Tom Reilly's Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Page 1

This B-25J is one of nine Mitchell's that would be restored to airworthy by Tom Reilly's Flying Tigers.  It was flown by the Royal Canadian Air force as a trainer and later by the Venezuelan Air Force.  It was rescued from the jungles of Venezuela in 1992 and restored to airworthy.  The aircraft is painted in a camouflage scheme used by the RAF.

The Bell 47 may be the only aircraft in the world to have more aircraft still operating than were originally manufactured.  This was because of the abundance of spare parts to support the Bell 47.  It was designed at the end of WWII, used as a medivac transport in Korea, but made famous by the hit TV series "Mash."  Over 5,000 were eventually built during it's 28 years in production.

The prototype Douglas A-26 Invader first flew in 1942.  It was powered by two Pratt and Whitney R-2800's  It entered service in the European theater in November of 1944.  In 1948 the designation was switched to B-26, but this is not to be confused with the Martin B-26 Marauder which had been taken out of service.  The Douglas B-26 Invader would go on to fight in the Vietnam and Korean wars making it one of the only aircraft to ever see action in three major wars.  It flew as a close support bomber, counter-insurgency aircraft, ground attack, and night attack fighter.  After it's military service ended in 1962 it went on to serve as an executive transport and as a very successful fire bomber due to its size and maneuverability. The A-26C  pictured above flew as Tanker 27 before being flow as "The Rude Invader."

The deHavilland Vampire was the second British jet fighter and one of the first jet fighter aircraft in the world.  In September 1943 marked the first flight of the Vampire.  It was flown by designer Geoffery deHavilland.  The aircraft was designed in just 16 months due to the urgency caused by the war in Europe.  The aircraft wouldn't see service until June of 1946 which was too late to see any action in WWII.  It was powered by the deHavilland Goblin turbojet that produced 3,350 lbs of thrust.  Using the experience gained from the deHavilland Mosquito molded plywood was used in the construction of the aircraft.  This would be the last time a high performance military aircraft would use this technique. 

This Curtiss P-40E Kitty hawk was recovered in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.  It's serial number is 41-5709.  This aircraft was found inadvertently while digging for a construction project.  The wings will be from a Russian Lend Lease aircraft from WWII that still contained the original markings.  This type of aircraft was flown by the American Volunteer Group the "Flying Tigers" based in China during WWII.  The AVG were led by Claire Chennault.  They were given outdated P-40B Tomahawks and yet maintained an overall 15:1 Kill ratio over the Japanese!  The P-40 was a very rugged aircraft which, even though it was outdated, made it perfect for operations by the AVG.  The Flying Tigers had to use a variety of methods in order to be victorious.  These methods were outlined by Chennault and were strictly followed by the men who had learned to respect him.  Some of the tactics included setting up a radio network in Buddhist monasteries.  When the inbound planes got close enough and were spotted these radiomen called ahead and the planes would scramble.  This allowed the Tigers to use less fuel and gave them the element of surprise.  The P-40 also suffered from a performance loss at higher altitudes.  They would try to engage the enemy on their terms.  They tried to keep the battle at 10,000 feet or less where the engine maintained it's power.  If the men got into trouble when they encountered the enemy they were ordered to dive away.  The P-40 was known for its superior diving abilities.  The AVG would also salvage parts from crashed aircraft and made repairs on aircraft that showed true ingenuity and versatility of the men that served.  Pilots of the AVG reported dive speeds in excess of 500mph! 

The aircraft pictured in the photo above is a P-40N model.  It was an elongated version of the P-40 and included a transparent aft cockpit section for better rearward visibility.  In present days many owners modify this aircraft with a second seat in the transparent aft cockpit section.   This was the fastest version of the P-40 built for production and could attain a level speed of 378mph. 

This Boeing B75N1 Stearman serial number 75-6707 was flown by a 17 year old George Bush (Sr.) based at NAS Fort Lauderdale.  The current owner did research and found out that this aircraft had a history with a past President.  Logs show that George Herbert Bush put nearly 40 hours on this airframe during his primary flight training.  It is now owned by a private individual and based out of Kissimmee. 

This North American SNJ-6 Harvard belongs to Warbird Adventures Inc.  They are based in Kissimmee, Florida and give warbird instruction in these aircraft for about $500 an hour.  No experience is required.  In this picture the instructor gives last minute instructions on how to bail out of the plane if anything goes wrong to which his wife said, "I don't want him doing any of that."  (They returned later for a safe landing and a very excited new SNJ pilot.)

The SNJ-6 Harvard was the Navy designation and the T-6 was the Army and Air Force designation for this aircraft.  After the last moment items that were covered in the before start brief the crew taxis out to take the active. 

This is a Grumman TBM-3E Avenger.  The first aircraft flew in August of 1941.  Grumman built the aircraft known as the TBF Avenger.  In December of 1943 Grumman ceased production and allowed a division of General Motors, known as Eastern Aircraft, to manufacture the aircraft.  It was known as the TBM Avenger.  The TBM-3 had been upgraded with a larger Wright R-2600 engine and strengthened wings to carry rockets. It was a large aircraft and flew with a crew of three:  pilot, rear gunner, and bombardier.   It was originally designed as a torpedo bomber and from 1942 until the end of WWII it was the only shipboard aircraft capable of this mission.  It also flew as an anti-submarine aircraft, flew search and rescue, and used as a medium bomber.  After the war many were operated as fire bombers.  The Avenger got it's name the day that the attack on Pearl Harbor happened.  It was credited with playing a major role in the sinking of over 60 Japanese ships including two of the largest battleships ever built; the Yamato and Musashi.  Past president George Bush Sr. flew this type of aircraft in WWII where he was shot down and later rescued by an American Submarine.  Read the story here:   http://www.worldwar2database.com/~ironwomn/bush.html The aircraft pictured above flew as Tanker #D18 by Aerial Applicators of Salt Lake City, Utah. 

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© Brian Whittingham 2004