Volume 20 #5, Issue 93

TIGER AND ICE!

One of the few remaining P-40K Warhawks currently calls Fagen Fighters World War II Museum, Granite Falls, Minnesota home. Representing an aircraft of the 11th Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, and Aleutian Islands as flown by Lt.Col. John Chennault, it is in fact an ex Soviet Air Force (VVS) fighter, one of several hundred P-40K models shipped to the Motherland as part of the massive Lend Lease program. Featuring exclusive air to air photography by David Leininger this article looks at the aircraft’s history, including its recovery from the tundra and display in Russia, before the fighters return to the West and eventually the skies.

HANRIOT DUPONT HD.1

Possibly because of its limited use on the Western Front, the Hanriot HD.1 is arguably the most underrated fighter to see widespread use during the First World War. Its story is almost inevitably weighted down by the premise, recounted from the earliest Profile in 1966 to today’s Wikipedia, that the type was rejected in France but subsequently adopted by Italy. But that old chestnut should be laid to rest. Gregory Alegi takes a detailed look at this little fighter in both war and peace and debunks some of the misconceptions surrounding the type. The article is rounded out with a comprehensive look at the handful of original surviving machines.

RAIDEN! THUNDER OVER JAPAN

Manoeuvrability was the hallmark of Japanese fighters throughout the Second World War however this often meant that the aircraft lacked in other areas such as poor armament, armour and high altitude performance. With both Imperial Japanese Army Air force and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force fighters expected to undertake not only air combat, but dive bombing roles, it was a bold and insightful departure by the IJN to order the development of a pure land based interceptor with an emphasis on speed and rate of climb rather than the traditional lightweight and agile fighters. The Raiden was plagued with development problems which were never fully resolved; however in the right hands it proved to be a useful defender of the Home Islands. This article looks at the type’s convoluted development and deployment and thereafter focuses on the sole remaining example.

WANT TO GET INTO A WARBIRD?

Over the years we have run occasional articles discussing ways in which the enthusiast might be able to make the move, as we like to say, “From spectator to participant.” It has been extremely gratifying along the way, to have actually managed to steer individuals down that exact path and to have them come back to us as pilots, owners, restorers etc. It is a great privilege to see them as very active members within the vintage and warbird community, rather than continuing to harbour the belief that they were not qualified in one way or another, to be active in this most enriching of human endeavours. In this article the Editor looks at the current state of the market and explains now is the time to get into the ‘low end’ warbird scene, focusing on the Eastern Bloc types and showcasing a stunning Nanchang which has just taken to the air after a marathon rebuild.

AIRSHOWS