Warbird Information Exchange

A lovely aeroplane and one I'll miss a great deal




I'm glad to hear she's going to a good home.

I think that this shot wa taken in France, at la Ferté-alais, no?

:lol:

Where's Chailey?

P-47 arrives in Millville
Thursday, January 25, 2007
By JEAN JONES Staff Writer
MILLVILLE -- "Welcome home!"

Those words, by Millville Army Air Field Museum Executive Director Lisa Jester, were echoed in various forms by several of those gathered Wednesday afternoon at Millville Airport to greet a World War II P-47D Thunderbolt, one of only nine still flying today.

The Thunderbolt was the primary plane used for training at the Millville Army Air Field, "America's First Defense Airport," during the war and although not one of those flown here, one is finally coming back, hopefully, this time to stay.

Tom Duffy, of Haddonfield, who recently purchased the plane and who intends to let the museum display it when suitable housing is in place, said he has had five of his other World War II warbirds at a hangar here since May and intends to stay. He likes the area and the people.

"I hope to be here a long, long time," he said. "I can't think of a better place or a better museum for it."

The plane, inscribed "No Guts No Glory," was in a collection at Duxford, England, until recently.

It was being flown here from Chino, California, where Duffy's pilot, Terry Rush, has been becoming familiar with the plane's operation and waiting for good weather conditions.

The weather did not cooperate.

"I followed nasty weather all the way. I followed the southern route but ran into a blizzard at El Paso, Texas. Fifty miles from Tucson, there was just a wall. I had to turn around and go back to Phoenix," he said.

Then he ran into icing and missed his Wednesday noon ETA.

It didn't matter, The small crowd waiting for him was patient. Airport manager Dave McCarthy called it a "very special day."

Its importance was evident by the number of representatives of the city, the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the airport, the museum and several WW II veterans who were stationed at Millville.

"It's real heavy and bulky and it uses a lot of runway," Rush said "I learned that the first time I went to take off, and it wasn't even combat loaded. It handles sweet, though. That and the Corsair."

He said it was even armor plated around the headrest.

The Corsair is another one of Duffy's planes Rush has flown. Duffy said Rush has flown across the country for him four and one-half times.

"He never buys anything local," Rush joked.

"Bill wants a ride,'' said Jester, referring to Bill Rich, a former instructor at the military air field during the war and a staunch supporter of the museum since it opened in its present location in 1988.

"He can ride on my lap," Rush responded, laughing. The P-47 has only one seat.

Rich said later that he got a big lump in his throat when the P-47 landed.

"I don't usually get that way," he said. "I'm not that emotional."

Duffy's goal is to collect planes representing each type of mission the US. flew during WW II.

Already at his Millville hangar are five planes -- all airworthy, among them a TBM Avenger, B-25 Mitchell, F-4U Corsair, a Beech Staggerwing and and a Grumman Widgeon.

The museum's intention, with the cooperation of the DRBA, is to move the WW II Q hangar to a location next to the museum to house the P-47 and two other planes the museum has on display.

"No Guts, No GLory" has had a checkered past, quite literally. The checkered cowling is the marking used by the 78th Fighter Group. It has been restored and repaired several times and has served in the Peruvian Air Force and toured Europe in air shows before returning to the U.S.

Duffy has said that the museum could end up with "the nicest flying museum in the northeast" if plans are carried out to house the restored warbirds..

The B-25 is the old Warbirds Digest Green Dragon I'm pretty sure. I thought I heard he was getting it repainted, but...