Jim Pearce – Russian Warbirds

OK I stand to be corrected, just when you thought I knew it all! ( a tale he did not tell me)

Jim visited our works on the IOW on several occasions. His favourite tipple was tea with SIX sugars preferably made with Carnation condensed milk…my teeth still itch just to think of it!

Still in my memory is seeing him land turbine Thrush Commander G-SAAS into a very small field, then with the prop in reverse pitch, taxy the thing backwards.

Those were the days!

Chumpy, the author of that piece has now confirmed to me that it is one and the same Jim Pearce.

Thanks, chumpy. However if you read https://onlyvfr.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/down-into-davy-joness-locker/ all the circumstantial indications are that the pilot of G-BBHH and the South Downs based top dresser were one and the same. The author of that piece evidently has Shoreham connections and at its conclusion it is said that the Jim Pearce to whom it relates: ‘passed away on 26 July 2017 at the age of 87’ which, if my understanding is correct, is the same date and age as the Jim Pearce to whom this topic relates.

Had the pleasure of meeting Jim on several occasions, far as I know not the same J.P. re the G-BBHH incident.

However he had many a hairy tale to tell from his crop spraying days, along with flying his beloved EP9 Prospector, including a somewhat overloaded cargo of hippies to the 1970 IOW festival!

Cheers, Chumpy. 

Does any know whether this was the same Jim Pearce as had a miraculous escape from death by drowning when Cessna 177RG Cardinal G-BBHH ditched at sea off Dungeness on 12 October 1974?

Can anyone tell me where Jim Pearce operates from, please? Has he a website, or a company?

Jim Pearce soko Kraguj

Jim Pearce imported 2 soko Kragujs direct from the Yugoslavian airforce in airworthy condition(having been overhauled)and were registered G-BSXD, G-SOKO being issued with CAA permits to fly
G-BSXD is now airworthy,
G-SOKO is being worked on to return to airworthiness

Jim Pearce is a regular speaker at the Shoreham Airport Society’s meetings, with plenty of tales to tell, both of his recovery projects in Russia, and yes he has brought out a large number of airframes. He also has many tales of his time in the RAF in Aden, and of his career as a crop sprayer, both in US and in UK.

He restored most of the EP9 Prospectors during a time he was based at Ashford/Lympne.

He spoke to us about a month ago, and showed a few photos of some of his more recent recoveries – including the BofB veteran Bf109 shown on his website. He told me that the 109 is in very good condition, with most of the original metalwork in vgc under the paint, with only a few areas badly corroded, where the particular alloy used for specific parts did not survive.

He also had some very impressive photos of one of the P40 fuselages he has recovered. Indeed, many of todays’ “rebuilt” warbirds around the world have probably started from airframes in worse states than many of the airframes he has recovered.

And yes, the Fw189 is still under restoration, though Jim lost enthusiasm for the project for a while after the pilot who flew it on it’s last mission (Luthar Mothars ?spelling from memory) passed away recently.

Paul F

My records show 49 aircraft (& 1 Mircolight); of the following types.

3 LAC EP9 Prospoctors

Most of the above aircraft where recovered as wrecks. But if I have got it wrong I am open to correction.

I assume that these weren’t recovered from Russia but were the three from Middle Wallop?

All I want to know is, what kind of amazing connections does Mr. Pearce have to have single-handedly domintated the Russian warbird recovery/export scene? 😎 Surely there had to have been multiple parties over there making plays for this stuff.

Whatever the case, there’s certainly a fine hardback book somewhere just begging to be fattened with the facts and photos of it all IMO. Pack it full of the recovery details for each airframe, with specific and detailed service & combat histories for each, throw in the necessary profile art and jillions of photos, and you’ve got yourself an instant modern classic for the warbird shelf. 😀

Must be amazing to have all of that previously untapped history paraded right through one’s own private hangar.

Saving aviaton history…

Jim Pierce should be recognized as a real pioneer and has done an amazing job of saving aviation history. A nice guy on top of it.

IIRC, one Typhoon went to Russia for evaluation, apparently later scrapped. At one time I enquired specifically about Typhoons at the request of Dave R. No wrecks of the type have been found in Russia and won’t be according to those who do the recoveries.
It must be remembered Jim doesn’t recover the wrecks, he imports them afterwards.

Dave

Four Typhoons rescued from Russia?? What’s the story behind them? Did the Russians use Typhoons? Or were they RAF? Any info?

My records show 49 aircraft (& 1 Mircolight); of the following types.

1 Bell P-39
4 Curtiss P-40s (3xE 1xK & 1xN)
2 Focke-Wulf Fw189
2 Focke-Wulf Fw190 (1xA & 1xF)
7 Hawker Hurricanes
4 Hawker Typhoons
7 Ilyushin Il-2s
2 Junkers Ju87
1 Junkers Ju88
3 LAC EP9 Prospoctors
7 Messerschmitt Bf109s (3xE, 2xF & 1G)
3 Messerschmitt Bf110
1 Polikarpo Po-2
1 Pilatus P-2
2 Sako P-2 Krogujs
1 V.S. Spitfire

Most of the above aircraft where recovered as wrecks. But if I have got it wrong I am open to correction.

A guy here in CO named Gordon Page has recovered a bunch, some ME 109’s and a Hurricane if I recall…also has an ex-Dominican AF MUstang he is working on…www.warbirdrecovery.com

Mark

Is the Kingcobra on display on that page a ‘real’ one, it looks more genuine than the others :confused:

Park Pobed (Victory Park) in Moscow has a few non-airworthy Soviet Warbirds.

The last time I was there , I took the attached photo showing the remains of of a Ju-88…………..

The very latest addition is an Il-4 bomber – again not airworthy, but 90-ish % original…..

You can see the rest of the ‘warbirds’ by scrolling down to the bottom of :- http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/models_pages/mos2004_day04.html

Ken

So there’s a few then! 😉

A Bf109E-7 and Bf109G-2 mentioned here
http://www.adlertag.de/heute/restoration.htm

& the Bf109E-7 again

http://www.preservedaxisaircraft.com/Luftwaffe/messerschmitt/me109.htm

P40K mentioned here
http://www.pioneeraero.co.nz/p-40_serial_numbers.htm

Hurricanes here
http://www.hawker-restorations-ltd.co.uk/Media/Articles/8.html

http://www.jacksonharrison.co.uk/BoB2/HurricaneSociety/hurricane_list.htm

Others mentioned plus Bf109F here
http://www.luftwaffe-experten.co.uk/restore.html

I believe he recovered the three Bf110’s and two Stukas that briefly came to New Zealand, didn’t he? Perhaps the three Hurricanes that came with them too.