Warbird Information Exchange

89255 to the French Navy and has been reported on display at Lann-Bihone, France as late as 1970.
Anyone known anything further about this airframe-still around?

Dave

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Hello,

It's probably "Lann-bihou'e" (LFRH) and not Lann-bihone.
I have been told that the "1S"(or maybe 2S?) squadron had Helldivers and Catalinas in the Fifties.
I will ask "old" pilots here about the 89255.


Frederic

Hi Dave... I was always under the impression she was scrapped, but would loved to be proved wrong. She certainly does not survive in any of the major collections (unless as parts), but I suppose it's always possible she was tucked away in a barn somewhere like TFC's Hawk 75. I somehow doubt it though.

Cheers,
Richard

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Does anyone know what happened to Robs Lamplough's Greek Helldiver?

!!!! That's something I've never heard about. Do you have any more details/photos? It certainly has never appeared on any lists.

Cheers,
Richard

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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography - http://www.rmallnutt.com

Frederic, thanks, hopefully they can shed some light on the matter. Always a sad when an airframe surives for so long, only to be scrapped before finding a safe and secure home.

Dave

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I was reviewing Joe Baugher's website for SB2C BuNos. so as to determine as to how many went to France. I could only see ONE that was identified as going to France yet there were 28 that went to Greece. Is it possible that the French absorbed some of the Greek inventory? Given my resources I have no idea as to many France received. I perused my reference book "Vietnam: The War in the Air" by Francillion and there are a number of photos depicting SB2C's in Indochina thru 1953. Oddly enough there is a photo of the aircraft carrier Bois Belleau at anchor near the entrance to Hanoi harbor with 7 F6F's, 8 SB2C's, 2 HUP's and one Fairy Barracuda !!

Robs' Helldiver was something of an 'in joke' around Duxford in the '80s. I've got a photo of it, unfortunately not accessible at the moment. It consists of a fuselage section from the firewall back to the windscreen - about 4 feet of it, and came off a beach in Greece IIRC. If it had been a Spitfire, it would probably be flying by now!