Since I was a kid there was one plane from WWII I wanted to
see fly – a Stuka. Dismay is the best way to describe my feelings when I first discovered there were none to be had. There was no way that could be true, I
thought, but historians told me otherwise. Still, I knew in my
heart they were wrong.
I asked everyone, pondered aloud where one might be found, studied
them, insisted there had to be one, complained each time one was discovered and
considered unrestorable, and later even did such things as start a facebook
page called “Save a Stuka.”
People chuckled when I said it was the single most iconic
aircraft of WWII. I still challenge anyone to prove me wrong. Of course, what is
restored depends on the cool to dollars ratio.
Years ago, as the world grew more insane with political
correctness, museums actually removed authentic paint schemes from WWII German
aircraft. This insanity made aircraft of the Luftwaffe even riskier when it came to high dollar rebuilds. Therefore, only someone who
was among the wealthiest of people, who was a visionary, and really didn’t care
what snowflakes thought about WWII history would dare rebuild a Stuka. The
dollars to cool ratio would be a disaster for anyone except one man, Paul
Allen.
I first learned about his secret project well over ten years
ago. Numerous times I wrote about it. Then I asked, no, I begged everyone I
knew associated with Allen’s museum to throw me a bone, posed open questions for
anonymous information, and even sent a few letters, numerous emails, and more,
and got nothing.
Later another friend sent me one of Kermit’s videos where he
accidentally recorded its engine, post overhaul, at Vintage V-12s then kindly bleeped
it out understanding the secrecy Paul Allen demanded.
I regret never knowing Paul Allen. I tried numerous times to
catch him to very quickly and quietly tell him thanks for doing this project
even though I knew he couldn’t and wouldn’t admit it. However, I could never
pull it off. I only hope those who knew him well, who are in charge of the
dollars now, will make it fly. To not do so would stamp out a dream I know for
sure the two of us shared – to return an example of the single most iconic
aircraft of WWII to the air.
Note: Everyone seems to ask about the siren. Paul Allen insisted on perfect restorations. If the tradition continues with the Stuka, and they chose to rebuild #0875709 instead of one of the other projects purchased, you will never hear the siren as that model did not have one. Yes, as with everything WWII, there were field modifications, random parts built onto earlier and later models, but strictly speaking, if restored correctly it will not have one. The R version was essentially a long range model and the siren significantly reduced speed with its increased drag.
Update: I have always believed this to be an R-2 but as you can see in the following link they say it is an R-4. R-4s were Stuka rarities so that makes it even more unique. Going back through all I have collected I am even more interested to learn the true story of the restoration. Much of the data I have was either reported incorrectly when it was first pulled from Russia, the Deutsches Technik Museum is good at keeping secrets, or maybe another projects exists as leftovers, or maybe I transposed incorrectly? Click here to see a release from the Flying Heritage Collection.
4 comments:
Well said.
Dreamer! Well done.
Hey Rich, here comes my STUKA as a sculpture. Scale 1:1 in stainless steel. To be finished by March 2019. Kind regards, Hex. www.misterhex.de
It might be on the for sale list,like the Fw 189, Ju 88....
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