German Vega Gull

Vega Gull

Thanks Newforest, I’m in touch with Tango Charlie direct and have all the details.

Hi Tom,

As for the date it became a Luftwaffe aircraft: certainly past May 5th, 1941. That day two Dutch pilots stole a Fokker G.I from Schiphol, and flew it to England. This prompted the Germans to confiscate all stored private aircraft (including PH-ATH) to prevent them from being flown to England as well. The CoA lapsing was purely a paperwork issue: the aircraft had been stored since before the German invasion of The Netherlands on 10May1941…

Incidently, if you want to know more on the Dutch Beuteflugzeuge, I suggest you contact Herman Dekker via www.hdekker.info. He has the biggest archive on Dutch civilian aircraft anywhere… And he may be very interested in the information you have on former Dutch aircraft…

Eric

German Vega Gull

Hi Eric

Your thread has interests for me in Beuteflugzeug Reasearch. This aircraft must have been assigned to the Luftwaffe as it received a Stammkennzeichen code (Radio-Call-Letters) of KE+CW. I do not know which unit this was assigned to but it confirms the dateline of early to mid 1941 in conjunction with its cancellation of CoA of March 1941.
Incidently, the German Civil Registration of D-IXWD is only a temporary ferry registration for its flight to Sweden. Not many ex-Beute aircraft have survived to the present day. As far as I can remember this is one of two only. A very rare aircraft indeed!

Regards

Tom Willis

The owners name would seem to be mentioned here.

http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a32.shtml

TC – How do I view the project details please?

What a fanatastic project and whats stopping me well its easy… $30,000 OBO
I shall have an extra go on the lottery tonight

Ken

Vega Restoration Project

I have been sent details of a rebuild project available down under!
This is an exciting ultra rare project with the only other one of around 90 Vega Gulls all constructed pre WW2 G-AEZJ airworthy and flying in the UK. It must be kept in mind that it is a full rebuild. The Vega Gull was way ahead of its time. Its speed, range, short take off / landing capabilities and payload is remarkable even by todays standards.

K98 is particularly very “Australian:” connected. She was ordered new by Lord Casey directly from Percival ( both famous Australians) and flew Casey’s family regularly between Melbourne and Canberra. Her original colours were an overall pale primrose yellow with dark blue registration letters, she would have looked stunning all enhanced with polished windscreen frame and cabin door framework!! Her name was “Corio Gull” named after Casey’s federal seat of Corio. She served the entire WWII along with another Vega Gull in the RAAF.
And later as an air taxi in NSW to her end around 1959 at Mudgee.

There were four Vega Gulls to come to Australia. Of the 90 built most suffered the effects of WWII and not many survived.
Like all wooden Aeroplanes built from the thirty’s through to the fifties hardly any survived the sixties. Most were burnt or scrapped.
Fortunately Vega Gull K98 was saved and the vendor has collected virtually every part required to make this a viable restoration project to airworthy status.

Wood work is easy and fun just a methodical step by step process using modern epoxy glue. These aeroplanes were originally built by cabinet makers and carpenter’s.

Included for interested parties is a comprehensive inventory of the project, two photo’s when she was new at Canberra, a Vega Gull factory brochure, and to show you what can be done, a photo of a small PROCTOR fuselage under construction in England (one of our three aircraft G-AKEX). The vendor has much more information and photos’ of K98 available
This is one of the most exciting projects there is and it would be great to see it restored to flying condition better still back in the land of her birth!

The price is $30,000 OBO and she is located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. As an aside we were able to purchase 90% of the original Percival drawings for Proctors at the commencement of our projects drawings also include the Vega Gull. So whats stopping you !!! I hope she is saved and returned home and much as we would love to take her on years are against us and with our three adding a fourth classic wooden Percival at Great Oakley would be the straw that broke the Camels back!!!!

Many thanks for the detailed info Eric, I’ll update our thread on captured Vega Gulls to include your comments 🙂

Incidentally, are there any images of Vega Gulls in German/Luftwaffe service? Without wishing to hijack this thread, we have a second example listed:

Coded 5F+OK, DP+OI Used by Aufkl.Gr.(H)14 (later DP+OI, later D-IWSR) it went to Sweden in 1942 as SE-ALZ and crashed during Aug.45.

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

I have different data. PH-ATH was imported from the UK (where it flew as G-AEZJ, certainly not AEJZ) in 1938. It is quoted as c/n (not registration!) K.65 in official files.

It was issued CoA number 315 as PH-ATH on 28Mar1938, in name of Tj. Bendien, who lived in Almelo, near the German border. He operated it from Twenthe airfield (still existing) from 1938 up to the German occupation of The Netherlands. Private flying became restricted in The Netherlands following the German invasion of Poland (and subsequently the outbreak of World War II). The aircraft was stored at a private off-airport location by 10May1940 when German forces invaded The Netherlands. The owner was allowed to retain his aircraft dismantled, provided it had been registered by German authorities (whereabouts, etc). After a daring escape with a Fokker G.I in mid 1941, the German forces impounded all civilian private aircraft (including PH-ATH). Most were broken up for parts (being not very servicable, or very modern/current technology). PH-ATH however was deemed useful and impressed into German service. Its CoA lapsed on 28Mar1941, incidently. Data from Herman Dekker’s research.

It became D-IXWD (though I am not certain if that was Luftwaffe marks, I would say civilian, but for military use). Subsequently SE-ALA in circa 1942, then back to the British register post-war. Lovely aircraft!

This is all we currently have over on the LEMB with regards this example:

Netherlands as PH-ATH, K65, X1085 it received the German code D-IXWD it was seized during 1941, it went to Sweden in 1942 as SE-ALA and is still flying today as G-AEZJ.

I’ll see if our membership can add anything else…

Cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator