Il-2, B-25, P-47, P-51, - Flying Heritage Collection - Flying Tanks
2,316 views · Published 17 September 2016 · 7:57 · Indexed 12 November 2026
Channel: Fight to Fly Studio · 2016 · Autos & Vehicles
From www.FlyingHeritage.com: Il-2M3: This aircraft: The FHC's Il-2 was constructed in Kuybyshev in mid-1943 and was assigned to the 828th Attack Aviation Regiment on the lower Karelian Front. On October 10, 1944, the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire while attacking an airfield and crashed near the Titovka River. The plane was discovered in a nameless lake by searchers scouting the area with a helicopter in 1991. When the recovery crew raised the Il-2 to the surface, they found it still had its complement of rockets and bombs under its wings. The plane was restored using parts from four wrecks discovered in northwestern regions of the former Soviet Union. Il-2 serial number 305401 makes up a large percentage of the aircraft. B-25J Mitchell: This aircraft: The FHC's B-25J was built in Kansas City in the last days of 1944. It was one of 117 B-25s modified to carry a Hughes E1 fire control radar for training. The plane served with the Royal Canadian Air Force for ten years until it was sold as surplus in 1961. Soon after, the plane was purchased by Cascade Drilling Company of Calgary and converted to a water-carrying "fire bomber." In the mid-1990s, the B-25 was purchased by the Flying Heritage Collection and restored to its wartime configuration by Aero Trader in Chino, California. P-51D Mustang: This aircraft: This P-51 is a combat veteran that was delivered to the United States Army Air Force on January 26, 1945. It was based in Raydon, England with the 8th Army Air Force (352nd Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group), where it was assigned to Lt. Harrison B."Bud" Tordoff. Tordoff flew the aircraft in support of the daylight bombing raids against Germany throughout occupied Europe and in support of missions for the Allied ground forces during the liberation of mainland Europe. In the summer of 2003, Captain Tordoff was reunited with this plane at the Flying Heritage Collection – the first time he had seen it since ceasefire. P-47D Thunderbolt: This aircraft: Manufactured by Republic Aviation in Evansville, Indiana, and delivered to the USAAF on June 27, 1945. It was placed in storage until March, 1948, when it was assigned to an Air National Guard squadron. FHC's Thunderbolt is painted in the colors of the "Tallahassee Lassie," flown by Seattle-born Colonel Ralph C. Jenkins. He led the 510th Fighter Squadron, initially in England and later all the way through Europe to Germany at the end of WWII. Colonel Jenkins may be the pilot who attacked the staff car of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, wounding the German commander.
