Udvar-Hazy Aircraft Museum - Part 2

Following on (apologies for the delay) from Part 1 here:

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2025/09/udvar-hazy-aircaft-museum-part-1.html

The German WW2 collection had lovely Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8/R1 and a Me 163 B-1a Komet on display, but their V1 "buzz bomb" and BF109 G-6 were under restoration. 

Me163 Komet - I've only previously seen one at the Australian War Memorial

Then they had some unique artefacts, including:

Dornier Do 335 A-0 Pfeil (Arrow), a heavy fighter with an usual dual nose/tail propeller design in a push/pull configuration that gave it an impressive 800mph speed. This is the only surviving example.

Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz (Lightning) - the world's first turbo jet bomber, fielded by the Luftwaffe from Sep 1944. This design was used predominantly for aerial reconnaissance (though at least 2 missions were sent to destroy the famous Remagen Bridge after its capture) and as the last German aircraft to overfly the UK during hostilities, in April 1945.

Horten Ho229 v3

This 'flying wing' design was commenced in 1943. A single crewed, twin-engine fighter/bomber, it was one of the earliest jet aircraft and had a design speed of 1000mph, significantly outpacing Allied fighters.

A prototype flew in early 1945, 3 months before the war's end but was far from ready for production when Germany surrendered.This aircraft was captured by the advancing US Army in April 1945 and is the only remaining example in the world.

This was the first in a series of large 'flying wing' designs, some of which were included in the 'Amerika Bomber' projekt

But my favourite in the collection was the recently restored Heinkel He 219 A-2/R4 Uhu (Eagle Owl) - probably the best nightfighter (nachtjager) of WW2.

Thats the FW-190 on the left and the Arado Blitz off to the right

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/heinkel-he-219-2r4-uhu-eagle-owl/nasm_A19600322000

This aircraft design made its combat debut in June 1943, sporting a pressurised cockpit with twin ejection seats (the first military aircraft go be fitted with them), Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar, and six Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm autocannons - two in the wing roots inboard of the engines and four more ventrally. Later versions (model A-7 onwards) were fitted with the iconic Sträge Musik which fired 2 x 30mm upwards at 65 degrees.

 

This aircraft is one of 3 captured by the US Army Air Force at the end of WW2 (Operation LUSTY) from the Luftwaffe's 1st Night Fighter Wing at Grove, Denmark, and is currently the only one on display in the world.

Amazing crew vision from the cockpit

Closeup of the nose mounted Lichtenstein radar:

And was it really my favourite? Well lets just say its the only one I made video footage for :-)

In comparison the WW1 section was small, though boasted 3 'string-bags' of fame:

Nieuport 28C.1  

Spad XVI

Halberstadt CL.IV

Definitely a"must see" spot when travelling through Washington DC!

Udvar-Hazy Aircaft Museum - Part 1

Off on another work trip this week, this time to DC- and I got a chance to visit the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport. Think of it as the Smithsonian's overspill storage spot!

https://www.si.edu/museums/air-and-space-museum-udvar-hazy-center

Starting with the Queen of the collection: OV-103 Space Shuttle Discovery, the third operational and most flown of the Shuttle orbiters whose key achievements include deploying the Hubble telescope, 2 missions to MIR and 13 to the ISS. Retired in 2012 after 39 missions.

I have now seen all but one of the surviving shuttle orbiters :-)

My most artistic shot of the day!

Two other gems in the collection were striking.  This first ever nuclear strike bomber needs no introduction. And as you can see, she dominates her Wing of the Museum

And the inimitable SR-71 Blackbird needs no introduction either!

An F4U Corsair hangs from the ceiling like my old Tamiya models (without the glue splodges). Famous in the Pacific War and piloted by legends like Major "Pappy" Boyington, USMC of the "Black Sheep" Squadron

A B-17G "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby": undergoing preservation.

For Korean War MiG Alley affectionados is the duelling duo of a USAF F- 86A Sabre and the MiG-15bis FAGOT-B.  

Similar but not quite the same as those I saw seen recently at Ford Island Aviation Museum in Hawaii. This MiG-15 is a Chinese Ji-2 modification but its history prior to being bought by an American collector in the 1980s in not known.

The elevated walkway through the main halls allows you to get some unusual aspects from above

This Sabre is one of the aircraft that was assigned to the 4th Fighter Interceptor Group at Kimpo in December 1950.

Thats probably enough pics for this post - standby for a Part 2 followup!

Rendezvous in the Western Approaches

"Little Creatures" - the must stop brewery in Fremantle

This week Comrade James and I were independently on the West coast of Australia for our respective employers, far flung from our usual haunts.  What was to be be done? Pizza, Beers, Hobby shopping and games of course!

A pilgrimage to the famous Hobby Shop "Tactics" in Perth - a great selection of goodness. Hobby dollars were spent without remorse, including some great pickups for our growing Aeronautica Imperialis collection.

After a pizza and a few pints, it was down to buisness, starting with an old favourite game of ours: Flying Circus. This a WW1 version of GMT's Down in Flames series which we have played to death over the decades, and it never fails to entertain (especially with Spotify playing WW1 trench songs in the background)

And then it was time for something completely different: Steam Torpedo which despite its confusing rules explanations, turned into quite an absorbing game of sub v sub combat in a Dieselpunk theme (with Hunt for Red Octiber themes in the background of course)

Overall, a fab way to spend a day far from home with a mate you've been gaming with for 30 years!

April Hobby Roundup

Well its been a month since AHPC 11 completed, and I thought I would try and get back into my monthly blog update routine.

First up we had a great Warhammer Fantasy Battle pitting Beastmen against Dark Elves at 6k points -  very satisfying to get all the Beastmen toys onto the table and you can see more of that in my last post here. We followed that up with Reilly getting his new dual Araknarok Goblin army onto the field, also against Dark Elves.

Cinematic end to the battle: The Araknarok envenoms and kills the War Hydra!

I also have started some mid week gaming again with Comrade James- Blood Red Skies with a MiG Alley theme was fun, as was my introduction to Fallout Wasteland Warfare which was wonderfully thematic to that game franchise.

Then we did a little bit of terrain to progress our new 8 x 4 urban city ruin table project.

I also painted up a Mantis Warrior as a renegade, to join my World Eaters.  The Mantis Warriors were part of the original Rogue Trader release lore and were part of the "accidental rebels" in the Badab War. I wanted to paint one up that wasn't in fact sorry at all, and was delighted to have him featured in the Warhammer TV Hobby Round up program recently.

I went to town with the paint chipping effects

and am pretty happy with how the freehand Chapter symbol came out

And last but certainly not least, our family sat down to play pandemic recently and got rare win! Guess that means we are ready for our COVID Vaccinations :-)

Hope you are all well out there!