A great air show in south central New South Wales, hosted by the Temora Aviation Museum! Their fantastic collection of World War Two and Cold War era aircraft is the basis for the show and as the name predicts there were plenty of warbirds on display, accompanied by modern day RAAF aircraft including fast jets… Read More Warbirds Downunder 2018
1960’s Indonesia and the Eastern Bloc Sukarno was the post independence Presidential leader of Indonesia from 1945 to 1967. Indonesia declared independence from Japan in 1945, but it took armed resistance with the Netherlands, the pre-war colonial power, to gain official independence in 1949. In 1957 he began to instill an autocratic system of… Read More The Soviet Era of the Indonesian Air Force
Continuing on from my previous post about the airpark of the Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum at Villamor Air Base near the Manila Airport (Terminal 3) during my visit in April 2018, let’s now take a look inside the mercifully air-conditioned museum building itself. Here you can see various aircraft, vehicles, weaponry, models, uniforms, medals,… Read More Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum – Part II
By the end of World War Two in 1945, the shackles of 3 years of Imperial Japanese Occupation of Indonesia (the Dutch East Indies) had been broken. A revolution towards independence was underway and despite Dutch efforts to retain their colonial holdings (supported by their British ally and even Japanese troops months after their official… Read More The Survivors: Indonesia’s Imperial Japanese Eagle’s
Swiss Mustangs Post World War Two the Swiss Air Force operated an ageing fleet of piston engine fighters (Messerschmitt Bf 109E/G and Morane-Saulnier D-3801) and desperately needed more capable aircraft in numbers. An order had been placed for de Havilland DH.100 Vampire jet fighters but they would not enter operational service until 1949. A stop-gap fighter was needed… Read More Swiss Air Force Centre: Surplus North American P-51D Mustang’s in Switzerland
The French designed Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter saw combat in the Battle of France in 1940. The French were working on an improved version known as the M.S.412 but due to the fall of France in 1940 it was not continued until the Swiss took up the design and developed the D-3801 fighter from it (the Swiss had previously licence-built 84 of… Read More Swiss Air Force Centre: Morane-Saulnier D-3801
Oregon is truly Eagle Country with Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle air superiority fighters based at both the 142nd Fighter Wing, Portland Air National Guard Base which is home to the 123rd Fighter Squadron Redhawks and at the 173rd Fighter Wing, Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base (Klamath Falls) which is home to the… Read More Oregon International Air Show 2016: OANG 75th Anniversary Screaming Eagles
The warbirds just kept coming in the fantastic flying displays of the Planes of Fame Airshow 2015. Up next were military aircraft that flew during the Korean War era of 1950 to 1953 when the South Korean and United Nations forces clashed with the Communists of North Korea, China and secretly the USSR. Aircraft ranged from piston engine fighters to… Read More Planes of Fame Airshow 2015: Korean War Piston Engine Aircraft
I returned to Planes of Fame 2015 for the Sunday airshow and man what a tribute the USAF Heritage Flight paid to the veterans on that day. This 4 ship flight consisted of a World War Two era Lockheed P-38J Lightning “23 Skidoo” and North American P-51D Mustang “Wee Willy II” along with a Korean… Read More Planes of Fame Airshow 2015: USAF Heritage Flight II
No air show is complete without World War Two era warbirds and Aviation Nation 2014 at Nellis AFB in Nevada was no exception. Clear blue skies and a bit of history in the air. Who could ask for anything more? Not me that’s for sure! There was plenty of action from static to flying displays including… Read More Aviation Nation 2014: WW2 USAAF & US Navy Warbirds
Aces Flying High 