Warbird Information Exchange

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) The United States will give Taiwan a B-26 invader of the type once used by the Republic of China Air Force in return for an F-5E warplane and an F-5F, to be used in museum displays, military sources said Monday. The B-26 is scheduled to arrive at Kaohsiung Harbor Jan. 9 and will be put on display at an air force museum in the southern city after being decorated with the decals once used by the "Black Bats" squadron, the sources said. The "Black Bats" operated from 1958 until 1974 on clandestine military intelligence-gathering missions, often in very difficult conditions. (By Elaine Hou)

The U.S still has numerous aircraft sitting in "storage".

This is really wierd. There is no shortage of F-5 airframes around for museum use.

A few years ago an employee of the National Air & Space museum said that scattered around Northern Virginia, D.C. area are warehouses full of vintage military aircraft from the U.S. as well as other countries, which included Wildcats, Hellcats, Tigercats, A20 Havocs, A26 Invaders, Corsairs. I've never had the privilige to visit any of the facilities that house these aircraft, because " the general public is not allowed access", so as far as I know the employee was just trying to make the visit more interesting.

Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) A classic B-26 bomber of the type once used by the Republic of China Air Force has been shipped from the United States to Taiwan, where it will be put on permanent display at a military history museum, a source said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The disassembled U.S.-built bomber arrived the previous day at Kaohsiung Harbor from Seattle in an airplane swap between Taiwan's military and the Portland-based Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum, the source said, adding that the plane parts had been delivered to the ROC Air Force Academy in Kaohsiung's Kangshan District.

"The plane will be re-assembled Jan. 9," according to the source.

The classic bomber was sent to Taiwan in exchange for two of Taiwan's decommissioned Air Force warplanes -- an F-5E and an F-5F, the source went on, adding that the deal was struck through diplomatic channels.

According to the source, a senior executive of Paramout Business Jets, who is also a member of the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum, proposed the swap to Taiwan's military through the U.S. Department of State.

He said a team of U.S. technicians will help reassemble the bomber, a task that is expected to be completed in one day.

About three weeks later, U.S. personnel will also help with repainting the plane, he said, adding that the new livery will copy the old design used by the ROC Air Force's Black Bat squadron.

The aircraft will then be put on permanent display at the Kangshan Air Force Military History Museum, he said.

The U.S. staff will also help with disassembling, re-packaging and delivering the F-5E and the F-5F to the U.S. aviation museum, he added.

Chuck Yen, the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum's representative in Taiwan, said that as a professional pilot, he was happy to see the completion of the aircraft swap.

"The deal is very meaningful as it will help boost Taiwan-U.S. friendship," Yen said.

According to him, many Black Bat squadron veterans are also very excited to have the opportunity to see the plane of the type that they once operated.

The arrival of the classic bomber brings back memories of many touching heroic stories about the Black Bat squadron officers who risked their lives time after time to carry out intelligence-gathering missions in China, Yen went on.

The squadron, formed in 1958, flew nighttime, low-altitude missions to detect radio waves as a precursor to the development of other, safer countermeasures.

Flying mostly at night, at altitudes of as low as 100 meters, the planes could be easily detected by enemy forces. The squadron flew a total of 838 reconnaissance missions until it was disbanded in 1974. All told, 15 of the bombers were shot down or lost in accidents, killing many of the crew

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) The Republic of China Air Force will unveil a classic B-26 bomber once used by the country on Thursday in Kaohsiung, part of an exchange program of used aircraft with the United States.

An unveiling ceremony will be held that morning at the ROC Air Force Academy, where the B-26 bomber will be on public display in the academy's museum, military sources said.

The aircraft arrived in Kaohsiung in early January and was reassembled there after being shipped from the U.S. It was also painted gray, the color the ROC Air Force used on its B-26 bombers since 1954.

Guests set to attend the ceremony include Roger Kelsay, president of the Portland-based Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum, which gifted the bomber.

Kelsay, who was a pilot himself, proposed the exchange in 2010 in a letter to Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu, the sources said.

In return, Taiwan will give two decommissioned warplanes -- an F-5E and an F-5F -- to the museum.

Members of Taiwan's former Black Bat squadron, which operated the bombers for reconnaissance missions over China during the Cold War, will also be present at the ceremony.

The unit was established in 1958 and disbanded in 1974.

Meanwhile, besides the existing museum in the academy, the military school plans to open an aviation education center in 2013 to exhibit every stage of the Air Force's history.

(By Emmanuelle Tzeng and Kay Liu)
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