Ki-43

This is what it’s all about, folks . . .
(Wish I had your library though, Mike J, you’d better count your books after my next stay!)

By January 1988 Singapore had received all four of its E2C Hawkeyes (same source, page 3)

The first one is a Republic F-84 Thunderjet

The Red Lion, Whittlesford

I hope you toast “Absent friends”; even though I haven’t met most of you, I count all of those I meet on this Forum as my friends.
The very best of luck to you James, I haven’t forgotten about the CD from Canada, but I am still working on the captions before I send it, hopefully before you depart in December!
Peter
PS Where’s the bench? I’ve never seen it!

Stieglitz is away but has asked me to thank all of you for your pictures of this Museum, that he has never visited (but I expect intends to at the earliest opportunity!)

SM-8, the one with the chimney

Part of the picture caption: “I am surprised to see the biggest plane of the world finally in his totality.”
Is it going to fly without engines, then? That must make it the biggest glider ever! It would take more than a Halifax tow to get that off the ground!

Ex-firebomber Mitchell

Here’s one at least that served as a fire bomber:
North American B-25J Mitchell 44-28938 Old Glory, c/n 108-33263, built at North American’s Fairfax Plant in Kansas City, registered N7946C and owned by the Commemorative Air Force, owned by John Ward and based at Stockton, California.
History: Assigned to 12th AF/57th BW/310th BG, based in Mediterranean. Returned to United States in July 1945, converted to TB-25N.
BOC: Aug. 1944., SOC: 1958. Sold for $2,018.50 to P.J. Murray, Oxnard, CA, Jan. 18, 1958, registered as N7946C. Wenatchee Air Service Inc, Wenatchee, WA, 1963. Converted into firebomber with 1,200 gallon tank in bomb bay. Red Dodge Aviation Inc, Anchorage, AK, 1969-1972. Flew as tanker #4. John L. Dewey, El Segundo, CA, June 1975. Ressell deFrancesco & John Cahill, Cardiff, CA, July 1975. Yolanda Rodriguez, Tucson, AZ, Apr. 1977-1978. Restored to military configuration. Max Power Inc, Carlsbad, CA, Oct. 1978. James D. Ricketts/Aero Nostalgia Inc, Stockton, CA, 1982-1993. Flew as 428938/9C/Dream Lover, damaged in forced landing accident, near Reno, NV, 1987. Trucked to Stockton, 1987 and stored dismantled. World Jet Inc, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Dec. 1993. Russ & Don Newman/Old Glory Inc, Tulsa OK, 1993-2002. Delivered by road, underwent 18,000 hour restoration. First flight Sept 16, 1995, flown as “Old Glory”.