Thunderbolt
on the Move?
Unconfirmed reports from the US indicate
former Duxford-based Republic P-47D
Thunderbolt N147PF No guts no glory has
been acquired by a new owner and is returning
to the UK. The fighter was deregistered in the
US on February 23, with the reason given as
‘exported to England’. The P-47D was added
to the UK register on February 27 as G-THUN.
It was last in the UK in 2007, being based at
Duxford with The Fighter Collection.Restoration work on Boeing B-17F Flying
Fortress 41-24485 Memphis Belle – famously
the first USAAF heavy bomber to return to
the US after completing 25 combat missions
over Europe – continues to move forward
at the National Museum of the USAF in
Dayton, Ohio.
Staff and volunteers have worked
meticulously to preserve the famous bomber,
which needed corrosion treatment and a newcoat of paint, since the aircraft first arrived at
Dayton in 2005. Various replacements for
missing internal parts have also been installed
and the final stage has been to return the Belle
to the colour scheme it wore after completing
its last wartime mission. The fully restored
B-17 will be unveiled to the public on May 17.In a timeframe of a little over ten days, Newark
Air Museum has purchased and moved the
fuselage of Boeing Chinook HC1 ZA717 from
RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, to the museum
site in eastern Nottinghamshire. In doing so
it has become the first independent aviation
museum in the UK to acquire and display an
RAF Chinook. The helicopter had been used
to train loadmasters in slinging techniques
and load securing methods. It arrived at the
museum on February 22.
ZA717’s arrival was particularly poignant for
the museum’s groundsman, Nigel Bean. Not
only is Nigel a helicopter enthusiast but, as a
serving RAF police officer he also witnessed
the non-fatal incident on July 25, 1989 that
resulted in ZA717 being ‘written-off’ at RAF
Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands.
The Chinook’s arrival follows on from the
delivery of Aérospatiale Puma HC1 XW208,
which also came from Cranwell after beingused as a training aid. The Puma had been
transported by road to Newark on February- Both helicopters are missing components
and the museum is already actively
following up leads across the UK to locate
the missing items.Members of the restoration team installing
propeller number one on the Memphis Belle.
USAF/Ken LaRockB-17 Memphis Belle
Progressing Well
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 17Chinook Arrives at Newark
Chinook HC1 ZA
arriving at the musuem
on February 22.
Howard Heeley, Down
To Earth PromotionsFormer Duxford Mustang to Fly in Turkey
Well-known North American P-51D Mustang
44-13704 Ferocious Frankie has been
acquired by a private collector in Turkey. The
fighter, previously operated by Duxford’s OldFlying Machine Company, was flown to its
new owner by Lee Proudfoot in January.
The Mustang had been based at
Duxford for many years, initially with TheFighter Collection before moving onto
OFMC. It is painted to represent the mount
of 374th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter
Group ace Wallace E Hopkins.Superfortress
Tanker Gets
Relocated
Boeing KB-50J Superfortress 49-
has arrived at the Air Mobility Command
Museum at Dover AFB, Delaware, from its
previous home, the Memorial Park at MacDill
AFB in Florida. This important airframe- one of the world’s oldest surviving air
refuelling tankers – was proving hard to look
after in the salty and humid environment at
its former location in Tampa Bay. The tanker,
which had been delivered to the US military
in December 1950, had been on show in
Florida for more than 20 years. It will now be
restored and will then be placed on display
alongside a KC-97 Stratofreighter and a KC-
135 Stratotanker.
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