Avro Lancaster

[browningautorifle]

We had two sitting at our Nanaimo airport for years as old water bombers. They both disappeared and one re-appeared at Victoria...I didn't see it but I doubt they drove them. Don't know where the other went. It'll probably re-appear at the airshows in original colors.

[Vincent]

I read in my National newspaper that an 'original and unrestored' Mk9 spitfire, last used in 1969 has been found in a barn in Texas. Anyone else read this.

Hadn't heard about it.

WW2 Spitfire that starred in Battle of Britain film to be sold for £1.5m | Mail Online

Now I just need to win the lottery.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

I got to fly as Crew Chief for the CAF R4D for ten years. Most fun I ever had! Several times flying across longer stretches flying to shows they let me fly her. In this photo as crew chief we were flying IFR through clouds and rain - the R4D is the only CAF aircraft certified to fly IFR.

The CAF had a large show every year near near where the present DFW Airport is now located today and I used to watch the bombers combing in on Fridays every year from my back yard when I was a Jr High kid in the seventies. It was SO excited because our home was near where the planes flew their finals. I have seen most all WWII aircraft or flow in them, but I have never seen a 'Lanc' even on the ground.

[Bob Womack]

Hey......... (added at 11.23hrs 14/7) Just heard a muffled roar overhead and watched a Catalina flying boat flying in an easterly direction over my house. Probably from the Fairford air show.

Are there many of thjose still operating on the show museum circuits?

There are a few here in the U.S. There is a wonderful flying example of a PBY-5A amphibian quartered about ten miles from my home at a museum. She gets out and about. Interestingly, this particular plane was based here doing submarine patrol duty for a period during WWII.



Bob

[RT Ellis]

I'm all for preserving historical aircraft, and can appreciate when they can be seen in their element of flight. I live in the direct path between the local airport and Santa Catalina Island. There is an airfreight outfit that operates DC-3/C-47s, as I suppose it the most suitable and economical type for that operation, that frequently fly over my house. I always look when I hear the engines which I recognize without looking.

I was walking at the beach enjoying the solitude, when I was startled by loud engine noises directly over head. This was on a day the city here hosts an annual Grand Pre auto race that I hate enough as it is. The B-24, obviously had just overflown the race course, was flown so low that it disturbed my peace was a bit much. When I looked up I could clearly see people looking down from the starboard open waist gun position and I'm sure they were thinking "bet you wish you were here." Well little did they know I would have just as soon shoot those SOBs out of the sky for disturbing me and it's an experience that I don't cherish.

BTW shouldn't that be written "AVRo" rather than "Avro."

[browningautorifle]

I live in the direct path between the local airport and Santa Catalina Island.

Recently I was down in your area, Seal Beach...didn't think to look at the local airports for warbirds...

[Peter Laidler]

Catalinas...... I mentioned a few years ago of an underwater graveyard for them in Loch Earne in N Ireland. Punctured and allowed to sink as former lend lease stuff.

[Paul S.]

... When I looked up I could clearly see people looking down from the starboard open waist gun position and I'm sure they were thinking "bet you wish you were here." ...

I would offer that more likely their thoughts were of grandfathers, great-uncles, even distant relatives., many long dead, who - young men, many still in their teens, in the 1940s stood at the waist gunner positions of countless bombers lumbered low over Britain taking off to face death at high altitude or returning worn, weary and scarred.

---------- Post added at 11:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:28 AM ----------

Catalinas...... I mentioned a few years ago of an underwater graveyard for them in Loch Earne in N Ireland. Punctured and allowed to sink as former lend lease stuff.

Peter, many decades ago I worked with a bloke who had been a "Bootneck" in one of H.M.'s aircraft carriers in the Pacific Campaign at the end of WWII. One of his memories was pushing the ship's complement of Lend Lease Grumman fighters off the deck and into the Tasman on their return to Sydney when the war ended.

[Peter Laidler]

I seem to recxall that recently or so the Aust/State Government set about destroying or levelling those wrecks as they were destroying the fishermens nets and harming the local economy

[RT Ellis]

We had two sitting at our Nanaimo airport for years as old water bombers. They both disappeared and one re-appeared at Victoria...I didn't see it but I doubt they drove them. Don't know where the other went. It'll probably re-appear at the airshows in original colors.

Far be it for me to encourage tourism in the Southwest, but if anyone is traveling in Arizona or So. California, there are some interesting aviation places visit. This area was desirable to the aviation industry because of weather for both building and flying, and military aviation from early on. Curtis, Ryan, Douglas, Grumann, North American, Consolidated, Northrup, Hughes, and others had workshops or factories in the area. Many of the WWII aircraft thought of so nostalgically now were designed and built here. North Island Navel Air Station has a history of navel aviation that goes back to 1911, when it was used by both the Army (Rockwell Field) and Navy. March ARB was March Field during WWII.

For locations to visit collections of aircraft: Pima Air Museum (east of Tucson, Az.), March ARB, John Wayne Airport, Chino Airport, San Diego Aviation Museum. Of these mentioned the Pima and Chino locations were selected to receive aircraft for storage and salvage at the end of WWII. Pima became a museum site by simply dragging aircraft from the nearby storage facility. Chino became a restoration facility, and has an annual airshow of military aircraft.

I have to say that I have not visited any of these locations except the Pima air museum years ago,which I understand has developed into a great place to see some unusual aircraft, and I went to the Chino airshow once many years ago. As to the airfreight business that operates DC3s out of Long Beach airport they only have 2 or 3 of them and they are painted mostly white, with little decoration, and certainly nothing that hints they were ever military. When Douglas was building C-17s here we used to see them towed across the street to Long Beach airport, but that's all gone now.

If I ever see that B-24 again operating so low I'll complain to the FAA, although what I really would like to do is shoot the SOB nostalgia riders down.