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Finally the withdrawing german forces damaged anything they left behind so it couldn't be used against them. Interestingly the jet Heinkel 162 had a blown bubble canopy made in one piece, each one was unique and fitted to the airframe, so by smashing the hood the aircraft was renderred unflyable! They burned a lot of them too because they had a lot of wood on them.
The book by Eric 'Winkle' Brown where he was charged with getting on airfields and finding/flying out state of the art aircraft for evaluation is revealing, most were unfit and he bribed former luftwaffe ground crew to rebuild wherever possible, he was always nervous about thier integrity when he took off!
The wilds of Russia are proving to be a gold mine for aircraft archiologysts some of the remote swamps and forests contain well preserved airframes because they are so remote. These are now forming the next generation of flying display aircraft.
I'm presently sitting in a small market town about 5 miles from a company that are the worlds leading experts on Hurricane restoration. Hawker Resorations have rebuilt 6 of the worlds 11 airworthy hurricanes. they built their reputation with a crashen Hurrican from the Murmansk region of Russia.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Also @ICBM the standard ME109 fighter discussed above was also guilty of similarin that it killed more pilots than the type lost to enemy action. The narrow undercarriage and poor ground handling led to many a ground loop trapping the pilot in a funeral pyre. The cockpit didn't slide back but lifted off to the side so flight wa only possible with it closed.
Cor, I wonder if it was Johnny Red's?
http://fanboy.frothersunite.com/imag/jred/first.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Supermarine_Spitfires
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
My YouTube Channel
Here's my thread with a few photos I took.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/51711/
My Dad bought me a few old commando comics off a car boot when I was little, they were great.
My brother has written a novel in a similar gung-ho style that goes all supernatural. When he puts it on Amazon I'll have to tell the forum!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
@ICBM Johnny Red flew all sorts of planes in the comics that probably never saw the Eastern Front theatre, but I remember him most for Hurricanes, especially the IID with its tank-buster cannons, and Typhoons.
As I drifted into life as a Germanist, my past interests embarrassed me, and it was only with my discovery of Wikipedia that I've revisited them. I've been to see the Me262 in town a few times, it's amazing how small it looks next to the more modern planes, but it still looks really futuristic and sleek like a shark. They've a Komet, too. That's just plain terrifying, like being a human cannonball, but with a far more explosive concoction strapped to your bum.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein