Avenger Heads to Indiana
Grumman TBM-3E Avenger N4171A has
been sold to warbird collector Tim Savage of
Huntington, Indiana.
The 1945-built aircraft underwent an
extensive restoration and rebuild in the early
1990s by Grumman test pilot Corwin ‘Corky’
Meyer, using the turret-less fuselage of ex-
Royal Canadian Navy TBM-3S 53489. The
original fuselage had been destroyed in a
hangar fire.
A former air tanker with Idaho-basedReeder Flying Service (with which it flew as
‘Tanker D11’), N4171A now closely resembles
a radar-equipped TBM-3D version – which
had their turrets removed to save weight.
It wears a white and grey Battle of the
Atlantic scheme and represents a member
of the US Navy’s VC-13, a composite
unit made up of Avengers and Grumman
Wildcats used as hunter-killers from escort
carriers to target U-boats.
Its return to Indiana represents ahomecoming of sorts, as it was based in
nearby Goshen for many years when owned
by Steve Hay.
Tim has also recently added Taylorcraft
L-2M N49555 to his collection. Meanwhile,
his Douglas A-26B Invader (44-34104,
N99420), is currently with Basler Flight
Service at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, undergoing
repairs following a nose gear failure at
2016’s EAA AirVenture show. With thanks
to James P Churchhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 17The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre
at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, welcomed the
forward fuselage of a Lancaster on January
17 where it is now on display alongside
Lancaster B.VII NX611 Just Jane.
The new exhibit belongs to Jeremy Hall
and until recently was on display at the
RAF Scampton Heritage Centre. It willremain at East Kirkby until a new home can
be found.
It was built in Canada as a B.X and
delivered to Britain in May 1945, but saw
no action. Returning to Canada later
that year, KB976 was converted into an
electronic warfare Mk.10AR, eventually
being struck off charge in July 1964.Sold to Scotland’s Strathallan Collection
in 1974, it was registered G-BCOH for
its flight across the Atlantic. Today the
fuselage is painted in different schemes
on either side – representing a Lancaster
of Canada’s Air Transport Command to
starboard and a wartime 405 Squadron
livery to port.The forward fuselage of Avro Lancaster Mk.10AR KB976 arrives at East
Kirkby on January 17. Martin Keen-Silksheen PhotographyA view of the Lancaster’s port side. Martin Keen-Silksheen
PhotographyNew Arrival at East Kirkby
The Bristol Aero Collection Trust (BACT)
has announced the return of a Bristol 170
Freighter to Filton, Bristol, for restoration at
the new Aerospace Bristol museum – due
to open this summer. There are currently
no preserved examples of the ‘Biffo’ in the
UK – but first the BACT needs to raise extra
funding to transport the airframe from New
Zealand.
Aerospace Bristol has already secured
funds to move the aircraft to the UK but has
now launched an appeal to cover the cost ofpacking and land transportation.
The aircraft, NZ5911, which flew with the
Royal New Zealand Air Force from 1954
until 1977, has been parked at Ardmore
aerodrome, Auckland, since 1978.
From a total of 214 built between 1955
and 1958, just ten complete Bristol Freighters
survive: three in Canada, two in Australia, one
in Argentina and four in New Zealand.Bristol 170 Freighter 31M NZ5911 in storage at
Ardmore. Fund-raising is under way to bring
it ‘home’ to Bristol. Geoff Jones‘Biffo’ Bound for Bristol
Navy Wings Sea
Fury to Fly Again
Yeovilton, Somerset-based Navy Wings says
Hawker Sea Fury T.20 VX281 (G-RNHF)
should fly again this year – three years after
it was damaged in a forced landing following
an engine failure during the 2014 RNAS
Culdrose Air Day.
The group launched an appeal to buy a
new Bristol Centaurus 18 engine while the
aircraft underwent repair and maintenance at
Weald Aviation in Essex.
An engine has now been rebuilt from a unit
sourced in the US, and work on the airframe
was completed last year. Once the new
engine has been installed the two-seat Sea
Fury is expected to return to the airshow circuit.
The second of 60 Sea Fury T.20s built as
weapon trainers for the Fleet Air Arm, VX
was delivered to the Royal Navy in 1950,
serving with 736 and 738 Naval Air Squadrons
at Culdrose. It’s currently painted to represent
a single-seat F.10 of 799 NAS.16-18_preservation_newsDC.mf.indd 17 06/02/2017 15: