Pathfinder wrote:
The interesting thing about the American planes displayed at Freeman was that they had been captured by the enemy during the war and used in their service, so they qualified as "foreign" aircraft.
Really? I wasn't aware of US aircraft being brought back to the US after capture - are you sure that's not a myth? Most Allied aircraft the Germans had captured was destroyed, damaged or otherwise unavailable by April 1945. And I can't see why they'd bring equipment that was well known back to the US; the point of the FE stuff was technology data, by the war's end, as most of it was no longer a credible threat (i.e. no longer required for threat assessment.)
The B-24 with the early British style fin flashes in (presumably) desert sand colo(u)rs certainly looks like it had been left behind!
The Spitfire in a couple of shots was a technology trade by the British, not 'captured' or 'recaptured'.
Happy to be informed otherwise, of course.
Quote:
So what happened to the CONDOR and the German GyroCopters (or whatever thye are with the rotorblades.
No Condor. The Junkers Ju 290 'Allies Kaput' was scrapped, as noted earlier. AFAIK, after the pre-war visit by Lufthansa civil Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor to New York, there was never another Condor in the US. A number survived the war in Europe, but not long after. A couple were used as airliners, IIRC, and a couple more as war prizes, due to their high status users in the Nazi party.
The "gyrocopters" at 4:38 in front of the V-2 and at 5:55 are Flettnter Fl 282 helicopters. There's a passing shot at 6:03 of an even rarer von Doblfoff WNF342 helicopter, powered by tip jets, behind (to the stbd) of the Flettners.
At about 7:30 would be one of the last ever flights by a Ju 88, landing at 8:20.
Nice film!