Aeroplane August 2024
REVEALED: Electronic Intelligence gathering Chipmunks over Berlin
Cold War Berlin, and the RAF Gatow Station Flight’s Chipmunks are a familiar sight over the city, carrying out photographic ‘spy’ sorties that brought back imagery of the highest value. But sometimes they undertook another, even more clandestine task, one that’s not been publicly documented until now: the gathering of electronic intelligenc
74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron Lightnings in the Far East – the inside story
No 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron had many firsts to its name during the Lightning era. When it flew its Lightning F6s to a new home at RAF Tengah in Singapore, it made the type’s longest deployment to date — and some memorable years in the Far East were to follow
Messerschmitt Bf 110 restoration progressing in Norway
Forty years after it was salvaged from a crash site near Båtsfjord in Finnmark county, northern Norway, the long-term restoration of Messerschmitt Bf 110 F-2 Werknummer 5096 is progressing at the Flyhistorisk Museum at Stavanger-Sola.
B-17 Flying Fortress Yankee Lady changes hands
On 5 June at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, the Michigan Flight Museum — known as the Yankee Air Museum before a rebrand in early May — announced the sale of its flagship flight experience aeroplane, Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 44-85829/N3193G, following 38 years of ownership.
Unique Fairchild returns to Hagerstown
The only survivor of two Fairchild XNQ-1 trainers built during 1946-47 for potential use by the US Navy, BuNo 75726/N5726 arrived back at its birthplace at Hagerstown, Maryland on 10 June, and has now gone on permanent display in the Hagerstown Aviation Museum.
Alaska Aviation Museum Grumman Goose flies
The Alaska Aviation Museum’s Grumman G-21 Goose, N789, made its first flight for 16 years following a six-month restoration at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage on 29 May.
Golden Age SPAD replica airborne
Twelve years after construction began, the Golden Age Air Museum SPAD XIII replica made its first flight proper from the grass strip at Bethel, Pennsylvania on 15 June, the machine having made a brief hop in early November last year.
Spitfire export gets Turkish scheme
Following its arrival in Turkey on 27 May, Ali Ismet Öztürk’s recently acquired Supermarine Spitfire IX TE517/G-RYIX had been painted into Turkish Air Force markings at the MSÖ Air & Space Museum at Sivrihisar, 85 miles south-west of Ankara, by mid-June.
Boscombe Down Lightning testing: two ETPS pilots reflect on their experiences
Two graduates of the Empire Test Pilots’ School look back on their Lightning experiences at Boscombe Down
Aeroplane August 2024
August 2024 issue of Aeroplane in page-turning format features a 48-page special to mark the 70th anniversary of the English Electric Lightning