Classic Wings Edition · Volume 28

Issue 128 ( #1 )
	EAGLE OVER GERMANY MYSTERY AIRCRAFT - HAWKER TOMTIT POLIKARPOV'S BATTLING BIPANE NAKAJIMA'S NIMBLE NATE THE WARBIRD MARKET	Some rarities in this issue with a look at the first Bf109E to fly in Germany since the end of WWII which has been decades in the making following the recovery of a wreck in far north Russia. The wait has been worth it and the result is nothing short of spectacular. Even rarer is the small and exceptionally agile 1930s Japanese monoplane, the Nakajima Ki-27 (Allied code name, Nate). The story of the only known intact survivor is an interesting one; it caught up in the death throes of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Another which is the last of its type is the elegant Hawker Tomtit, the aircraft having been owned and flown by a couple of legendary pilots during its lifetime, test pilots Alex Henshaw and Neville Duke. The aircraft continues to delight the public at Old Warden. Another biplane, one which was built in huge numbers, features - Polikarpov's Po-2. This multi role machine went from agricultural work to primary trainer to being the mount of the brave women who became the stuff of nightmares for German troops during the hours of darkness. :: More about this issue »