))
Grumman TBM-3E Avenger 53337 registered N337VT (formerly VH-VTB, arrived in the USA in 2017) was probably destroyed ina crash near Fort Apache, Arizona. After an engine failure over mountainous terrain, the crew bailed out rather than attempt an emergency landing in what would probably have been extremely dangerous conditions.
Both crew members were injured upon landing but are recovering and are no longer with emergency services. The Avenger’s crash site has not yet been located and its exact condition is unknown.
Sources:
Update: I had initially mistyped the former registration as VH-CTB instead of VH-VTB. Thanks to Tim B. for pointing out the mistake.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/05/09/tbm-3-avenger-crashes-in-arizona-crew-ok/
May 09 2018
The Morane-Saulnier MS.315 G-BZNK (Photo Mike Burdett (CC BY-SA 2.0))
Zac Rockey, the pilot of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.315 G-BZNK, was forced to make an emergency landing on Jacob’s Ladder Beach in Devon, after his engine cut during a flight from Branscombe à Bodmin airfield in the United-Kingdom.
Not only did Rockey and his passenger emerge unscathed from the incident, but none of the people on the beach was injured either and the aircraft appears not be have suffered any major damage. The impressive scene was filmed by some of the beach dwellers.
Rockey said the conditions were “not ideal” and that he’d “had better runways” in the past.
A job well done !
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/05/09/m-s-315-pilot-makes-impressive-emergency-landing-on-uk-beach/
May 04 2018
Many of you have been requesting we add the F4U Corsair to our Warbird Shirts shop. It’s now available, and you can also get free shipping from May 4 to 7 with the discount code SHIP2ME .
The Warbird Shirts shop helps us pay for the website’s hosting, and we greatly appreciate your support !
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/05/04/warbird-shirts-the-f4u-is-finally-available-and-free-shipping/
Apr 28 2018
Hangar 10 shared two photos on its Facebook page showing the first flight of Bf 109G-6 “Black 8”, a veteran of JG 27 powered by a DB 605 engine. The flight took place from Heringsdorf airport on the Usedom island in Germany, with Klaus Plasa at the controls.
Sources:
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/04/28/messerschmitt-bf-109g-6-black-8-flies-again-in-germany/
Apr 27 2018
The P-51D Mustang “Moonbeam McSwine” (previously F-AZXS) has returned to the US. The aircraft was sold to Frenchman Frédéric Akary in 2013 and had become a favourite at airshows in France and Europe thanks to Akary’s superb flight demonstrations.
Before returning to France, “Moonbeam McSwine” belonged for several years to Vlado Lenoch, who was killed in July 2017 along with his passenger in the crash of the P-51 “Baby Duck”. The Warbird Heritage Foundation announced earlier this year that it had acquired “Moonbeam McSwine” and plans to fly it in memory of Lenoch under the new registration N51VL.
Source: Aerodynamic Media
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/04/27/p-51-moonbeam-mcswine-has-returned-to-the-us/
Apr 11 2018
Left to right: Alwayne Dunlap, Lawrence E. Dickson, Wilmeth W. Sidat Singh and Elmer L. Gordon in 1942 at the Tuskegee Army Flying School (Photo US Air Force)
The remains found at a crash site in Hohenturn, Austria, could be those of Captain Lawrence E. Dickson, who disappeared in his P-51 Mustang on 23 December 1944, during his 68th combat mission with the 100th Fighter Squadron. The US Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency emphasize that they are still testing the remains but there is circumstantial evidence that this is the site where Captain Dickson crashed.
Lawrence Dickson was born in South Carolina on 1 January 1920. He was decorated multiple times during his service, earning the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart among others.
Sources:
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/04/11/lost-tuskegee-airmans-remains-may-have-been-found/
Apr 08 2018
A Yak-18 at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego, Poland, in 2013 (Photo Alan Wilson (CC BY-SA 2.0))
A Yakovlev Yak-18 crashed today in Lens in northern France, killing the pilot and his passenger. The association Renaissance du Caudron Simoun indicated on its Facebook page that François Minard, one of its founders, was one of the two victims.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the two victims of this tragedy.
Sources:
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/04/08/two-killed-in-yak-18-crash-in-france/
Apr 01 2018
A Junkers F13 at the Deutsches Museum (Photo Nuno Cardoso (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))
“Ninety-nine years after the first flight of the Junkers F13, Rimowa, the German luggage manufacturer responsible for ressurecting the type, has announced that its replica was certified by Swii aviation authorities on 28 March 2018.A small production run is being considered.” (Source: Aerobuzz)
The first replica aircraft made its maiden flight on 15 September 2016. Some concessions were made to modernity and safety, as the aircraft is powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 «Wasp Junior», hydraulic shock absorbers and brakes as well as a tail wheel rather than the skid of the original aircraft.
More details and photos can be found on Aerobuzz (in French).
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/04/01/the-junkers-f-13-certified-again-after-99-years/
Mar 31 2018
F6F Hellcat 78645 (Photo Alan Wilson (CC BY-SA 2.0))
The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum has reported the acquisition of Grumman F6F Hellcat BuNo 78645. The aircraft was previously with the Yanks Air Museum in California. It will undergo an extensive IRAN (Inspect and Repair As Necessary) and should fly again by the summer of 2019.
Source: Aerodynamic Media
(Photo Alan Wilson (CC BY-SA 2.0))
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/03/31/fagen-fighters-acquires-f6f-hellcat/
Mar 31 2018
A Yak-3 was seriously damaged when it crashed into a vehicle that was on the grass runway during the Warbirds over Wanaka International Airshow. Fortunately, pilot Arthur Dovey was “shaken but not injured”. Half of the aircraft’s right wing was torn off in the collision and there is extensive damage.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/03/31/yak-3-damaged-in-ground-collision-at-warbirds-over-wanaka-airshow/
Mar 08 2018
The wreckage of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington was located by the research vessel RV Petrel on 4 March 2018 during an expedition led by Paul Allen. The “Lady Lex” was America’s second aircraft carrier, and the first one lost in combat. She was badly damaged by Japanese attacks on 8 May 1942 and scuttled by the destroyer USS Phelps to prevent her capture by the enemy.
She lies some 3,000 meters below the surface approximately 430 nautical miles off Queensland. A remotely-operated underwater vehicle captured remarkable footage of the Lady Lex, and also discovered seven TBD Devastators, three SBD Dauntless and a single F4F Wildcat.
These aircraft are in a remarkable state of preservation, probably due to the great depth. The F4F Wildcat, belonging to VF-3 and carrying the number F-5, can be seen with 4 Japanese “kill markings” beneath the cockpit.
More photos and information can be found on Paul Allen’s website.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/03/08/uss-lexington-and-several-aircraft-discovered-by-paul-allen/
Feb 27 2018
Spitfire Mk XVI SL721, previously operated by Vintage Wings of Canada, has been sold to a Belgian owner and should be arriving soon in Belgium. This is the first time an airworthy Spitfire has been based in the country since the 1960s, according to the Belgian Aviation Preservation Association.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2018/02/27/spitfire-xvi-headed-to-belgium/
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