Warbird Digest

29/07/2025

North American – Canadair F-86E / CL-13B-Mk6 Sabre 56-1675 (F-AYSB).
The only flying Sabre in Europe comes to the U.K.

As there is only one North American/Canadair F-86 Sabre currently flying in Europe, when it makes an appearance in the U.K., Warbird Digest just had to be present to record some of its displays! On this trip it has been based at IWM Duxford and did three displays, Duxford on the Friday, Old Warden on Saturday and Old Buckenham on Sunday.

We were privileged to see the Display at Old Warden and on Sunday its departure to display at Old Buckenham.

Flying in a unique scheme representing FU-675, of 461st Fighter Squadron "Deadly Jester" USAF that was based with the 36th Fighter Day Wing at Hahn Air Base in Germany in mid 1950’s before it was later equipped with the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Currently the 461st is now a Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB flying and testing the F-35. The unit tested an experimental camouflage scheme which gave them a very unique appearance.

North American – Canadair F-86E (CL-13B-Mk13B) Sabre 56-1675 was license built in Canada during 1958 with leading edge slats and equipped with an Avro Orenda 14 engine and is considered by many to be the best of the F-86 series with about 50% more power than the original F-86A, plus excellent flight performance at both higher altitudes and low level.

F-86E 56-1675 originally served with the Luftwaffe at Waffenschule 10 with JD + 103, BB + 284 and finally with KE + 104. Its final duties were target towing as no.0113.
From 1970 until 1977 it was used by the German company Messerschmitt- Bolkow- Blohm.

It then moved into preservation and private ownership having many owners over the years, gaining its present scheme in 2006 after being rebuilt and de-militarised.

In 2019 it was acquired by Frederic Akary/Mistral Warbirds and moved to their base at Avignon Airport in the South of France being flown and is regularly displayed by Frederic Akary around France and across Europe.

13/07/2025

The “Battle Creek Field of Flight Airshow and Balloon Festival” held at the Battle Creek Executive Airport in Michigan, took place July 2-6. The event had four days of airshow action showcasing numerous acts in civilian and military aircraft. Multiple aerobatic acts took to the skies including Skip Stewart, Redline Airshows, NexGen Eagles, RJ Gritter, Bill Stein, and more. There were also a couple jet demonstration teams in attendance including the F-35A Lighting II and the F/A-18F Super Hornet Rhino Demo Teams. A nice warbird feature at the show was the Jack Aces P/TF-51 Mustang 3-Ship Team. To close out the shows over the weekend was a highly anticipated performance from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds jet demonstration team!

This event has a lot more to offer than just an airshow during the day. Although we were only able to cover just the daytime portion of the airshow, they also put on a spectacular night show with some of the airshow performers along with a couple nights of fireworks, balloon flights in the morning and at night along with two illumes, there is a carnival and many vendors set up on sight, with live music every night!

Report and photos by: Allison Church

11/07/2025

11/07/2025

Our third, and final post showcasing aircraft which performed at the 2025 “Thunder Over Michigan” Airshow held the weekend of June 20-22 at the historic Willow Run Airport, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Here we focus on the non-warbird types which took part in this year’s event. More warbird and airshow content will be posted soon, so stay tuned!

05/07/2025

Warbird Digest – Spitfires at North Weald Airfield Friday July 4th 2025

Friday the 4th was an excellent day to to drop into North Weald Airfield. For coffee, as two spitfires were operating that day. The first was a Tr.9, MJ444, engaged on passenger flight duty giving the experience of a lifetime to passengers from this historic Battle of Britain airfield just outside London, in the County of Essex.

Supermarine-Vickers Armstrong Spitfire TR.9 (originally built as an L.F.lX) MJ444, No.403 Squadron RCAF KH-D “lady Luck,“ of Aero Legends. Which had been rebuilt with great care and thoroughness into a two-seat configuration from its original single seat origin and is finished as an aircraft of No.403 Squadron RCAF. It was originally built at Castle Bromwich in 1943 as a Spitfire Mk.L.F. lX serving with No.411 Squadron RCAF, then with No.403 Squadron RCAF, and finally No.443 Squadron RCAF. Hit by flak on 13th January 1945, it was abandoned near St. Vith, in Belgium.

The second was Supermarine-Vickers Armstrong Spitfire L.F.Mk.lXe, PT879, in its original scheme of the 2nd Squadron, 767th Regiment,122nd Division, Murmansk Air Defence Force Soviet Armed Forces. PT879 and is part of the Hangar 11 collection based on North Weald.

Supermarine-Vickers Armstrong Spitfire L.F.Mk.lXe, PT879 was built by Vickers Armstrong at their Castle Bromwich factory and after service with the RAF shipped as part of the Len—Lease programme to Russia, joining the 2nd Squadron, 767th Regiment in 1944 having been shipped from Cardiff to Murmansk. It was later involved in a mid-air collision and crashed in the Russian tundra during a training flight. 1997 saw PT879 recovered by a Russian farmer in an almost complete state, less the tail in 1997 and subsequently brought to the U.K. by the Biggin Hill Heritage Hanger for a very faithful and complete rebuild, including the scheme it wore when it crashed. After a long restoration, which was finally finished in 2020, it joined the Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald.








Hill Heritage hangar
11

03/07/2025

Our second post from the recent Thunder Over Michigan Airshow (held June 20-22 at the historic Willow Run Airport, in Ypsilanti, Michigan) will focus solely on the magnificent Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, BuNo 66302, registered N2871G, belonging to “4Y-2 LLC” of Phoenix, Arizona, and maintained by GossHawk Unlimited, Inc. , of Casa Grande, Arizona. For many of those present, the spirited display the crew performed in this amazingly agile aircraft stole the show!

An interesting side note: As this aircraft was converted to “Super Privateer” configuration for fire bomber operations, which included among other things the fitting of Wright R-2600 Q.E.C.s from NAA B-25 Mitchells in place of the originally fitted Pratt & Whitney R-1830s, all of the radial engine-powered aircraft which flew over the weekend of Thunder Over Michigan were powered by R-2600s, including all of the attending TBM Avengers, and the Michigan Flight Museum B-25D “Rosie’s Reply,” which was engaged in ride operations.

Watch for further reports from the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow which we will be posting in the near future.

29/06/2025

The 2025 “Thunder Over Michigan” airshow was held at the historic Willow Run Airport In Ypsilanti, Michigan over the weekend of June 20-22. Hosted annually by the Michigan Flight Museum (formerly the Yankee Air Museum), year’s warbird theme was “Avenger Awesomeness,” and ten TBM Avengers were present. Warbird Digest was on-hand to capture the action, and this, the first of several reports we will be presenting on this event, showcases the headliner aircraft, the TBM Avenger. Future posts will showcase the other aircraft types which took part.

27/06/2025

As our last post on the Vintage Flying Machines recently acquired Douglas Skyraider proved so popular, we thought we would make another. Please feel free to share any Skyraider shots you may have in the comments section, we would love to see them!

16/06/2025

Spitfires at Duxford Sunday 15th June 2025

When we heard that the two uniquely schemed Spitfires of the USAAF 15th Air Forces 309th Fighter Squadron, of the 31st Fighter Group would both be on-hand with Classic Wings doing passenger rides (WZ*JJ “Lady Ellen lll,” along with WZ*RR “Porky ll“) to fly alongside the De Havilland Raphide, and operating at Duxford on Sunday, it was of course decided it would be very rude not to attend and get some images of them both together! There can be no question that the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar crew’s diligent research into the schemes was top-notch, as the results are indeed spectacular.

As it turned out, the bonus on the day was the B-17 Flying Fortress “Sally B/Memphis Belle“ was also operating doing pilot training.

The 309th Fighter Squadron was a unit of the 31st Fighter Group, which served under the 15th Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War Two, operating in Italy during 1944.The 31st Fighter Group, including the 309th Squadron, became one of the most decorated fighter groups in the MTO.

The 309th Fighter Squadron (FS), part of the 31st Fighter Group (FG) under the 15th Air Force, operated the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V initially, before transitioning to the improved, though stop-gap Mk IX version during its deployment in Italy in early 1944. This period marked a significant phase in the squadron's history, as it transitioned from the earlier Mk.V aircraft to the Spitfire Mk.lX, enhancing its capabilities in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. The group would eventually transition to the North American P-51 Mustang, which it flew until the cessation of hostilities in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO).

In early 1944, the 31st FG was stationed in Anzio, Italy, providing crucial air support during the Allied landing. The squadron conducted various missions, including bomber escorts, ground attacks, and air superiority operations, contributing significantly to the success of the campaign.

During the 31st FG‘s utilization of the Spitfire Mk.IX, a notable aircraft with that group in the 309th FS, coded WZ-RR, was nicknamed "Porky II,” and was flown by Lieutenant Robert J. Connor, in early 1944, which carried the nose art of the cartoon character Porky Pig, reflecting the pilot’s nickname, "Porky".

Another pilot in the 309th FS was 1st Lt. John E. Fawcett who also flew the Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXc, notably the aircraft marked WZ-JJ, named "Lady Ellen III" in tribute to his wife Ellen, during operations over southern Italy in early 1944.

By March 1944, the squadron began replacing the Spitfires with P-51 Mustangs to extend their operational range.

Featured aircraft ;-
Supermarine Vickers Armstrong, Spitfire TR.8 MT818 G-AIDN, WZ*JJ “This is the Lady/Lady Ellen lll,“ Lt.J.E.Fawcett, 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, 15th AF, USAAF, Italy 1944.

Supermarine Vickers Armstrong, Spitfire Mk.LF.XVIe, RW382 G-PBIX, WZ*RR (Pud), “That’s All Folks-Porky ll,“ Lt. Robert J Connor, 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, 15th AF, USAAF, Italy 1944.

Boeing Lockheed-Vega USAAF Serial No. 44-85785 44-85784/DF*A, “Sally B,“ 325th Bombardment (H) Squadron, 91st Bombardment (H) group,Bassingbourne A/F 8th AF ETO.

03/06/2025

The Vintage Flying Machines (VFM) collection recently acquired Douglas AD-5W Skyraider BuNo. 135178, N62466 from long-time previous owner Eric Downing, of St. Louis, Missouri. VFM Chief Pilot Job Savage brought the Skyraider to its new home in Huntington, Indiana last week, and has been flying it regularly in order to get accustomed to its handling qualities in preparation for attending several upcoming airshows.

30/05/2025

Here we present our third, and final photo report from the 2025 TBM Avenger Reunion and Salute to Veterans, recently held in Peru, Illinois. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of this event. Warbird Digest will be at a number of events throughout the 2025 airshow season, and will continue posting such reports in the near future. Watch this space!

27/05/2025

While the TBM Avenger Reunion and Salute to Veterans held in Peru, Illinois celebrates the namesake aircraft each year, a host of other types are always on hand to perform in the show, give rides or are on static display. Here we present the first of two “photo dumps” of some of the other participating aircraft that were at the 2025 edition of this event.