P-51D, Dx

[Boghopper]

A few from monday lunch at Duxford,







And an F8F



Also, a formation you don't see every day. This shot was taken in May 06 at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

[mrhenniger]

That first shot is sweeeeeeettttttt!!!!! Of course it is hard to take a bad picture of a P-51. If you can edit out the tails in the background, convert it to black and white, add a little grain, you would have a nice WWII simulated photo.

Mike

[Boghopper]

Just 2 more

[Jack Cook]

Is this the a/c 'stolen' from the museum in Israel by the IAF pilot and sold in Europe?? Not out to make trouble just curious.

[Lynn Allen]

Is this the a/c 'stolen' from the museum in Israel by the IAF pilot and sold in Europe?? Not out to make trouble just curious.

I was thinking the same thing??

Lynn

[Tulio]

Beautiful shot of the N.A. F-86 . . . what type of airplane is the other one? It should be a MUSTANG but it ain't : )

[I know what it is]

Saludos,


Tulio

[APG85]

Nice shots! What kind of camera did you use?

[Randy Haskin]

Is this the a/c 'stolen' from the museum in Israel by the IAF pilot and sold in Europe?? Not out to make trouble just curious.

This is the summary of the airframe's history that I've mashed together from a couple different posts I've found online and some Dick Phillips info.

Speculation is that paperwork from Bill Lear's P-51 that crashed in Iceland on 6 June 1963 (N251L) was sold back to someone in Israel, and the identity was used many years later on the Mustang airframe flying in the UK today.

Col Israel Itzhaki (of the Israeli Air Force) rebuilt the frame now at Duxford using the fuselage of mustang IAF S/N 13,The wings of S/N 42 and parts of S/N 38 (which is now in display at the IAF museum). Itzhaki had a problem:The MFR plate of the # 13 fuselage was unreadable and in Israel he could not have received a C of A without having a manufacturer plate which will show the aircraft construction number. Since there was also no ID plate for the # 42, he had to find ID plate for his aircraft. Two theories may apply;

One, he used the ID plate from #38 (Unknown since the IAF museum won't allow anyone into the cockpit of 38 ).
Two, he bought the ID papers and plate from the crashed ex-Bill Lear Mustang, N251L.

We can not prove the first one since no one can open the IDFAF 38's canopy at the museum, nor the second since Itzhaki does not want to open his mouth and tell the REAL story.

The aircraft was sold to a Swedish firm (FlygExpo) in 1986. One of the websites which tells the story of G-CBNM claims that when the paint was removed in Sweden, they discovered a Swedish plate which showed the Swedish AF Serial Fv26158.

It is not known if Fv26158 was the Swedish ID of the actual 44-63864 airframe, or if Fv26158 was the Swedish ID of the IAF 42 airframe and has been associated with '864 due to the alleged paperwork swap when it was rebuilt in Israel.

[Jim MacDonald]

Thanks, Randy. That uhh clears everything up, makes perfect sense now.

Now, can you tell me whose on first?

Mac

[Randy Haskin]

Thanks, Randy. That uhh clears everything up, makes perfect sense now.

There's not much that is clear or simple these days when it comes to Mustang identities!!

[Chicoartist]

Martin, calling Martin ... hullo?



Wade