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EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - Warbirds - Part II
By Kevin Moore, Contributing Editor & Photographer
Watford, Ontario, Canada
Last week we had a look at several warbirds, including those of the
Texas Flying Legends Museum, such as their beautiful Spitfire Mk IX.
Last week we visited Warbird Ally and had a look at some of the warbirds that spent time at the 2016 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. This week we return to Oshkosh once again to look at more of the warbirds from World War II to the Vietnam War and beyond.
EAA's beautifully restored North American P-64, left. A visiting T-34 Mentor,
wearing Navy markings, departs Oshkosh, right.
There were so many warbirds in attendance at the 2016 event that it would be almost impossible to mention them all. However, there were some that deserve an honourable mention such as the North American P-64. This aircraft is the only survivor of six P-64s that were bound for Siam during War World II. However, when the Japanese invaded and captured Siam, the US Army confiscated the aircraft under the provisions of the Neutrality Act and the aircraft was returned to the United States. It was restored to flying condition and made its first flight in many years at AirVenture 2016. This Beech T-34 Mentor, painted in a Navy scheme, made a visit to AirVenture 2016. The T-34 Mentor was derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza and first flew in December of 1948 as a military training aircraft. They were used by the USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, Civil Air Patrol, Japanese Air Self Defense Force and the Philipine Air Force, among others. Beech also produced a turbo version of the aircraft which was fitted with the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25 turboprop engine.
The EAA Ford Tri-Motor, left, and the Liberty Ford Tri-Motor, right,
were busy throughout the week performing passenger sight-seeing flights.
The roaring 20s was evident at AirVenture with the flying of passengers on 20 minute flights around the area in the EAA Ford Tri-Motor & the Liberty Ford Tri-Motor. These aircraft were busy throughout the day taking visitors into the air, offering them some experience as to what it was like flying in the first "luxury" airliner. The "Tin Goose," as it was known, was built by the Ford Motor Company from 1926 - 1933. There were 199 of the type built, initially for the civilian market however, several saw military service in Australia, Canada, Columbia, Spain the UK and the USA. The Tri-Motor has a maximum speed of 132mph, cruise speed of 107mph and a service ceiling of 18,600'. There are about a dozen and a half examples that still exist today, of which roughly 8 are airworthy.

Grumman produced a series of lovely amphibious aircraft
including the Goose, left, and the Mallard, right.

Two lovely amphibious aircraft that made the trip to AirVenture 2016 were also both fabulous Grumman aircraft, a 1943 Grumman Goose and a 1949 Grumman Mallard. The Grumman Goose was originally designed as a commuter aircraft to be utilised by businessmen. It was also Grumman's first twin engine aircraft, first monoplane and its first aircraft to enter into the commercial airline service. During World War II it was used effectively as a US Military transport and US Coast Guard aircraft. The Grumman Mallard was also designed for use as a commercial aircraft and was similar to the Grumman Goose and Widgeon, though the Mallard featured tricycle gear rather than a taildragger configuration. Though originally outfitted with radial engines, in the 1970s many Mallards were outfitted with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turbine engines, upgraded to a 17 passenger configuration and became known as "Turbo Mallards." The Grumman Goose had a maximum speed of 201mph, a cruise speed of 191mph and a service ceiling of just over 21,000'. The Grumman Mallard had a maximum speed of 215mph, cruise speed of 181mph and a service ceiling of 24,500'.
Among the B-25 Mitchells that attended the show were Panchito, left, from the Delaware Aviation Museum and Barbie III, right, from History Flight.
There were a few B-25 Mitchells on hand including "Panchito," from the Delaware Aviation Museum, "Devil Dog," from the Commemorative Air Force, Devil Dog Squadron and "Barbie III" from History Flight. The B-25 Mitchell is probably most well known for taking part in the "Doolittle Raid," attacking the Japanese mainland whereby 16 B-25s were launched from a US Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet, in the western Pacific Ocean. Though damage to its targets were negligible, the attacks had a profound effect on the morale of the Japanese military and people. After their attacks, the 16 aircraft could not return to land on the carrier and 15 of the B-25s made it to China with a single B-25 having landed in the Soviet Union. Of the 16 B-25 crews, a single crewman was killed in action however14 complete crews returned to the US or to service with the US military. It was hailed as a great success and Doolittle, who believed the mission a failure due to the loss of all aircraft, received the Medal of Honor and was subsequently promoted two levels to Brigadier General.
Several T-28 Trojans made the trip and participated in a formation flypast.
There were also several T-28 Trojans on hand and that took part in a mass flypast of several different types of aircraft in two formations. The T-28 Trojan was built by North American Aviation, designed for use as a military training aircraft and first flew in September of 1949. It was also utilised as a counter-insurgency aircraft during the Vietnam War serving with the USAF & US Navy as well as the South Vietnamese & French Air Forces. T-28s were also used by the CIA in the former Belgian Congo in the 1960s, were used as dive bombers in 1989 by rebel forces in the Philipine coup attempt and flew with at least 28 different air forces around the world. The Trojan has a maximum speed of 343mph with a range of over 1,000 miles and a service ceiling of 39,000'.
The Skyraider made an appearance at the end of World War II
but flew well into the 1980s with some air forces.
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was designed to meet a requirement for a carrier-based, single-seat torpedo bomber with a long range and first flew in March of 1945. They flew as a military aircraft with some air forces until the early 1980s and carried the nickname of "Spad." It was capable of carrying a large amount of ordnance with a large combat radius and was optimised for use in ground attack missions. Skyraiders took part in the Korean and Vietnam wars and served with 11 different air forces around the world. The Skyraider has a maximum speed of 322mph, a cruise speed of 198mph, a range of over 1,300 miles and a service ceiling of over 28,000'.
A few aircraft from the Great War era were towed out for display
including the replica Sopwith Pup, left, and Fokker Dr1, right.
Slowing things down a bit we turn to aircraft of a different era with the Sopwith Pup, a Curtiss Jenny and a Fokker Dr1 "triplane." The Sopwith Pup was a British single-seat World War I biplane fighter built by the Sopwith Aviation Company in the UK. It served with both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. The Curtiss JN-4 Jenny was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company, Hammondsport, NY. The Jenny initially served with the 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps in July of 1915. The Fokker Dr1 was built by German company Fokker-Flugzeugwerke during World War I and first flew in July of 1917. The Dr1 is probably most famous as the aircraft German ace Manfred von Richthofen flew and was killed flying in during combat in April of 1918.
Mustangs are always a very popular warbird and P-51D, "Baby Alice," left, and "Petie 2nd, right, were only two of many Mustangs that were on hand during the week.
As mentioned in part I, there were an assortment of P-51 Mustangs on hand including P-51D "Baby Alice," which took part in the airshow and P-51D "Petie 2nd," which flew in near the end of the week. Mustangs were used in many different roles such as fighter, fighter-bomber, and long-range escort fighter, utilised to escort formations of bombers deep into Germany, taking on the Luftwaffe when they attacked the bombers. Though their performance in an escort role was less effective than that of a fighter, the Mustangs performance could quickly be improved by simply jettisoning their external fuel tanks. There were in excess of 15,000 Mustangs produced and pilots of the various P-51 types claimed almost 5,000 enemy aircraft shot down during World War II.
The Yak 52 has been a very popular military trainer as well as an aerobatic aircraft and flew at EAA AirVenture 2016 with the Aerostars Aerobatic Team.
Though they fly with the Aerostars Aerobatic team, the Yak 52 is utilised as both a military trainer and an aerobatic aircraft. It's a Russian designed and built aircraft that was developed primarily as a military trainer with several features found in postwar fighter aircraft such as the tandem seating. It was designed to operate from rugged, under-developed airstrips with a minimal amount of maintenance. Many Yak 52s have found their way into the western world and have been modified with a three-bladed propeller, tail-dragger conversion landing gear and a more powerful engine. They have been used as a primary military trainer, light ground attack aircraft and aerobatic trainer in both the military and civilian world. The Yak 52 has a maximum speed of 177mph, cruise speed of 118mph and a service ceiling of just over 13,000'. They have been used by 13 different air forces, mostly eastern block countries, and still operate with many today.
Several replica Japanese World War II aircraft, left, were on display in Warbird Ally. The Italian built Marchetti F-260, right, flew with roughly 30 air forces world wide.
There were also a line up of Japanese replica aircraft in Warbird Ally. Many of these replica aircraft have been built from T-6 Texan airframes, made to look like different Japanese World War II fighers, bombers/torpedo bombers. Most people wouldn't likely know the difference unless they were lucky enough to see the replicas alongside the authentic aircraft. Another unusual aircraft was the SIAI-Marchetti F-260, designed as a military and aerobatic training aircraft and built in the early 1960s, it first flew in July of 1964. They flew with the Italian, Turkish, Mexican and Philippine air forces as well as another 25 other air forces around the world. The F-260 has a maximum speed of 276mph, a cruise speed of 205mph and a service ceiling of 19,000'.
More modern warbirds also flew at AirVenture 2016 including the Pilatus PC-9, left. A Curtiss Jenny, right, painted in honour The Great Waldo Pepper!
AirVenture Oshkosh is definitely the place to be if you want to see warbirds, among other assorted aircraft of course. However, there aren't many places where you can go to get up close and personal with as many warbirds as there are at Oshkosh. Many pilots and/or crews make themselves available for questions when they're around their aircraft and a few may allow you to get up on the wing to have a look inside. So, make plans to attend EAA AirVenture 2017 and get your warbird fix, whether a one day visit, or the entire week, you won't be disappointed!
Make plans to visit the EAA AirVenture 2017 event and
book yourself a flight in the Ford Tri-Motor.
For more information on AirVenture Oshkosh visit: eaa.org/en/airventure
B-25 "Panchito" from the Delaware Flight Museum
Delaware Aviation Museum: delawareaviationmuseum.org
B-25 "Devil Dog" from the Commemorative Air Force, Devil Dog Squadron.
CAF Devil Dog: devildogsquadron.com
B-25 "Barbie III" from History Flight.

History Flight: historyflight.com

Yak 52 from the Aerostars Aerobatic Team

Aerostars Aerobatic Team: teamaerostars.com

AirVenture also celebrated the 70th anniversary of the de Havilland Chipmunk.
 
Many were thrilled to see a Grumman Tracker take to the air
 
Another P-51D Mustang, "The Rebel."
 
A-1 Skyraider taking to the air.
 
B-25 Mitchell "Barbie III" climbing out as the gear come up.
 
Another fabulous Grumman, the Albatross, painted in US Coast Guard colours.
 

Another Skyraider, this one a multi-seat conversion.

 
By Kevin Moore, Contributing Editor & Photographer
2moorekwm@gmail.com
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