Interesting French Museum: AMPAA in Melun-Villaroche

[mike furline]

https://www.catalina.org.uk/2017/11/19/ ... mber-2017/
Now to Europe. Earlier this year, the Canso A N9767 based at Melun-Villaroche, south-east of Paris was put up for sale. An advertisement on Barnstormers.com stated “PBY-5A Catalina for sale $550,000. Nice licensed and flying PBY Canso, 12,900+hrsTT, engines PW 1830-92s both low tome since O/H, props the same. Recently used in the movie The Odyssey (the life of Jacques Cousteau). Nice interior, radios the usual King stuff, dual KX155s ILS/VOR loc, KT76A w encoder, dual King ADFs, switch panel and intercom – most of it works. This aircraft has WWII history, the one (! – Ed.) that sank a U-boat.” A quick check in mid-September showed that the aircraft was no longer being advertised but it does still appear on the website of the organisation France’s Flying Warbirds as part of their fleet. Although not a frequent flyer, it was displayed in the static park at this year’s Paris Air Show, still in the colour scheme it wore in the Cousteau biopic.

[mike furline]

http://foxalphazoulou.overblog.com/2016 ... -2016.html
The translation...The big surprise comes from the Association of Mechanics Pilots of Ancient Aircraft Melun (AMPAA). We learn in a video (which you can discover below) that a Douglas SBD Dauntless, which looks relatively complete, has arrived for an indefinite time. This American dive bomber is unique in France and certainly in Europe. Beautiful collection!


Perhaps the SBD is one of the French aircraft? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless

French Air Force and Naval Aviation (Aeronavale)

The first production Dauntless sent into action was the "SBD-3", which was produced for the French Naval Aviation. A total of 174 Dauntlesses were ordered by the French Navy, but with the fall of France in the spring of 1940 that production batch was diverted to the U.S. Navy, which ordered 410 more.

The Free French received about 80 SBD-5s and A-24Bs from the United States in 1944. They were used as trainers and close-support aircraft.

Free French squadrons received 40 to 50 A-24Bs in Morocco and Algeria during 1943.
French Naval Aviation (Aeronautique Navale) received 32 in late 1944 for Flotilles 3FB and 4FB (16 SBD-5s for each).

Squadron I/17 Picardie used a few A-24Bs for coastal patrol. The most combat-experienced of the Banshee units was GC 1/18 Vendee, which flew A-24Bs in support of Allied forces in southern France and also experienced how deadly German flak was, losing several aircraft in 1944. This squadron flew from North Africa to recently liberated Toulouse to support Allied and French resistance troops. Later, the unit was assigned to support attacks on cities occupied by the Germans on the French Atlantic coast. In April 1945 each SBD-5 averaged three missions a day in the European theater. In 1946 the French Air Force based its A-24Bs in Morocco as trainers.

French Navy Dauntlesses were based in Cognac at the end of 1944. The French Navy Dauntlesses were the last ones to see combat, during the Indochina War, flying from the carrier Arromanches (the former Royal Navy carrier Colossus). In late 1947 during one operation in the Indochina War, Flotille 4F flew 200 missions and dropped 65 tons of bombs. By 1949, the French Navy removed the Dauntless from combat status although the type was still flown as a trainer through 1953.

[mike furline]

The Ju 52/Casa 352 pictured in Michel Lemieux's first post appears to be in Portuguese markings.

[Joe Scheil]

OD/NG. Sorry about that. I couldn’t watch the video at the time. It’s a PBY. My apologies.

[OD/NG]

OD/NG. Sorry about that. I couldn’t watch the video at the time. It’s a PBY. My apologies.

No problem!

[DaveM2]

IIRC the SBD came out of New Caledonia and the Lysander is an ex RCAF example.

[OD/NG]

IIRC the SBD came out of New Caledonia and the Lysander is an ex RCAF example.

Above or below water on the SBD?

[David Legg]

'PBY' is the former Canso A N9767.

[Iclo]

Hello,

Just a few information to share (and probably a bit of translation duty because some information were not correctly interpreted I think)
Melun-Villaroche is a former military airport used for flying testing during decades, now hosting various associations and privately owned planes, so it could have a bit of confusion.
The AMPAA owns various planes, some of them are airworthy (Avenger, Storch,...) and some of there are restored to static condition (Lysander, B25 after its forced landing ,...) There are 2 IL planes : one is restored to fly and the second one as static but it's a long term project.

There is also various privately owned planes, including some warbird like the P51 "Nooky Bookie IV", P40 Little Jeanne", PBY
Various of these plane are operated by "France Warbird" an association of owners, it's why there planes, including the PBY is not listed in the AMPAA wesite.

There are also 4 Vampires based there: Unfortunately, 1 of them was completely destroyed in a fire few weeks ago, and a second one was heavily damaged, probably too much to be returned to flight)

As far as I know there is not F86 Sabre there: the Facebook post last summer was speaking about a newly acquired one who was planned to attend an airshow on the airport in last september. It's the ex Rich "Doc" Sudgen one, bough by the former french owner of the P51 "Moobean Mc Swean" (re-acquired as a tribute to Vlado Lenoch and now back to the US). The plan was to cross the Atlantic last year and be able to participate to the Melun Airshow in last september but bureaucratic issue (on your side of the pond ) occured. The F86 was dissassembled in last december and is in the process to be shipped to France. This F86 will not be based in Melun but in the South of France (Avignon)

Regards

[David Legg]

https://www.catalina.org.uk/2017/11/19/ ... mber-2017/
Now to Europe. Earlier this year, the Canso A N9767 based at Melun-Villaroche, south-east of Paris was put up for sale. An advertisement on Barnstormers.com stated “PBY-5A Catalina for sale $550,000. Nice licensed and flying PBY Canso, 12,900+hrsTT, engines PW 1830-92s both low tome since O/H, props the same. Recently used in the movie The Odyssey (the life of Jacques Cousteau). Nice interior, radios the usual King stuff, dual KX155s ILS/VOR loc, KT76A w encoder, dual King ADFs, switch panel and intercom – most of it works. This aircraft has WWII history, the one (! – Ed.) that sank a U-boat.” A quick check in mid-September showed that the aircraft was no longer being advertised but it does still appear on the website of the organisation France’s Flying Warbirds as part of their fleet. Although not a frequent flyer, it was displayed in the static park at this year’s Paris Air Show, still in the colour scheme it wore in the Cousteau biopic.

Since I wrote the text copied and pasted above by Mike, N9767 has continued to fly on an occasional basis, notably at the Biscarrosse event in 2018, but it is now in a mixed colour scheme that is mainly based on RCAF 9767 but still retaining elements of the 'Cousteau' livery.

[Michel Lemieux]

I should have provided more info since I do speak French....

For the F86, are you talking about the Dassau Mistere they show in the video?

[OD/NG]

Hello,

Just a few information to share (and probably a bit of translation duty because some information were not correctly interpreted I think)
Melun-Villaroche is a former military airport used for flying testing during decades, now hosting various associations and privately owned planes, so it could have a bit of confusion.
The AMPAA owns various planes, some of them are airworthy (Avenger, Storch,...) and some of there are restored to static condition (Lysander, B25 after its forced landing ,...) There are 2 IL planes : one is restored to fly and the second one as static but it's a long term project.

There is also various privately owned planes, including some warbird like the P51 "Nooky Bookie IV", P40 Little Jeanne", PBY
Various of these plane are operated by "France Warbird" an association of owners, it's why there planes, including the PBY is not listed in the AMPAA wesite.

There are also 4 Vampires based there: Unfortunately, 1 of them was completely destroyed in a fire few weeks ago, and a second one was heavily damaged, probably too much to be returned to flight)

As far as I know there is not F86 Sabre there: the Facebook post last summer was speaking about a newly acquired one who was planned to attend an airshow on the airport in last september. It's the ex Rich "Doc" Sudgen one, bough by the former french owner of the P51 "Moobean Mc Swean" (re-acquired as a tribute to Vlado Lenoch and now back to the US). The plan was to cross the Atlantic last year and be able to participate to the Melun Airshow in last september but bureaucratic issue (on your side of the pond ) occured. The F86 was dissassembled in last december and is in the process to be shipped to France. This F86 will not be based in Melun but in the South of France (Avignon)

Regards

Thanks for the additional information and clarification Iclo, it's appreciated! It's always difficult to interpret things when you don't speak the language. Feel free to add more info to this thread as you get it. This is a very important collection and one worthy of being followed!

[OD/NG]

I should have provided more info since I do speak French....

For the F86, are you talking about the Dassau Mistere they show in the video?

Oh come on, give me some credit, my airplane identification is not that bad!


I'm talking about this aircraft:

[Iclo]

I should have provided more info since I do speak French....

For the F86, are you talking about the Dassau Mistere they show in the video?

Oh come on, give me some credit, my airplane identification is not that bad!


I'm talking about this aircraft:

Yes, it's the one currently imported from the US. See my previous post for the details.

[Michel Lemieux]

OD/NG....LOL...U never know

I had not seen the F86...sorry...