Deleted
-
Last edited by Desertdawg; 09-10-2021, 02:24 PM. -
Re: Stonehenge Air Museum
P51D - Air Race History
The aircraft on display was accepted by the USAAF in April, 1945 and served 3rd Air Force Combat Crew Training Stations at Perry AAF, FL, and Bartow AAF, FL, until Nov. 1945 before going into long-term storage at Hobbs AAF, NM, and Kelly AFB, TX. In December, 1950 this Mustang was again called to duty when it was Taken on Service by the Royal Canadian Air Force where she served as part of the 416 Fighter Squadron of the Air Defense Group based in Uplands, Ontario. In 1959 she was Stricken off Service by the RCAF and repatriated to the United States and into private ownership. By 1968 this aircraft had been acquired by the late Leroy Penhall who successfully campaigned her across the country as a racer for the next several years. In 1974 the legendary pilot Robert A. “Bob” Hoover (described as “The greatest stick and rudder man who ever lived” by no less than Jimmy Doolittle) borrowed this Mustang as a replacement for his damaged “Ole Yeller” Mustang for use in Hoover’s air show performances. After Hoover’s Oshkosh appearance, this aircraft was being ferried by the now-legendary pilot Steve Hinton. Damage caused by a forced landing necessitated by engine failure resulted in a meticulous nine-year-long rebuild completed just prior to her acquisition by Jim Smith in 1987.Last edited by Desertdawg; 09-06-2021, 09:28 AM. -
Re: Stonehenge Air Museum
F4U History
The aircraft on display flew in combat in the Korean War as part of VMF(N)513 and VMF 212 performing night interdiction missions in addition to night attacks on enemy vehicles moving down from the North. It also provided night scramble alerts to meet aircraft incursions from the North as well as close air support to front line units. After her Korean service and an Atlantic tour aboard the USS Tarawa, this Corsair was stricken from service with the U.S. Navy and sold to the government of Honduras in 1956.
During her 22 years of service in the Honduran Air Force, this Corsair flew in combat against Nicaragua in 1956 as well as in the so called ?Football War? against El Salvador in 1969. These aerial engagements in 1969 proved to be the very last aerial combats between piston-powered propeller-driven aircraft in history.
This aircraft was returned to the United States in 1978 and underwent a complete rebuild by Ezell Aviation in Breckenridge, Texas, which included a change of livery back to the way she appeared when flying with the ?Flying Nightmares? of VMF(N)513 during the Korean War. This aircraft was acquired by Jim Smith in 1992.Comment
-
Comment