Warbird Digest (2025)

20/03/2025

City of Norwich Aviation Museum

From the end of the flying season to the start of the new one the following year, “Winter is time for visiting museums” and a time to catch up on the local museums that we have been meaning to visit and have simply just not had the time between the packed air-show summer season to do so.

One such museum we have managed to get to this winter is the ‘City of Norwich Aviation Museum’ situated alongside Norwich airport near the Horsham St Faith by the A140 Old Norwich Road which was formally known as RAF Horsham St Faith a military base that was operational from 1939 serving first as a RAF Bomber base with RAF Squadrons No’s.18,19,21,64,66,105,107,110,114 and 139 being based there at different times. In 1942 it became home to the USAAF as a Bomber and fighter base “Station 123” housing the 319th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 56th Fighter group and finally becoming the home of the 458th Bombardment Group (Heavy) until 1945. When it then reverting back to RAF Fighter Command with RAF Squadrons No’s.23,34,65,118,141,228,275,307,695 and finishing up as the base of the RAF Horsham Wing which comprised of No’s 74,245,257,263 Squadrons flying Gloster Meteors until 1963 when it deactivated and was then developed into Norwich City Airport.

The City of Norwich Aviation Museum is run by volunteers as a charitable trust, which was founded in 1977 to celebrate the rich aviation heritage of East Anglia, in 2016 part of the museum grounds and some aircraft had to be moved to make way for the new Norwich Northern Distributor Road where it is still situated today.

The Aircraft on display outside consist of

Avro Vulcan B.2, XM612, No.9 Squadron RAF.

XM612 was one of the reserve aircraft for Falklands Black Buck Mission.

Avro British Aerospace Avro RJ85 (BAE-146), EI-RJN, Cityjet / Aer Lingus.

Dassault MD-454 Mystere lVA , No.121,
served with Escadre de chasse 2/8 "Nice" Armee de l'air at BA 120 Cazaux.

English Electric / BAC Lightning F.53, ZF592 / 53-686, G-AWON, Royal Saudi Air Force.

Fokker F27-200 Friendship, G-BMHY, Air UK.

Gloster Meteor F.8, WK654, No.245 Sqd RAF Horsham St Faith.

Handley Page HPR-7 Dart Herald 211, G-ASKK, Air UK.

Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4N, XW268, Royal Navy 720-68-U, No.899 NAS RNAS Yeovilton.

Hawker Siddeley Ni**od MRA.2, XV255, Kinloss Maritime Reconnaissance Wing.

Hawker Hunter F.6A, XG172, as Hawker Hunter FR.Mk.10, XG168-10,No.229 Ocu / 79 Sqd RAF, RAF Chivenor.

Hawker Hunter Mk.51, E-409 Royal Danish AF,
finished as XE683 Hawker Hunter F.Mk.4 No.74(F) Sqd RAF, RAF Horsham St Faith.

Lockheed T-33A-1-LO Shooting Star 51-6718,
This aircraft served with Armee De L'Air, with 314 GE (Groupement Ecole, Group School)
Tours-Saint Syphorien AB, Armee De L"air.

Sepecat Jaguar GR.Mk.1, XX109GH, No.54(F) Sqd, RAF Coltishall.

Westland Whirlwind HAR.10, XP355, RAF Rescue, RAF No.22 Sdn.

Rapier FS-B (Field Standard-B) Anti-Aircraft Missile.

Cockpits on display

Fokker F27-600P, G-BCDN, Air UK (Fuselage only).

English Electric, Canberra B.15, WH984, (Cockpit), currently being repainted.

Blackburn Buccaneer S.1, XN967 (Cockpit).

entering service with 809 NAS at RNAS Lossiemouth in October 1963. 1965 transferred to 736 NAS.

Hawker Hunter F.6A, XE612, No.74 Squadron. RAF Horshan St Faith (Cockpit).

McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2, XV426 (Cockpit),
serving with various RAF squadrons, including 31 Squadron, 111 Squadron, and 228 OCU.

Sepecat Jaguar GR.1A, XX830 (Cockpit), spent most of service history as a test aircraft.

Sepecat Jaguar T.2A, XZ375 'The Avid Guardian (Cockpit)
served with No.20 Squadron, No. 14 Squadron, By 1986 XZ375 was based at RAF Coltishall with 54(F) Squadron.

With a fabulous indoor collection of from a number of RAF and USAAF stations. Also on display are various recovered artifacts from crash sites,

Cockpits and engines on display.

Liberator B-24 Gun Turrett
Engine Row
Browning Machine Gun Alley
Hawker Hurricane N2592
De Havilland MosquitoNS998
Luftwaffe Ju88 & Do 217
Hawker Hurricane L1654
Vickers Wellington V5384
hawker Hurricane P3162
Bristol Blenheim V5384
Stirling BF386
Liberator FL950
North American P-51 Mustang Tunstead Mustang)

museum

24/02/2025

Spitfire Mk.1a P9836 QV-K as flown by Sqd/Ldr Brian ‘Sandy’ Lane

Imperial War Museum Duxford Monday 24th February 2025 saw Arco’s 2-seat Supermarine (Vickers Armstrong) Spitfire Tr.9 (L.F.lXe), PT462 / G-CTiX make it’s first appearance and passenger flight masquerading as Spitfire Mk.1a P9836 QV-K, as flown by Sqd/Ldr Brian ‘Sandy’ Lane, the Officer Commanding No.19 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Duxford during the Battle of Britain in early September 1940.

It is in this scheme to honour the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and No.19 Squadron’s and Duxford’s part in the epic battle that took place in the skies of 1940 over the south of England. It is also fitting that it is also the 80th Anniversary of the “Victory in Europe“ in 1945, and a salute to all the surviving veterans that served in World War Two.

Aerial Collective

02/02/2025

F4U-7 Corsair rebuild transferred to Midwest Aero Restorations for completion

John O’Connor’s Vought F4U-7 Corsair, BuNo. 133710, which had suffered substantial damage during a failed take-off on May 19, 2019 at the Jerome County Airport (KJER), in Jerome, Idaho, is now with Midwest Aero Restorations, of Danville, Illinois for completion of its rebuild to flight. The accident saw the airframe substantially damaged, structurally, throughout the airframe. While it had been hoped by many enthusiasts when first reported that it would be repaired and flying again in short order, those with knowledge of what goes into repairing such damage knew better, and a protracted process of rebuilding the aircraft was underway not long afterwards.

This particular Corsair, the 58th -7 of a total of 94 produced for the French Aeronavale, first flew in 1952. Unlike most of today’s surviving Corsairs, there is a very good possibility that this airframe mat have seen combat. Though records are scarce, it is thought that 133710 took part in the Algerian War, which took place from 1955-62, as well as during the Suez Crisis, which took place during the Second Arab-Israeli War of 1956 (Operation Mousquetaire). If so, it would have worn the colorful Anglo-French yellow and black recognition bands worn by the French and British aircraft taking part, very similar to those applied to allied aircraft in order to similarly identify them during D-Day, the allied invasion of Northern France in June, 1944.

The French retired their Corsairs in 1964, and by that time, 133710 had already been deemed surplus and was in storage. Thankfully it survived to go to Quantico, Virginia and was restored as a static exhibit for the Marine Corps Aviation Museum. Eventually, it was traded to Dean Ortner, of Wakeman, Ohio for an earlier, and more representative of Corsairs flown by the Marines during World War Two Goodyear FG-1D, and was first placed on the U.S. Registry as N33714 in 1971. Along with several others, our subject Corsair, now under the ownership of John Schaffhausen, of Hayden Lake, Idaho became one of the “stars” of the 1970s television series “Baa, Baa Black Sheep.” This series, which aired from September 1976 through April 1978 portrayed the (much fictionalized) exploits the famed VMF-214 “Black Sheep” Squadron led by Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
A number of further ownership changes followed, one of which saw it on the Canadian Civil Registry as C-GWFU with Blain Fowler, of Camrose, Alberta, with whom the Corsair had the name “Alberta Blue” applied. It was back in the U.S. as N811AP with Phil Rogers of Manassas, Virginia by 2004, and it was from Rogers that O’Connor acquired it in 2015. The full history of this Corsair can be found in issue #80 of Warbird Digest magazine (Sept-Oct 2018) in the article “Sheeps Clothing,” written by Stephen Chapis. (www.warbirddigest.com)

In order to try and speed-up what was already going to be a very long and involved rebuilding process, once disassembled at John Lane’s Airpower Unlimited facility in Jerome, the decision was made to farm-out the damaged components to various restoration shops across the country, all which have had past experience with Corsair rebuilds. The tailcone went to Odegaard Wings Inc., in Kindred, North Dakota, while Ezell Aviation, of Breckenridge, Texas received the forward fuselage and center wing structure. The damaged wings were kept at the Airpower Inc. facility in Jerome for re-working. The Corsair’s P&W R-2800 engine is with Anderson Aeromotive, of Grangeville, Idaho, and has required a complete teardown due the sudden-stoppage that occurred. A replacement propeller assembly has been sourced, as have a set of ailerons and other items required to complete the job.

All of the major components are now with Midwest Aero, and while the brunt of the structural work has been completed, much further work, structural and otherwise remains to be done before the aircraft takes flight again. During our last visit, some wing skins were being riveted in place, while damage to the wheel wells and wing fold areas were also being addressed. At this point, while moving further on the rebuilding and repairing of the airframe, things are still very much in the stage of assessing what remains to be done, and formulating a plan-of-attack to complete the aircraft. With this in mind, no timeframe has been offered for the as-yet projected completion and return tom flight.

Owner John O’Connor is leaning towards putting the repaired aircraft back in to the Light Gull Gray & Insignia White scheme of the AU-1 (a dedicated ground-attack variant of the Corsair used by the U.S. Marines and the French Aeronavale) BuNo. 129378, as flown by World War Two Marine Corps ace Lt. Col. John J. Bolt, while based at Quantico, Virginia in 1957 that it wore at the time of the accident. The opportunity will be taken to apply the scheme more accurately than it had been previously. While many enthusiasts might want to see it painted in the French Aeronavale scheme it wore while in active service (All 94 of the entire production run of the -7 Corsairs, the last of the type to be produced, went to the French Aeronavale), the eye-catching Gray & white scheme proved popular with airshow crowds and devotes of Vaught’s vaunted bent-wing bird alike. No doubt it will be warmly welcomed once it makes its return.

Text by James Church

29/01/2025

Hawker Tempest II MW763 (ex-HA586 of the Indian Air Force) and finished in the scheme of PR533 5R-V No.33 Squadron RAF based at Kuala Lumpur Malaya, took to the skies today, Wednesday 29th of January, for the third or fourth time (as far as we are aware) at the IWM’s Duxford Airfield for a short test flight after a successful ground run before returning and going back in Hangar 2 North.

Owned by Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd and serviced by Air Leasing, it is believed that the Hawker Tempest when it is finished with testing will return to Sywell Airfield in the near future.

# Hawker Tempest
Aviation Engineering
# Air Leasing

09/01/2025

If you own or operate a warbird, come join us in at Leeward Air Ranch in central Florida for our second annual Leeward Warbird Roundup. This year it is a two day event.

Reminder: This event is for warbird operators only. This is event is not open to the general public. There is no vehicle access and no available parking for transient non-warbird aircraft. Last year we had over 90 warbirds arrive..so space is at a premium...especially with some of the larger aircraft attending in 2025.

www.leewardwarbirdroundup.com

09/01/2025

The first flight of the Avro Lancaster took place on January 9, 1941.

The Avro Lancaster went on to be the foremost iconic British heavy bomber of World War Two. The aircraft served in many rolls, from strategic bombing to specialised rolls with adapted airframes carrying a wide variety of bomb loads ranging from the standard mixed load of up 14,000 lbs to the Grand Slam-a massive earthquake bomb of 22,000 lbs designed to pe*****te concrete such as U-Boat pens, viaducts and railway tunnels and detonate below the surface causing an earthquake effect.

The Avro Lancaster was a development from the earlier Avro Manchester which was a less than successful twin-engine bomber that lacked both range and payload. The redesign that became the Lancaster called for a simple design that both increased the range up to 2,530 miles with a ceiling of 21,400 feet and a large payload-normally of 14,000 lbs-with this being achieved by having a very large bomb bay at 33 feet in length and with later developments allowing 22,000lbs to be carried by specialised versions (Grand Slam).

All this added up to an empty weight of 36,900 lbs and a gross weight of 55,000 lbs, with a maximum take off weight of 68,000 lbs. To carry this load over the distance required to bomb Germany the Lancaster was powered by four 1,280 hp Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engines. With impressive performance and excellent flying characteristics, arguably it soon proved its superiority over the other four engine bombers operating in the European skies.

The total number of Lancaster's built was 7,377; 6947 in the UK by A.V. Roe, Armstrong Whitworth, Austin Motors, Metropolitan-Vickers, Vickers Armstrong, and a further 430 were built in Canada by Victory Aircraft, Ltd., in Malton, Ontario, these being fitted with Packard-built V-12 Merlin engines. With the Lancaster being at the front of the aerial bombing campaign in Europe from 1941 to 1945, a total of 3,249 were lost to enemy action and 487 in ground accidents.

The Lancaster had a crew of seven comprising of pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer/nose gunner (2 x .303-inch Browning mg), wireless operator, mid-upper (2 x .303-inch Browning mg), and rear gunners (4 x .303-inch Browning mg).

The bomb load of a Lancaster varied depending on the type of operations it was engaged on:

22,000 lb Grand Slam (Medium Capacity)
12,000 lb Tall Boy (Medium Capacity)
12,000 lb (High Capacity)
9.250 lb (Upkeep Mine) (Dam Busting Bouncing bomb)
8,000 lb (High Capacity)
5,000 lb (Armour Piercing Capital ship bomb)
4,000 lb (High Capacity Cookie)
2,000 lb (High Capacity)
1,000 lb (Medium Capacity)
1,000 lb (General Purpose)
500lb lb (Medium Capacity)
40 lb (General Purpose)
Incendiary Bombs
Note: High capacity bombs have a very thin skin, allowing more explosives. The 12,000lb HC and 8,000 HC bombs were basically 4,000 lb HC Cookies with extra centre sections bolted together.

Some of the most famous operations that the Lancaster took place in include Operation Chastise (Ruhr Dam Buster Raid), Operation Catechism (Sinking the Tirpitz), Operation Margin (also called Augsburg Raid on the MAN U-Boat factory), Battle of the Ruhr, Battle of Berlin, Kembs Barrage, among others.
And perhaps the most interesting was Operation Manna, just before the end of World War Two, when 7,000 tonnes of food was dropped into the still German-occupied West Netherlands in support of the desperate Dutch residents who were desperately lacking basic supplies. It was estimated that 200,000 people had died and 980,000 suffered from malnourishment, perhaps the very first airborne humanitarian aid operation in history.

A large number of Lancaster aircrews were highly decorated, with ten receiving the Victoria Cross Britain’s highest military award.
These included the actions of Sqd/Ldr Ian W. Bazalgette (Canadian), W/Cmdr Guy Gibson (British), W/O Norman C. Jackson (British), P/O Andrew Mynarski (Canadian), Sqd/Ldr John D. Nettleton (South African), Sqd/Ldr Robert A M. Palmer (British), Flt/Lt Willian Reid (Scottish), Flt/Sgt George Thompson (Scottish), Grp/Capt Leonard Cheshire (British), Capt (acting Maj0) Edwin Swales South African)
The legacy of the Lancaster was its resilience and ability to deliver heavy bomb loads, which earned it the reputation as one of the most successful heavy bombers of World War Two. After the war, the Lancaster went on to serve in the RAF in various roles before retiring from active service in the 1950s, while also serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force until the late 1950s; the French Aeronavale until the mid 1960s. The Argentine Air force also operated a number of Lancasters.

There are only 17 Lancasters surviving, with two airworthy. Other, partially intact Lancasters are known to exist in museums. In this post we feature 9 of them.

Airworthy Lancasters
Avro 683 Lancaster B.1, PA474, VN-T, “City Of Lincoln”, 50 Sqn RAF(Starboard side), AR-L "Leader", 460Sqn RAAF (Port side),BBMF, RAF Station Coningsby, (BBMF)

Avro 683 Lancaster B Mk.X, Mk.X(MR),FM213, C-GVRA, flies as KB726, V-RA, No. 419 (Moose) Sqdn, RCAF.P.O Andrew Mynarski, Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Taxable in Museum
Avro Lancaster B.Mk.Vll, No. NX611 (Port) LE-H “Just Jane”, No.630 Squadron, No.5 Group, RAF East Kirkby, (starboard) ED989 DX-F “City of Sheffield” No.57 Squadron No.5 Group, RAF Scampton and East Kirkby (Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre)

Static in Museums still Intact
Avro-Victory Aircraft Canada Lancaster Mk.X KB889, NA-I, No.428 (Ghost) Squadron RCAF, RAF Middleton St George (IWM Duxford)

Avro 683 (Metropolitan- Vickers) Lancaster RS868, S-Sugar, No.467 Squadron RAAF (RAF), RAF Waddington, (RAF Museum Hendon)

Avro 683 Lancaster B Mk.X, Mk.X KB944 in the livery of KB760 NA-P "Winnie" "The Lover" No.428 (Ghost) Squadron RCAF, RAF Middleton St George, (Canada Aviation and Space Museum)

Static Cockpit/Forward Fuselages in Museums
Avro 683 (Metropolitan- Vickers) Lancaster DV372 PO-F Cockpit/Nose Section “Old Fred”, No.467 Squadron RAAF Bottesford (IWM Lambeth and Duxford Conservation)

Avro 683 Lancaster B.1 TW911, Cockpit/Nose Section (Flying Heritage Collection - Seattle)

Avro 683 Lancaster B Mk.X, KB848 Cockpit/Nose Section, (Canada Aviation and Space Museum)

Lancaster
Bomber

30/12/2024

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 turns 77!

Originally designed to counter the threat of nuclear-armed bombers, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, Nato Code Name F***t, first flew on December 30, 1947. It was the first successful swept-wing aircraft to go into production in Russia, and while designed to attack and down lumbering bombers, it caused quite a rude awakening when NATO pilots first encountered them in dogfights in the skies over Korea in 1950. In response, the F-86A Sabre was quickly deployed to combat them, initially under Project Stovepipe. However, along with the straight-wing aircraft employed by NATO forces at the time, even these new swept-wing Sabres were having a difficult time dealing with them. It wasn’t until later model Sabres, incorporating the “all flying tail” adjustable incidence elevators and redesigned wings made them more maneuverable in all speed regimes and finally able to better the MiGs flown by North Korean-Korean People’s Army Air Force (KPAAF), Chinese-People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and Russian pilots in aerial combat over what became known as “MiG Alley.”

The aircraft was nearly capable of trans-sonic flight: Mach 0.98 had been achieved in a full-power dive by Chuck Yeager in one graciously provided by a defector. 21 year old No Kum-sok of the KPAAF had departed from Sunan, near Pyonyang in a MiG-15bis and headed directly South, landing at Kimpo Airbase in South Korea on September 21, 1953. Though unaware of it at the time, a reward had been offered under Project Moolah to the first pilot to defect and provide an intact MiG-15 for study by United States Air Force (USAF) technical personnel. As a result, Kum-sok was given $100,000.00 for his efforts, and he became a U.S. citizen. The captive MiG provided much-needed technical information on its construction and capabilities. It was taken to Okinawa, Japan flown extensively by test pilots Capt. H.E. “Tom” Collins and Maj. C.E. “Chuck” Yeager in order to better learn its secrets. It was later sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio for further evaluation. Though it was eventually offered back to its previous owners, they declined. This MiG-15 remains in Dayton to this day, and it is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in the Korean war gallery.

It was discovered that the aircraft incorporated a number of novel innovative features for the time, including pressurization and an ejection seat for the pilot. Perhaps its most salient feature, however, was its engine, which came from a British design. Even though great strides had been made, jet engine technology was still very much in its infancy at the time. In order to bring a reliable Turbojet engine into production, the foreign aid was sought, and the British Government of the time was only too happy to oblige, providing manufacturing rights for the Rolls Royce Nene. This in turn became the Klimov RD-45, and gave the Russians a windfall of technical details, metallurgy and manufacturing techniques. This then provided the springboard of their turbojet production for years to come, giving them an edge in that regard that in hindsight could now be considered a major mistake by an allied power bent on improving post-war relations with, and appeasing Stalin. Using the technology obtained from the British, the MiG-15 was capable of achieving speeds upwards of Mach 0.92

Offensive armament was in the form of two 23mm and one 37mm autocannons originally intended to knock down heavy bombers, which were not ideal for air-to-air combat against the contemporary fighter aircraft it would mainly find itself dealing with As such, MiG-15 pilots found themselves on the losing side of an 8:1 kill ratio which favored the NATO Sabre pilots. A number of USAF B-29s fell to MiG-15s as well. MiG-15s were used in a number of other conflicts. Including the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956, The Taiwan Straits Crisis of the late 1950s, along with a host of other wars and skirmishes in the Middle East, over the jungles of Africa and elsewhere.

An improved variant, the MiG-15bis went in to production in 1950, powered by the upgraded Klimov VK-1 engine, provisions for underwing stores including rockets and/or bombs, and having the two 23mm cannons mounted closer together in an effort to better concentrate their firepower. A fully dual-control version was also put in to production as the MiG-15UTI. There were a host of other sub-variants built to suit various needs of their operators with different equipment and armament fits including photo-reconnaissance, radar-equipped all-weather interceptors remotely-controlled and un-maned aerial targets, and numerous other versions. MiG-15s were widely produced by a number of Soviet-Block countries, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. Total production of all variants produced is estimated to be just over 17,500 units, though the exact number is not known. One other notable event attributed to the aircraft occurred when Soviet Kosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, the first man in space along with co-pilot Vladmir Seryogin were killed in the crash of a MiG-15UTI while reportedly flying in bad weather conditions in Novoseovo, Russia on March 27, 1968. Many examples are displayed in museums around the globe, and a handful are currently maintained in airworthy condition with private owners.

text by James Church

18/12/2024

“Scramble! The Summer of 1940”

The annual winter exhibition in the Conservation Hall at the Imperial War Museum, RAF Duxford for 2024 – 2025 is titled “Scramble! The Summer of 1940” and will be taking place from December 27th, 2024, till February 23rd, 2025, telling the story of the early years of World War Two, using types of aircraft that would have seen in action during the Battle for France through Dunkirk untill the Battle of Britain:

Battle of France the Curtiss Hawk 75, the Hawker Hurricane.
Dunkirk the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I, the Hawker Hurricane.
The Battle of Britain, the Spitfire Mk.I, the Hawker Hurricane, the Bristol Blenheim.
And covering all three the Messerschmitt Bf109, here represented by a Hispano Buchon C.4K Yellow 10+ , (which was one of the stars of the film ‘Battle of Britain’.)
The featured aircraft are:-

Curtiss H-75A-1 Hawk, X-881, 8, Armee de l'Air, 1ere Escadrille GC (Groupe de Chase) 11/5

Bristol (Bolingbroke) Blenheim Mk.If, L6739, YP-Q, 23 Squadron RAF, Luton, (Night fighter)

Hawker Hurricane (Gloster Aircraft Co) Hurricane Mk.I, P2902, Pilot Officer (later Sdn Leader Kenneth McGlashan AFC), No 245 Squadron, RAF

Hawker Hurricane (Gloster Aircraft Co) Hurricane Mk.I, R4118, UP-W, P/O Bob Foster, No605 (County of Warwick) Sqd, RAF

Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk.Ia, X4650, KL-A, Fl/Sgt Charles H Howard, No 54 Squadron RAF Catterick

Supermarine 1 Spitfire F.Mk.Zia, N3200, QV, Sqd/L Geoffrey Stephenson, No19 Squadron, RAF Duxford

Messerschmitt (Hispano) HA-1112-M1L Buchon, C.4K-102 Yellow 10+

The exhibition will be well worth a visit and look out for further exciting announcements from tie IWM team on possible added attractions to take place during the exhibition.

17/12/2024

“The aircraft that revolutionized air travel”

December 17th marks the 89th anniversary of the first flight of the Douglas DC-3. Dakota, Skytrain, Skytrooper, C-47, C-53, C-49…so many names and nomenclatures have been assigned to it through the years by various operators, but all are derivatives of the ubiquitous DC-3 in one form or another. Derived from the DC-1 and DC-2, the aircraft would gain legendary status, in many, many roles, and in every corner of the world. It is rightfully considered as one of the most important aircraft designs ever produced.

Entering service as an airliner, it revolutionized passenger travel. In military use, it delivered the supplies and ammunition to the front lines, and dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines in many of the most epic battles of World War Two. It also towed glider-borne troops into combat, and in later years, was fitted with offensive armament in order to do battle as the AC-47 during the Vietnam conflict. Operating with U.N. and other organizations, it was equally responsible for easing the pain of those caught up in war zones, delivering peacekeepers and much-needed relief supplies.

The DC-3 continues to this day serving as a workhorse, still earning its keep as a cargo hauler in many remote parts of the world. Several companies, of the belief that “the only replacement for a DC-3, is a DC-3,” have developed turboprop conversions which are much sought after by military air arms and civilian operators alike….89 years after the first one came off the Santa Monica production line!

Thankfully, a large number are to be found in museums, while a great number are operated by museums and private individuals who often display them at airshows and other events. It is sobering to think that 2025 will mark the 90th anniversary of this amazing aircraft’s first flight. There is no-doubt many will still be flying when it reaches its 100th.

Text by James Church

06/12/2024

“A date which will live in infamy.”

Today marks the 83rd anniversary on the attack carried out on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) on this fateful day in 1941. 2,403 American service personnel and civilians were killed, while another 1,178 were injured. On the following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his "Day of Infamy Speech" to a joint session of Congress. In the speech, Roosevelt called the attack "a date which will live in infamy". The speech was broadcast live on the radio and was heard by over 81% of adult Americans. Also on that day, Congress approved President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s request for a declaration of war on Japan with only one dissenting vote against the motion. The final vote was 82-0 in the Senate, and 388-1 in the House. As of 12:30PM EST on December 8, 1941, America was officially at with Empire of Japan.

Numerous ships of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet were sunk, or badly damaged and out of action. Upwards of 188 aircraft were destroyed in the devastating attack which took place in the early hours of the morning, catching the Americans completely by surprise, as IJN Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who conceived and planned the attack, had hoped it would. A number of Japanese victories in the Pacific would follow, before the U.S. were finally able to turn the tide at the decisive Battle of Midway the following year, which severally handicapped Japan’s means of waging war on a vast scale. Continued U.S. victories saw the war closing in on the Japanese home islands in 1945, and a final coup de grace being delivered by the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused Emperor Hirohito of Japan to finally concede defeat, on August 15, 1945, after five long, bloody years of battle.

In our tribute to this “day of infamy,” Warbird Digest presents here a selection of images of aircraft types which took part in, or were present at Pearl Harbor during the attack, including several that were actually there on that terrible day and have survived.

Warbird Digest

20/03/2025

24/02/2025

02/02/2025

29/01/2025

09/01/2025

09/01/2025

30/12/2024

18/12/2024

17/12/2024

06/12/2024

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