De Havilland Mosquito Original Film in action.

BritinBritain

Per Ardua Ad Astra
The Mosquito was one of the most versatile aircraft of WW2. Photo Reconnaissance, Fighter, Bomber, anti shipping operations.

Mosquito squadrons had a vendetta against the Gestapo, and hated by Goering.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmY99snA_po"]DeHavilland Mosquito & gun camera film - excellent! - YouTube[/ame]

She was all things to all men
 
Yep and we destroyed them by the hundreds after the war, it was probably the most versatile aircraft of the war.
 
True, I remember sitting in a Solent Mark IV Flying Boat and the cockpit of a Lancaster as a kid at MOTAT in Auckland and it was just a gutted, rubbish strewn wreck, I thought at the time it was a shame it had reached that state.

It has however since been transferred to the Sir Keith Park Memorial Aviation Display and almost completely rebuilt...

Aircraft [Avro Lancaster B Mk 7]

Name/Title

Aircraft [Avro Lancaster B Mk 7]
Object number

1964.116
Avro Lancaster B Mk 7 (modified to B Mk3). AVRO 683 B7 Lancaster - completed as NX665 after VE Day and held in storage at 38 M.U. until transferred to the French navy as WU13 in 1951. Served with 24F, 10F, 10S and finally 9S at Tontouta, New Caledonia. Presented by the French Govt. as a memorial to the NZer's who served in Bomber Command in WW II.



Now includes major components of NX666/WU05. Long range, heavy bomber, 4-engine, metal, mid-wing, monoplane with Aluminium frame and panels. Fuselage built in 5 modular sections. Power plant: 4 x 1620 HP V12 Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Accommodation: crew of 7 with pilot. The aircraft is painted black and camouflage. This Lancaster has Merlin 24/2 engines with SU carburettors driving Hamilton constant speed hydramatic A/5148 propellers.



The engine developed 1620 HP for take-off from its twin row of 6 cylinders inclined at 60°. The engines and several other components are in working order. Currently painted in 1944 Bomber Command scheme, but has a 'dual personality'. The starboard side is painted as ND752/AA-O of 75 Sqn., and the port side as PB457/SP-V of 101 Sqn. Both of these Lancasters were lost over Germany and their markings have been chosen for WU13, not because they are associated with famous aircraft or crews, but were simply two of the thousands of the Lancasters in Bomber Command. Repainted as NE181 JN-M 'The Captain's Fancy.' It served with 75 (New Zealand) squadron and completed over 100 bombing missions in Europe during WW2.
Maker & role

A. V. Roe (AVRO) Austin Works (England, estab. 1910, closed 1963)
Object type

Aircraft/Aerospace Transportation T&E/07 Distribution & Transportation Artifacts/Nomenclature
Date made

June 1945
Place made

Longbridge
Measurements

H 5900 L 21100 W 31100mm (H 232 5/16 L 830 11/16 W 1224 7/16")
Collection

Aviation
Credit line

The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT)


http://www.motat.org.nz/collections/collection-online/aircraft-avro-lancaster-b-mk-7-957/
 
Hopefully soon, a 3rd Lancaster will be made airworthy. "Just Jane" NX611 is undergoing a £3.5 million restoration back to airworthiness.

With the spotlight on a pair of World War Two Lancaster bombers touring the UK, a farming family are trying to restore their own bomber so it can take to the sky.
The Panton family have a dream, A very expensive, very laborious but incredibly precious dream.

They have a Lancaster - after the Spitfire, arguably the most famous aircraft Britain has ever produced - and they want to make it fly.

It is no piece of whimsy or ego - the Pantons want Just Jane to take to the skies as a tribute to the men who flew in World War Two and especially Christopher, the brother who did not come back.

Many years ago (1967?) I was driving the Station Commander and his missus to a function at another station when The City of Lincoln came in on finals right in front of the staff car, a sight I will never forget.
 
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I have always wondered about the sense in bringing back some of these aircaft to flight capability when perhaps the rarity and age of many of them in should keep them grounded, basically they are too valuable to lose.

Part of me thinks the future for the flying status of many of these aircraft should be in modern replica's where possible made from the original patterns.
 
I have always wondered about the sense in bringing back some of these aircaft to flight capability when perhaps the rarity and age of many of them in should keep them grounded, basically they are too valuable to lose.

Part of me thinks the future for the flying status of many of these aircraft should be in modern replica's where possible made from the original patterns.

I agree with that totally. There have got to be blue prints of the various types and I am sure there are plenty of people with the necessary skills to complete the tasks. One of the problems I do see however, is obtaining the correct engines for the airframe.

A chap in the USA built his own Mk IX Spitfire.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzkoTulqA1U"]Warbird From Scratch: A Homebuilt Spitfire - YouTube[/ame]

A job well done
 
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We have 6 replica Spitfire's flying in New Zealand as far as I know they are all Mk26's and built from commercially available kits.

There is also a guy building a Mosquito more or less from scratch using the original data he has made all the moulds and is constantly advertising for bits.

As I recall there is also a replica FW-190 A8 here made by Flug Werk in Germany.

http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/fw-190-replicas-of-new-zealand-3-how.html

There was also some talk of the adding the Me-262 to the list of aircraft.
 
I'd love to see a replica Halifax and Wellington built. Both aircraft did an amazing job for bomber command.

I know there is a company in Aussie building replica Spitfires but they are not full scale models.
 
This was an interesting story, it would seem that cash is all that prevents the reconstruction of many of these aircraft...

http://www.australianflying.com.au/news/warbirds-british-heavy-bomber-survivors

Sadly thats the case all too often. I'd like to see Britain stop handing out billions of pounds to all manner of dictators around the world and use some of the money instead on historic aircraft and other military equipment.

The last airworthy Vulcan XH558 somehow attracted millions of pounds from public donations to keep her in the air. Sadly she was grounded in 2015 She is on display Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
 
Sadly thats the case all too often. I'd like to see Britain stop handing out billions of pounds to all manner of dictators around the world and use some of the money instead on historic aircraft and other military equipment.

The last airworthy Vulcan XH558 somehow attracted millions of pounds from public donations to keep her in the air. Sadly she was grounded in 2015 She is on display Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

I would certainly like to see the more iconic equipment from the defining points in history recovered.
 
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