Nutloose (# 9528),
... Hey Danny, it looks like they are working on getting your beloved Vengeance back in the air...
Stories like this have been circulating for some time. "Cooda Shooda" (for one) has some 'gen' on this, if I remember correctly.
Seems there are several groups scouring the Land of Oz for any remaining bits of VV that were not hoovered-up for the Camden Museum rebuild. Think they're all on a hiding to nothing, myself. Any bits found may be from US A-31s or A-35s: they do not necessarily mix. Seventy-five years is a long time.
The Museum specimen looks the best bet to fly - if the Museum would allow. It seems reasonably complete. But why would they ? They've got the only one in the world (so far), if they bust that, there aren't any more !
My attitude is that of the "Doubting Thomas" - "
All this will I believe when I shall see !"
Caution: if they
do resurrect a A-35 (Vengeance Mk.IV), have a care. This was a Lend-Lease aircraft; it should have been destroyed after VJ. As it hasn't been, they have broken the Lend-Lease Agreement (buy it from us if you want to keep it or destroy it completely if you don't). Nasty letter may come round from US Embassy, enclosing stiff bill (they were around US$65,000, don't know how much discount you might get !)
Camden is in the clear, EZ999 is an A-31 (Vengeance Mk.I), bought and paid for by Whinging Poms and graciously donated to RAAF in WWII. That Camden then went to a lot of trouble to disguise it as a Mk.IV is another matter.
Not fanciful, nearly put me before a Court Martial in India in 1945.
Danny.