Table of contents for Aug-Sep-Oct 2018 in Flightpath

More than 1000 people were present at the Aviation Heritage Centre, Nhill, Victoria, to witness the final flight of CA-16 Wirraway VH-CAC. The new addition to the museum’s collection arrived on 28 April, but the flight was delayed due to a minor hydraulic issue. Patience prevailed and, with much adulation, the aircraft appeared, piloted by Nick Caudwell, with owner/restorer Borg Sorensen occupying the rear seat. They had flown from Tyabb and flew over the Nhill township and airfield before putting A20-722 down for the last time. As reported in the previous issue of Flightpath (Vol.29, No.4), it now joins the Avro Anson restoration project, and a locally owned Tiger Moth (VH-RIN), as a significant drawcard for the Heritage Centre as it continues to preserve the history of the former wartime…

The Qantas Founders Museum unveiled the name and registration of its reassembled and freshly painted Lockheed Super Constellation on 9 July. The former US Navy C-121J and civilian freighter now represents the airline’s VH-EAM ‘Southern Spray’. The original VH-EAM (c/n 4801) was the first L-1049H convertible passenger airliner/freighter. It was also the first to receive weather radar (less than two months after its first revenue service in November 1956) and the classic ‘thimble’ nose cone that came with it. Given the cargo-carrying pedigree of the museum’s aircraft, and the fact that it is now masquerading as an airliner, the decision to represent ‘Southern Spray’ is quite inspired! Museum CEO Tony Martin reflected on the journey to get the aircraft to this stage. “The Super Constellation Project has been a long…

Exactly 75 years after it returned from its twenty-fifth mission on 17 May 1943, the famous B-17F Flying Fortress ‘Memphis Belle’ was returned to public display during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF). Removed from its long-term home at Mud Island, Memphis, Tennessee, in 2002 for restoration, the Memphis Belle Memorial Association realised it could not raise the money to restore the aircraft to the condition required to maintain possession. The old bomber was thus delivered to the NMUSAF in October 2005. It had been on outside display since 1949 and was only placed under a pavilion in 1987. During that time outside, the B-17 suffered greatly from the attentions of souvenir hunters, so much so that it was essentially gutted internally.…

After nine hours of flight, Friedrich Diehl and Thomas Holz transferred Klemm 35D SE-BGA from Håtunaholm airfield, northwest of Stockholm, Sweden, to Siegerland airport, Germany, at the end of April. The historic German trainer joins two Bücker 131 Jungmann and one Focke-Wulf Stieglitz as part of the ‘Sterntakt’ classic group. The aircraft was built in 1941 at the Böblingen Klemm factory (serial number 1983) for the Swedish Air Force, with which it served until 1948 as Fv5054. Its previous owner, Hakan Wijkander, restored the aircraft and returned it to the air at the end of 2009, creating, among other things, the ability to visually transform the two-seat trainer into a single-seater with just a few simple steps. Together with the undercarriage ‘pants’ and the silver livery, the single seat configuration…

Throughout 2005’s display season the Shuttleworth Collection engineering team were keeping a careful watch on the oil pressure on AR501’s original Rolls Royce Merlin 45 which, although still within its safe operating limits, was gradually falling to a level where the engine would need to be removed from the airframe for a thorough overhaul. Meanwhile, the collection’s engine guru Steve McManus, assisted by Toby Lee, were rebuilding a former Merlin 23 from a Mosquito which the Collection held in reserve. Parts from a number of donor engines were needed to make a complete airworthy example. The Merlin 23 featured the more reliable two piece blocks and later oil pumps, effectively upgrading the engine to a Merlin 55MA when combined with the 45M supercharger. By the end of 2007, the rebuilt…

AIRWAYS MUSEUM LOCATION Essendon Airport, Vic. Located on Edgar Johnston Lane, which is near the corner of Lionel St & Wirraway Rd. Melway Map Ref 16 C7. Enter via Edgar Johnston Lane at the rear of Building 44. Phone: (03) 9374 3905 President: Roger Meyer OAM. Ph: (03) 9818 4950 (h) Postal address: Box 6, 20 English St, Essendon Airport, Victoria 3041 Email: cahs@optusnet.com.au Website: http://www.airwaysmuseum.com OPENING TIMES Tours of the Airways Museum are available on Tuesdays 9am-3pm and at other times by appointment. Groups are welcome. Check the website for special events. ADMISSION FEE entry by donation MUSEUM BACKGROUND The Airways Museum is an aviation museum, but with one difference – there are no aircraft! Instead, the Museum houses a collection of national importance that traces the development of…

By late September 1943, Japanese High Command was concerned that New Britain would be cut off from its forces in New Guinea via Allied domination of Lae and the Huon Peninsula. The Allies had already recaptured Lae and were poised to take Finschhafen via an amphibious landing planned to commence just before dawn on 22 September. To Japanese eyes, the loss of Finschhafen was a price too high to pay, thus all of Rabaul’s dwindling resources would be committed to defending it. Since the loss of Lae several weeks prior, the Japanese had kept up aerial reconnaissance of the Huon Gulf area, fearing Finschhafen would be next. The evening before the invasion, nine Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) Ki-49 ‘Helen’ bombers bombed USN troopships laden with Australian soldiers heading for…

During the weekend of 5-6 May, the skies of Southern California were filled with the sights and sounds of nearly fifty warbird and vintage aircraft participating in the annual Planes of Fame Airshow. One of the world’s premier warbird shows, PoF 2018 didn’t disappoint. The theme this year was ‘Thunder and Lightning’ and showcased a rare gathering of P-47 Thunderbolts and P-38 Lightnings. A near continuous five-hour flying program worked its way through pre-war golden era aircraft, W.W.II European and Pacific campaigns, and the Korean War. In Chino tradition, every flyable aircraft took to the skies at least once a day during the weekend. This led to many memorable and rare formations and pairings. The flying display featured a spectacular Grumman Tigercat aerobatic routine flown by Stu Dawson, a Reno…

The Australian Vintage Aviation Society (TAVAS) held its Great War Flying Display at Caboolture Airfield on 21-22 April 2018. This relatively new, but regular event on the airshow calendar preceded the June opening of the new TAVAS museum. The collection displayed its Fokker Dr.I triplane, Bristol F.2B Fighter and Nieuport 11 replicas, and performed engine runs with the rotary-powered Fokker E.III Eindecker and D.VIII replicas. Also on static display were the newly-acquired Farman III, black Fokker Dr.1 and Nieuport 24 (see Flightpath Vol.29, No.2). The show featured a re-enactment, one hundred years to the day, of Manfred Von Richthofen’s demise in his Fokker Dr.I. The Red Baron was shot down by Australian soldiers near Vaux-sur-Somme. The RAAF’s 1 Squadron flew a F/A-18F Super Hornet alongside the Bristol F.2B Fighter, a…

Following a twelve-year major restoration, the Temora Aviation Museum’s second Cessna A-37B Dragonfly (VH-XVA) took to the skies once again last May. This A-37B (serial 68-10779) was built in 1968 and flew combat sorties in Vietnam. It was recovered from there in the mid-nineties by the late Dr. Michael Silva. In addition to main wing spar replacements, the A-37 underwent a full restoration, and systems and engines overhaul. It has emerged from the museum’s workshop wearing an authentic representation of the South Vietnamese Air Force's 516th Fighter Squadron’s ‘Flying Tiger’ scheme when the unit operated out of Da Nang. As the museum only ever plans to have one of its A-37Bs airworthy and flying at any one time, its other Dragonfly, the popular VH-DLO (serial 68-10805), will now go into…

The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, has acquired a Douglas Havoc. The aircraft, A-20G 43-9436 'Big Nig', will have arrived at the museum by the time these words are read. The Curator of Collections at Pima, James Stemm, is excited at the prospect of an example of this important type going on display. “It is a very welcome addition to our World War II in the South Pacific collection”, he said. “We intend to begin reassembly as soon as it arrives and are currently in the process of fabricating the engine mounts and other powerplant related parts.” The Havoc was operated by the 89th Bombardment Squadron, 3rd Bombardment Group, Fifth Air Force, from Nadzab, near Lae, in New Guinea and force-landed in a swamp at Chugabru on…

When the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) officially opened on 12 April, it was the culmination of nine years of hard work by hundreds of professionals and volunteers. In 2009, Tony Worth, then Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, launched a project to recognise and remember all who served in Bomber Command. His aim was to create a memorial, education centre and archive to collect and preserve documents, photographs and oral histories. Sadly, he passed away seven weeks before the Centre’s opening. During the war, Lincolnshire, with its 27 airfields, earned the mantle ‘Bomber County’. The site of the IBCC offers dramatic views of Lincoln Cathedral, a most welcome landmark for those crews who returned. Financed by donations, the focal point of the IBCC is the memorial spire, the UK’s tallest war…

The Collings Foundation’s two-seat, dual-control Mustang is painted in its original markings as ‘Toulouse Nuts’ of the 167th Fighter Squadron, West Virginia Air National Guard. The P-51D (44-84655) rolled off the North American production line at Tulsa, Oklahoma in May 1945, was converted to a two-seater in 1951, declared surplus and stored at Norton Air Force Base, and was serving with the Fuerza Aérea de Nicaragua by early 1958. It had returned to the United States by mid-1964 and, following a rebuild after a wheels-up landing, served with the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana from June 1966. Another forced landing soon after saw the Mustang return to the US again where it was used by Cavalier as a pattern for their conversions. Restoration began in 2013 after the aircraft was bought from…

As thanks for sending men and materiel to Britain in W.W.II, some of the gifts that several contributory nations received were Spitfire aircraft. As well as the Imperial War Museum’s historic Mk.I R6915, several others are still on show, notably in Chicago, USA; Auckland, New Zealand and Ottawa, Canada. The other is an historic example in Canberra, ACT. On 12 May 1944, in response to an RAAF request for ‘a Spitfire that had served in an Australian squadron’, Spitfire Mk.IIa P7973 was selected and then packed at RAF Sealand for dispatch to Australia aboard the SS Port Adelaide. Over a year later, and after the end of the European war, it arrived in Melbourne in July 1945 and was sent off to storage in Canberra, finally being issued to the…

NAS PORTO CORSINI On 24 July a special train, coming from Pauillac in France, arrived at the station at Ravenna, bringing a group of 35 officers and more than 300 American sailors under the command of Lieutenant Willis Bradley Haviland, tasked with staffing the naval air station at Porto Corsini. The personnel drawn from forces in France were later united with another group of pilots trained at Bolsena and engineers who had undergone training with Macchis. [See Part 1.] The base at Porto Corsini was located around twelve kilometres from the city of Ravenna, and was built on a wide triangular peninsula sited at the confluence of the Baiona and Candiano canals, linked directly to the Adriatic Sea. The actual canal used for take-off and landing represented a source of…

The Supermarine Southampton was a remarkable success for the time, and a notable aircraft in any assessment, particularly for expanding what a flying boat could be used to do. In many ways it founded the British Empire’s expectation of flying boat capability, particularly for long range and independent flying, both military and civil. It was not a one-off, but the first major success in a series of flying boat designs from Supermarine. All were designed by Reginald J Mitchell, and each an iterative development, building on the success of the previous example. Mitchell’s flying boat family started with the Supermarine Swan, a 1924 one-off. The Swan was an experimental twin-engine amphibian, and in contrast to the later Southampton it had a very differently shaped fuselage and planing hull. Furthermore, the…

‘Rusty’ Leith visited Duxford in 1988 to see an old friend. He had been surprised to discover that the aircraft he had flown in early 1945, when serving with 453 Squadron RAAF, still survived and would one day fly again. Leith flew just over twenty hours in the aircraft, more than anyone else in the squadron. He’d come a long way from a small island in the Pacific. Colin Russell Leith was born on 5 May 1922 in Labasa, Vanua Levu, Fiji. His father, also Colin, was a field officer with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Ltd (CSR). He and his wife, Eileen, had served overseas during the Great War. Eileen’s nursing skills were such that she was regarded as the district’s unofficial doctor. A second son, Ian, arrived in…

This year’s Sun ’n Fun was held from 10-15 April on the south side of Florida’s Lakeland Linder Airport. With torrential rain on the first day, and the last day’s airshow cancelled due to heavy thunderstorms, the four days in between had near perfect weather and, for recent years, record attendances. The increased Warbird participation reversed the trend of the past decade. Grand Champion was Rod Lewis’ Douglas A-20 Havoc (N747HS). Lewis also brought his P-38 Lightning ‘Glacier Girl’ and an F8F Bearcat that is rarely seen outside Texas. The late David Tallichet’s B-17G ‘Memphis Belle’ made a rare airshow appearance alongside the Commemorative Air Force’s popular ‘Texas Raiders’. With another Bear-cat, P-40, Kingcobra, Hellcat, several Mustangs and two Corsairs, it was the largest collection of W.W.II era fighters seen…

The Wings Over Illawarra airshow held on the weekend of 5-6 May was the largest airshow held so far this year and arguably now ranks as the biggest annual show in the Southern Hemisphere. The organisers, under the capable leadership of Mark and Kerry Bright, had amassed an impressive array of aircraft for the show. Illawarra Regional Airport, south of Wollongong, is home to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, of course, and their fleet of large aircraft was on static display, most of which were manned by volunteers to welcome admiring show-goers on board. The ‘Southern Cross’ replica starred with its repaired wing back in place on top of the fuselage (see page 5). Although it was the largest display of Australian Defence Force hardware since Avalon 2017, the highlight…

After eight years, the repair of the replica Fokker F.VIIb/3m ‘Southern Cross II’ is nearing completion at the Albion Park, New South Wales, headquarters of the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society. The critical and successful structural test of the repaired wing was completed early in 2017 (see Flightpath Vol. 27, No. 4). The plywood skin of the rebuilt section of wing (over approximately one-third of the full wing span) was then covered with a final skinning of Ceconite light fabric that required fourteen coats of dope. Owing to the wing’s size, and the application of dope only being possible when the temperature and humidity allowed, this proved quite a challenge. The original wing surface was also tidied up and repainted. Painting of the wing and fuselage was completed in April. This…

The Australian Vintage Aircraft Society officially opened its museum on Caboolture Airfield on 2 June. Local MP Simone Wilson cut the ribbon before guests wandered through the facility which houses thirteen aircraft of the Great War era. Replica aircraft on display include a Bristol F.2B Fighter, two Fokker Dr.Is, Fokker D.VIII (powered by an original Gnome rotary engine), Fokker E.III Eindecker, Fokker D.VII, RAF S.E.5a, Johnson Monoplane, Farman III and Nieuport 24. The museum is located in Hangar 106, Eagle Lane, Caboolture Airfield and is open Wednesday through Sunday.…

A visit to the Quax-Flieger at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Germany, is always worthwhile. In early May, the club held one of its traditional hangar days that herald the start of a new flying season. One of the new additions at Paderborn is a rare Nord NC.856A. Only four flying examples of this French reconnaissance aircraft from the fifties remain worldwide. This machine was recently acquired by three club members and is expected to fly again in the coming months. The engine, a 160hp (119Kw) SNECMA-Régnier 4L.08, is currently being overhauled. A club aircraft that is not based at Paderborn is the rare Raab Motorkrähe. The famous German glider designer Fritz Raab designed this light motor glider as a self-propelled aircraft for clubs. About thirty were built to his plans. This one,…

Duxford's 2018 display season opener was staged over the 26-27 May Spring Bank Holiday weekend, and offered one of the most varied programmes ever seen at the Cambridgeshire airfield. The highlight for many was the first public performance of the recently imported Republic P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN, operated by Fighter Aviation Engineering based at Sywell, and flown by Stu Goldspink. (it was previously it was operated by The Fighter Collection from Duxford as 'No Guts No Glory' before export to the USA eleven years ago). EKW C-3605 ‘Schlepp’ HB-RDH made a rare UK appearance. A former target tug, operated by 46 Aviation at Sion, Switzerland, the manoeuvrability of the type was remarkable with pilot Emiliano del Buono delighting those watching. Three Hawker Furies were present: the Royal Navy Historic Flight’s (RNHF)…

Conceived in 1934, the Empire Air Mail Scheme (EAMS) was an ambitious and far-sighted plan to improve communications throughout the British Empire. The basic concept involved the removal of surcharges for sending mail by air around the Empire. The increased mail loads that would follow would finance the creation of a single fleet of new, modern, large flying boats to carry them. The Australian Government initially declined to participate since it relied on airmail surcharges to subsidise the domestic airlines and airways infrastructure. Furthermore, Australia believed that a landplane service would be superior and it was also opposed to ceding the operation of air services connecting Australia to the world to the British airline, Imperial Airways. Nevertheless, following a protracted period of negotiation Australia agreed to participate, with reduced surcharges…

Itahana’s comments reflected a widely held sentiment among Japanese aviators at Rabaul. Some ten months prior, two RAAF Catalinas launched from Port Moresby to bomb Rabaul in the early morning darkness. They were complemented by 14th Reconnaissance Squadron E-model Flying Fortresses to make this the first joint RAAF/US mission in the Pacific theatre. It was 23 February 1942 and was also the first Fortress mission in the South Pacific. Only one Catalina successfully groped its way through marginal weather to drop a dozen 250lb bombs over Vunakanau with unknown results. A handful of Fortresses got through too, while down below three new A6M2 ‘Zeros’, assigned to the Okamoto fighter detachment, were scrambled to join five antiquated A5M4 ‘Claude’ fighters already airborne. FPO1c Oshima Toru led wingmen FPO3c Ishikawa Kyogi and…

Australian air and ground personnel played a major role in the air effort of W.W.II, being based in all operational theatres from Europe to the Middle East and the Far East. An Australian squadron was in the UK from 1939 in the maritime role. The Sunderlands of 10 Squadron RAAF had a fantastic record of finding and attacking submarines, as well as the countless hours of patrols and convoy protection, but that is a story for another time. Seven RAAF squadrons eventually became part of Bomber Command. In addition to 10 Squadron, there were some 400 Australians serving in the RAF in 1939. By the end of 1943 there were more than 15,000 Australian airmen in the war against Germany and Italy, some in Australian squadrons, but many serving with…

The 46th Meeting Aerien ‘Le Temps des Hélices’ at La Ferté-Alais airfield, 48 kilometres south of Paris, was held on 19-20 May. A larger than usual contingent of W.W.I replicas attended, including six aircraft from the Great War Display team, to commemorate the 1918 centenary. Although the weather was fine, the crosswind prevented the Memorial Flight’s locally based Fokker D.VII and Sopwith 1½ Strutter from flying. The Flight’s original SPAD XIII did fly, however, and gave an excellent display before it was joined by an Armée de l’air Dassault Rafale for a fly-by. Perhaps the nicest aircraft on display, although not yet flying, was the Memorial Flight’s Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2f. A reproduction from original drawings, it will be powered by a 90hp (67kW) RAF 1a engine. The Flight has…

The inaugural Red Thunder airshow was held at Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield, in the Brisbane Valley, on 26-27 May. The event followed a week-long formation and flight clinic for the ‘Red Thunder’ team. While the weather was less than perfect, the show featured an amazing range of aircraft from Great War replicas to Golden Age classics and W.W.II fighters. Trainers in the form of an ex-RAAF Wirraway, Winjeel and CT-4, US Navy trainers like the SNJ, T-28 Trojans and T-34 Mentor, and an L-39 Albatros, also featured. Formation displays were a highlight and included the ‘Red Radials’ and ‘Russian Roolettes’ teams in their Yak-52s and Nanchangs. A fighter formation, involving Yak-3 ‘Steadfast’ leading a Yak-9 and P-51D Mustang, and the Temora Aviation Museum’s Spitfire Mk. XVI, fittingly closed the show…

The 30th Anniversary of the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow was held on the traditional Easter weekend in mostly perfect weather. The first show organised by Sir Tim Wallis and friends was Easter 1988 and has continued every two years since. Reaching its zenith in the late nineties, when the Alpine Fighter Group had a good collection of warbirds at the airport, it is now a much smaller spectacle warbird-wise, but still a great event held in a fantastic setting. The show opened each day with Sir Tim waving enthusiastically from the open door of a RNZAF NH90 helicopter as it flew along the crowd line. While a USAF F-16 Falcon was billed as this year’s highlight, the vintage star was the world’s only flying Avro Anson Mk.I. It was superbly…