Lufthansa pre-war types - Udet U 11 Kondor

A selection of pre-war Lufthansa press photos offered on http://www.ebay.de/. Udet U 11 Kondor, das erste viermotorige Verkehrsflugzeug der Lufthansa (um 1926) -the first four-engine Lufthansa transport (circa 1926)

Super photo of a Focke-Wulf F 19a "Ente" in front of the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG Bremen buildings.  Kennzeichen D 1960

WW II RAF Kittyhawk located in the Egyptian Sahara

 THE aviation story dominating the historic aviation forums during April 2012- the discovery of a WW II RAF Kittyhawk located in the Egyptian Sahara.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682566226043469349/Zdj_samolot?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKjxkt6rkNTFKg&feat=directlink#





At the time of writing neither the pilot nor the aircraft ID is established with certainty.
Terry McGrady on hyperscale;  "on 28/6/42 ET574 piloted by F/Sgt DCH Copping 785025 left 260 Squadron for a ferry flight to an RSU . The A/C flew with u/c locked down due to damage . An incorrect course was set and the a/c was thought to have crashed in the desert due to fuel exhaustion.
F/Sgt Copping is listed as missing on that date
Now I'm not saying this is the A/C , just that it MIGHT be, in view of :-
a) there being no apparent signs of Battle damage
b) the fact that the U/C was wiped off in the crash"


from the lengthy Flypast forum thread ;

" At that date 260 Squadron would have been at Landing Grounds 76 and 115. Assuming the former, that would be located about 30 miles due south of Sidi Barrani. The likely base for the RSU is the Cairo area. If so the choice would to fly along the coast to short of Alexandria then head SE to Cairo, the safer option, or fly direct across the Qattarra Depression. That latter course would take it to within about 50 miles of the reported 'Spitfire' in my earlier post. On a flight of that duration, over pretty featureless terrain, 50 miles is well within the zone of navigational error.."

Contempory report on Copping's loss "Kittyhawk Pilot" by James 'Stocky' Edwards and Michel Lavigne, first published in 1983;

28th June 1942

"...The order was given to evacuate immediately," Eddie wrote. "All serviceable aircraft were flown off by the light of a few drums set on fire. They landed under similar conditions at LG-106." The Kittyhawks landed at their new base about thirty miles east of LG-09 in the dark. It was about nine o'clock and the day had been long for most, but not long enough for F/Sgt Copping. He didn't make it over the ground convoys who fumbled their way to LG-106 in the dark, pushing their trucks through the heavy sand. Fear gripped the fighter pilots when they heard their orders on 29June. "Retreat again," was the command that came down. The-German spearhead had advanced confidently all day as the Desert Air Force moved further east. By nightfall, the Afrika Korps had reached an area twenty-five miles south of El Daba, providing the Luftwaffe with operational landing grounds close to the scene of the next battle. 260 Squadron of the RAF and the South African fighter squadrons were ordered back from LG-105 and LG-106 to LG-85 at Amriya during the day. .."

98th Troop Carrier Squadron, Ninth Air Force

 98th Troop Carrier Squadron photo album currently on Heiko Fuchs Ebay sales page.

The 98th Troop Carrier Squadron was activated in July 1943 as a Troop Carrier C-47 Skytrain Squadron. After training in the United States, at various bases, sent to Baer Field, Indiana for final equipping with aircraft, personnel and other equipment. Deployed to Ninth Air Force in England, assigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in February 1944 during the build-up prior to the invasion of France.

During the D-Day invasion, the squadron dropped paratroops of the 101st Airborne Division in Normandy, subsequently flying numerous missions to bring in reinforcements and needed supplies. During the airborne attack on The Netherlands (Operation Market Garden, September 1944), the squadron dropped paratroops, towed gliders, and flew resupply missions. Later participated in the invasion of southern France in August 1944. The squadron supported the 101st Airborne Division in the Battle of the Bulge by towing gliders full of supplies near Bastogne on 27 December 1944. In addition, its units participated in the air assault across the Rhine River in early 1945 (Operation Varsity) and later flew numerous freight missions to carry gasoline, food, medicine, and other supplies to allied ground forces during the Western Allied invasion of Germany in April 1945 near Wesel.

Beute Bloch MB 200

Some nice clear shots of a captured Bloch 200 bomber courtesy of koelsch333 ebay sales

More on this blog on the Bloch 200 & 210 here

Flying Fortress crash landing, Kyushu Q1W Tokai

B-17 Flying Fortress carries out a crash landing on 23 June 1943 - location, probably North Africa, no other details known.

Fourth pic down was actually advertised as a Ju 88 night fighter - although similar in appearance to the Ju 88 the Kyushu Q1W Tokai was a smaller aircraft than the Ju 88. Developed for the Japanese Navy as a land-based anti-submarine patrol bomber, it was assigned the Allied reporting name Lorna. I have no details on the Pacific scene in the fifth photo in this post. Antikfuchs Ebay sales...

HMS Dauntless departs Portsmouth for the Falklands

HMS Dauntless, the Royal Navy's most advanced destroyer, has set sail from Portsmouth to patrol the waters around the Falkland Islands. HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, is the Royal Navy's latest piece of kit costing some £1billion and is designed to provide an air defence shield for an entire task force. The 152 metre-long vessel  is considered one of the most advanced air defence warships in the global theatre, boasting the Sea Viper missile system, described by the Ministry of Defence as “the punch of the type 45”. Sea Viper's strike capability has a range of up to 70 miles, while the highly maneuverable missiles, which travel at speeds in excess of Mach four, can knock drones, aircraft or even other missiles from the air, guided to their target by the Samson radar - the large top on the ship’s distinctive tall mast. Defences also include a 4.5-inch gun on the forecastle (the forward part of the upper deck), which can fire 24, 80lbs high explosives with a range of around 12 miles for bombarding shore or sea targets, as well as two 30mm calibre guns amidships and a radar-controlled Gatling gun.