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JB II - Hawker Typhoon IB, John R Baldwin By the end of his first tour of duty in April 1944, pilot John Robert Baldwin had amassed at least 13 aerial victories, having flown an incredible number of missions supporting pre-D-Day operations in his trusty Hawker Typhoon. He would return to operational flying after taking a short break, having been promoted to the position of Wing Commander RAF No.146 Wing, again flying Typhoons and again embarking on a punishing schedule of flight operations, this time in support of the Allied ground advances through France and missions against V-1 Doodlebug sites. Leading the entire Wing on at least sixteen occasions, Baldwin’s logbook shows at least 110 sorties flown in support of these missions, with other official records suggesting that figure should be closer to 170, as this Wing Commander was determined to lead his men from the front during these dangerous missions. Baldwin’s reputation was such that he was assigned at least two Typhoons, each configured for different missions. One was equipped with bombs, whilst the one referred to as ‘JBII’ sported the rocket projectiles RAF Hawker Typhoons became so famous for using. One wartime picture shows two of Baldwin’s Typhoons parked next to each other, which is a fascinating record of this ace pilot’s wartime contribution. John Robert Baldwin would end the war as the highest-scoring Hawker Typhoon ‘Ace’, with 15 confirmed victories, 1 shared and 4 probables to his name.

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Red Wrath - North American B-25D Mitchell The four squadrons making up the 345th BG 'Air Apaches' arrived in Port Moresby, New Guinea during the summer of 1943, routing from Australia, with crews intent on continuing the work started by the 38th BG 'Sunsetters' in using B-25 Mitchells as low flying, heavy hitting strafing gunships. Fitted with an additional eight forward firing .50 calibre machine guns, the aircraft of the 498th BS 'The Falcons' would become some of the most flamboyantly presented aircraft of the Pacific War, with the glazed section of their noses overpainted in a green, yellow and red representation of a falcon's head. With all those .50 cals firing in unison, must have made for a fearsome sight, particularly if you were unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their attentions. This distinctive aircraft named 'Red Wrath', was one of the hard-working strafing Mitchells of the 498th BS and made a name for itself whilst leading a raid against Japanese forces on the Island of Rabul in October 1943, one of the first such operations. Piloted by Lt. Col. Clinton L True, 'Red Wrath' flew at the head of a force of 36 Mitchells leaving their base at Dobodura Airfield, with 200 miles of open ocean between them and their target. Bad weather forced the mission to be aborted, however, the leader of the B-25 Mitchell force apparently didn't receive the order and the Mitchells pressed on alone. True had a reputation for being a particularly aggressive pilot and wore his 'Fearless' nickname with pride, and whilst it was claimed he simply chose to ignore the order, that was never definitively proven. Pressing their attack home with ferocity, once the Mitchells were over the target, they pounded the Japanese airfield complex, claiming at least 22 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air and countless others put out of action on the ground. Only 2 B-25s failed to make the return flight home to Dobodura Airfield.

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Blackjack - Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, ZJ914 As if a Typhoon display wasn’t appealing enough as an Airshow attraction, RAF officials sanctioned the ‘special presentation’ of their display jet for the 2021 season, a scheme which immediately ensured that Typhoon ZJ914 went on to become the highest profile aircraft in current RAF service. The scheme is a real head-turner, taking design inspiration from the Union Flag and Royal Air Force roundel, applied over a smart black aggressor scheme and it didn’t take long before it worked its way into the hearts of enthusiasts and aviation photographers everywhere. Colloquially referred to as ‘Blackjack’, the RAF’s display Typhoon is a headline performer of growing repute and for the 2022 Airshow season, was flown by Flt Lt Adam O’Hare, operating the aircraft under the dramatic callsign ‘Anarchy 1’. Flight Lieutenant O’Hare took the stunning good looks of his jet and married it with a dynamic display routine full of exciting high energy manoeuvres and high-speed passes, making full use of the aircraft's powerful afterburners to leave spectators in awe and desperate for more. Ensuring the RAF Typhoon was always the highlight of any display in which it appeared, Flt Lt ‘Paddy’ O’Hare used every ounce of power his Typhoon’s EJ200 engines could generate to demonstrate the incredible agility of the aircraft, ensuring that everyone went home with an appealing selection of photographs, and a renewed appreciation of the Typhoon's impressive performance after every show.

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Westland Lysander MkIIIA, RAF No. 161 Sqn n the months leading up to and just after D-Day, the Westland Lysanders of RAF No.161 Squadron made a significant, yet largely unheralded contribution towards the success of this massive Allied operation. Flying incredibly perilous clandestine 'Spy Shuttle' operations, unarmed Lysanders were flown on nights where they could rely on the light of the moon, carrying up to 3 agents, or 'operatives', into enemy occupied France and often bringing others back on the return flight. These operations were vital in providing the Allies with intelligence information and disrupting German activities right across Europe but were incredibly perilous for those involved particularly as they were taking place right under the noses of the Germans. One of the most unusual Lysanders to ever take part in these famous clandestine operations, this aircraft was flown by pilot 'Lucky' Newhouse and sported D-Day identification markings around its rear fuselage, but significantly, not on its wings. A rather unique aircraft, squadron records show that Newhouse flew this Lysander for the first time on the night of 4/5th August 1944 during 'Operation Scimitar', where he landed in France delivering three agents, bringing back another three on the return flight back to England. Even with the addition of D-Day markings, these nocturnal Lysanders were unusual in that they often came under fire from both enemy and friendly forces, so secretive were their important missions.

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Government Aircraft Factories - GAF Canberra Mk20 A84-240 RAAF - No. 2 Sqn - Phan Rang Air Base SouthDuring the Vietnam War, eight Royal Australian Air Force Canberras from No.2 Squadron operated under a memorandum of understanding between the RAAF and the USAF, operating from Phan Rang Air Base in central South Vietnam, attached for the duration to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force. These aircraft would provide crucial additional strike support for US units and were requested because of the aircraft's endurance, bombing accuracy and their ability to operate below the notoriously low cloud bases which often affected this region, if required. The first RAAF Canberra arrived at Phan Rang on 16th April 1967 having made the two hour transit flight from its base at Butterworth in Malaysia and the eight allocated aircraft would go on to serve with distinction during a four year period operating in support of the Vietnam War. With both RAAF air and ground crews operating at maximum efficiency, the Australian Canberras posted an impressive serviceability rate of 97%, but perhaps even more impressive than this, despite only flying 6% of the USAF 35th TFW's operational sorties during the conflict, they managed to inflict 16% of the damage inflicted. By the time No.2 Squadron returned to Australia in 1971, they had become the final operational Canberra unit in the RAAF, but returned with a proud record of both serviceability and operational effectiveness throughout their deployment.

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Ford XR Boxed SetThe eighties was the age of the hot hatch, and Ford of Europe entered this new market with typical panache creating a new aspirational sub-brand, XR, which was ushered in with great fanfare on the 1980 Escort XR3. The XR badge didn’t mean anything particularly but it caught the zeitgeist perfectly and sounded cool. The XR cars all looked fabulous, offered great performance and a cool up to the minute image but, crucially, were both attainable and comfortable enough to live with every day. This collection celebrates the era defining XR badge and contains one example of each of that iconic first XR range.The XR3i modelled was first registered in November 1984 in Dudley, West Midlands. It was one of the first cars made in Rosso Red, a colour launched in September 1984 that remained popular until the Escort Mk3 ceased production in 1986. Little is known of the car’s early history but it was comprehensively restored by a previous owner in Yorkshire in around 2016 and remains in superb condition. It was purchased in April 2019 by West Midlands-based Simon Duffill, a fast Ford enthusiast who enjoys going to classic car events in his XR3i and credits the car with re-igniting his passion for fast Fords.The XR2 modelled has been in the care of its current owner, North Yorkshire-based Andrew Evans, since January 1985. He bought the then two-year-old car to use every day and did so until replacing it with a newer XR2 Mk2 in 1993. He decided to keep the original XR2 however, which underwent minor works having the underside cleaned and refinished in body colour and both the front and rear suspension rebuilt. The wheels were also refinished, and the paintwork and decals were restored where needed. The XR2 has since only been used for classic car events and has now covered 89,000 miles in total.The manual XR4i modelled was purchased by Suffolk-based Richard Pearson from R.C. Edmondson Ltd of Spalding, Lincolnshire, on August 25th, 1983. It was bought to be used as an everyday car and fulfilled this role for two years before a change in the owner’s working life meant he no longer needed to commute by car. He was very fond of the XR4i though and decided to keep the car in dry storage and use i

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Junkers Ju-52/3M Air Ambulance - Stalingrad EvacuationOrdered to stay and hold their positions by Hitler, the encircled German 6th Army at Stalingrad were informed that the Luftwaffe were about to establish an Air Bridge to keep them supplied with the food, ammunition and general supplies needed to allow around 300,000 German troops to keep fighting. In the depth of a Soviet winter and woefully unprepared for such an undertaking, Luftwaffe crews quickly learned that if Soviet aircraft didn’t shoot them down during the flight in, they were just as likely to be destroyed on the ground, striking one of the many snow covered shell craters that littered Pitomnik airfield, or being hit by mortar or artillery fire from Soviet forces who were fighting their way ever closer.If they did land safely, inexperienced ground crews lengthened the time aircraft stayed in this ‘hell hole’ and when they did eventually leave, their aircraft would be laden with injured troops, desperate to escape the Stalingrad cauldron. With Luftwaffe supply efforts never coming anywhere close to delivering even the minimum quantities required by the beleaguered German troops in the Stalingrad region, Pitomnik airfield soon resembled something of an airfield graveyard, with burnt out and destroyed transport aircraft lining the edge of the runway, serving as something of a macabre aviation guard of honour for the aircrews which were still engaged in this increasingly desperate supply operation.

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1974 Triumph TR6 Hard Top in Mimosa YellowThe TR6 modelled was ordered with a hardtop instead of the usual hood and was built on November 6th, 1973, then despatched two days later to British Leyland’s Swansea-based dealer Lex Mead. The first owner took delivery on January 1st, 1974, and, apparently, took it home to his wife who immediately said, ‘you’d better take that back I’m pregnant’. He kept it for around three months then returned it to Lex Mead. It was purchased shortly afterwards by David Morrish who had to wait to take ownership because the steering wheel had been stolen. Lex Mead eventually supplied the car with the Mota-Lita wheel it still has as Triumph couldn’t provide a replacement.David Morrish used the car regularly and had it maintained by Triumph wizards Bill and Mack at Philog Garage, Whitchurch, Cardiff. Suitably decorated, it featured in his wedding to Sue in 1978 and new-born son Nick was taken home from hospital in it in 1980. David needed a more practical car in the late eighties so his father, Ernest, used it until the late nineties at which point it went into storage. David commissioned a TR specialist to restore the car in 2008 and since being finished in 2012 it has been maintained by Triumph specialist Spiro Tanti at Classic Cars, Cardiff. Nick has been its custodian since 2015 and his young son, Ted, is looking forward to driving this family heirloom one day.

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Tiger 131 - restored and operated by The Tank Museum, BovingtonAs you might expect with one of the world's most famous restored military artifacts of the Second World War, the story of 'Tiger 131' and how she came to reside in a museum in rural Dorset is a fascinating one and draws visitors from all over the world to come and see this once feared 80 year old German tank. Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I turret number 131 was built at the Henschel tank works in Kassel during February 1943 and was destined to be one of only a handful of these mighty tanks sent to bolster Afrika Korps forces who were battling to stem the Allied tide in Tunisia. Assigned to the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion, she was sent by rail to the port town of Trapani in Sicily, before being shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Tunis. Once in Tunisia, this now famous Tiger was prepared for combat and as the Commander's Tank of the 3rd platoon, was given the red turret number 131. Joining up with what few existing Tigers remained in the area, the tank went into action against the British in April 1943, where she would face the Churchill tanks of the 48th RTR and determined ground forces, which at that time were very much in the ascendancy.

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