Thanx much guys. Went to Mr Teichman’s (sorry for misspelling him earlier!) website, that’s a splendid collection coming together there. Wonder whether the ’51 might reassume Tuskegee marks someday? (Handsome though the “Jumpin’ Jacques” livery is. There used to be a Mustang over here in the same scheme BTW, but painted silver rather than polished. I forget who the owner was.)

Oddly enough the profile for Mr Teichman’s P-51 on the mustangsmustangs site also shows her as a combat vet…but with a 9th AF unit, and even including the code “5E:B”. Maybe she went first to the UK/France, thence to Italy? Mustang histories can make one’s head spin, eh…

S.

Hi–

The Fort in “The Tuskegee Airmen” is Lone Star’s “Thunder Bird” with some of her markings covered over.

The ’51s included Steve Seghetti’s “Sparky”, again refinished for the role.

As WWII TV-flix go, HBO’s take on the Tuskegee saga is indeed quite decent…but I’d still like to see the long-mooted George Lucas theatrical version…

S.

Troy–

Haven’t got pix of Digby seats, but if it helps, the Digby was the Commonwealth version of the Douglas B-18A, and there’s a B-18A at the National Museum of the USAF at Dayton…someone there could probably do that comparison for you. (I do have one copy print of a Digby but it’s a ramp shot of the exterior and distant at that)…

S.

This thread reminds me that we had a Varsity locally for a short while in the late seventies. Turned up out of the blue on the ramp outside CWH’s hangar at Mt.Hope, stayed around for a month or three then disappeared. Apparently it ended up bellying-in in the southwestern States and was then cobbled-up for static display. (When it was at CWH I recall it being referred to as a Valletta, but in retrospect, as it had tricycle gear, it was a Varsity). I remember the general appearance of it very well–grey lowers, red cheatline, white top and RAF roundels–but unfortunately did not record the serial.

S.

Hi–

Seconding the recommendations for the two Canadian books mentioned; the Dempsey one only touches on the Banshee via the RCN’s Grey Ghosts but is a great look at the whole history of Canadian military demo flying, while the Mills one has as much RCN Banshee lore as one could hope for…and even boasts a few Sea Fury pix into the bargain. A couple of Leo Pettipas’ books on RCN aviation have Banshee sections too (some of those are still available via the Shearwater museum).

The Banshee-esque airframe seen in the NASM photo is the F2H’s predecessor, the FH-1 Phantom. NASM also hold an early Banshee, which last I checked was on loan to the National Warplane Museum at Big Flats, New York, near Elmira.

Three RCN Banshees survive, one each at Shearwater, Nova Scotia; Rockcliffe (Ottawa), Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta. All are in good condition (the CAvM one being especially nice) and on indoor static display. The Calgary one was the RCN’s last fighter, retired circa 1962 with the name “The Last Punch”; she survived as an instructional airframe at a tech school in Calgary, long enough to join the collection at RCNVR station Tecumseh.

Not sure how many USN/USMC Banshees are left, but 20-odd years ago the Marine Corps museum at Quantico had two in outdoor storage, an F2H-2 and an F2H-3. Classy machine. Be nice to see one fly again someday…

S.

Scotavia–

You probably mean the Hurricane that now belongs to Ed Russell, not too far from here at Niagara South…that one was restored for David Price in California, apparently the green and brown are authentic, but yeah, they do look different from the “norm” somehow. CWH’s Lancaster seems to wear similar shades as well. My view is that even if a slight mistake’s been made, paint’s only paint…but a flying Hurricane in Ontario is a sight for sore eyes…

Cheers

S.

Yee-haw!

Furies first and second in both main events…and the Gold champ is ex-RCN, too. Most cool…

Niggling correction about the Odegaard F2G: she won the Tinnerman and finished third in the Thompson in ’49, not the other way round. (Cook Cleland won the ’49 Thompson in another F2G, the late lamented Race 94).

Great pix too. Love the “brass prop” shot of the Griffon Mustang…

S.

Hi–

If this 748 is ferriable…how about the Science Museum airliner fleet at Wroughton? Surely a 748 would be a good fit there.

I didn’t realize this very successful British design was unrepresented in any UK museum. That’s unfortunate. The 748 is well-regarded over here in Canada also, having served well as the proverbial “DC-3 replacement” with a number of short-haul/bush operators. Yet, now that you mention it, I don’t think one is preserved here either. Some are still around–and some still operate–but none is in a museum collection iirc…Hm!

S.