Flying Warbirds An Illustrated Profile of the Flying Heritage Collection's Rare WWII-Era Aircraft

412 Pages·2014·37.99 MB·English

by  Cory Graff

FLYING
WARBIRDS
A N I L L U S T R A T E D P R O F I L E O F
T H E F L Y I N G H E R I T A G E C O L L E C T I O N ’ S
R A R E W W I I - E R A A I R C R A F T
CORY GRAFF
CONTENTS
PREFACE
THE FLYING HERITAGE COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
TECHNOLOGY OVER TIME
CHAPTER 1
THE BEGINNING
CURTISS JN-4D JENNY
POLIKARPOV U-2 (PO-2) LIGHT NIGHT BOMBER
CHAPTER 2
THE PRIMITIVES
POLIKARPOV I-16 TYPE 24 RATA
HAWKER HURRICANE MK.XII
CHAPTER 3
THE RIVALS
MESSERSCHMITT BF 109 E-3
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE F.MK.VC
CHAPTER 4
DUELS IN CHINA
CURTISS P-40C TOMAHAWK
CURTISS P-40C TOMAHAWK
NAKAJIMA KI-43 HAYABUSA OSCAR TYPE I
CHAPTER 5
THE ICONS
MITSUBISHI A6M3-22 REISEN (ZERO)
NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG
CHAPTER 6
THE BUTCHER BIRDS
FOCKE-WULF FW 190 A-5
FOCKE-WULF FW 190 D-13
CHAPTER 7
ON THE ATTACK
FIESELER FI 156 C-2 STORCH
ILYUSHIN IL-2M3 SHTURMOVIK
NORTH AMERICAN B-25J MITCHELL
CHAPTER 8
THE BRUISERS
REPUBLIC P-47D THUNDERBOLT
GRUMMAN F6F-5 HELLCAT
CHAPTER 9
THE RADICALS
MESSERSCHMITT ME 163 B-1 KOMET
MESSERSCHMITT ME 163 B-1 KOMET
MESSERSCHMITT ME 262 A-1A
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IMAGE CREDITS
INDEX
PREFACE
THE FLYING HERITAGE COLLECTION
When American air power had taken over European skies, many US warplanes
left the factory without camouflage. The bare metal airplanes were faster and
lighter, and they could be accepted by the army a few days sooner. Both the
FHC’s P-51 and P-47 fly without camouflage.
The Puget Sound region is one of the hotbeds of American aviation. In 1916,
William
Boeing flew his first airplane from the waters of Lake Union near downtown
Boeing flew his first airplane from the waters of Lake Union near downtown
Seattle.
During World War II, thousands of B-17 and B-29 heavy bombers were built in
Seattle
and Renton, and the era of the jumbo jet began when the first Boeing 747 took to
the skies from Paine Field near Everett, Washington, in 1969.
Boeing’s factory at Paine Field is the largest building in the world by volume:
New
airliners emerge from this facility each day, winging away to all parts of the
globe. The Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) moved to Paine Field from a small
group of hangars in Arlington, Washington, in June 2008.
The FHC is unique. Established by philanthropist and Microsoft Corporation co
—
founder Paul G. Allen, it provides the vehicle for Allen to share his private
collection of rare aircraft and artifacts with the public. The FHC is operated by
Friends of Flying
Heritage, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The collection focuses on technical themes from an era of amazingly rapid
change. The
concept of changes in technology—as seen through the aircraft, artifacts, and
their
surrounding exhibits—was a natural fit for Allen, a pioneer in the fields of
computer
software systems and industrial science.
Allen was also influenced by the experiences of his father, who joined the US
Army
and served in Europe during World War II. Kenneth Allen landed at Normandy
in June
1944 and moved through France, Belgium, and Germany during the last year of
that
conflict. Undoubtedly, the stories he told young Paul upon his return planted the
seed of interest in World War II history.
The FHC operates from a pair of hangars on the south end of Paine Field’s
nearly two—
mile-long main runway. The primary hangar was constructed after World War II
for the
repair and maintenance of Alaska Airlines passenger planes. However, due to
the Korean War and Cold War needs, the big hangar was quickly turned over to
the US Air Force.
Today, it serves as an excellent place to display and maintain the aircraft in the
collection.
Two aspects set the FHC apart from other aviation museums and flying
collections.
First, the aircraft are restored immaculately. Each airplane looks as it did when it
rolled out of the factory or when it was serving with an operational squadron
during the war. The FHC staff is dedicated to restoring and maintaining the
aircraft as accurately as possible.
An example of this can be seen in the mechanic’s shop where drawers of
hardware line the walls. Even for something as simple as a common bolt, there
are different fasteners for each nation’s aircraft—from the Spitfire (British
Imperial), to the Mustang (US
government AN), to the Bf 109 (German metric).
An aircraft like the B-25J gives another demonstration of the FHC’s dedication
to
accuracy. While many flying Mitchells are bare on the interior, so patrons can be
sold rides, the FHC aircraft contains a full complement of wartime equipment.
Hauling