This weekends extra.
B-29 "3d Marine Division",named in honor of the ground forces that helped secure Iwo Jima for the Allies in March 1945. They later named Major General Graves B. Erskine, commander of the 3d Marine Division, “Honorary Plane Commander” at a ceremony held on the island.


Took part in the August 14, 1945 raid,which would be the last Allied combat run of the Second World War.

This midweeks photo.
And a spectacular shot of a Firefly FR.5 of 810 Sq landing on HMS Ocean during working up in the Mediterranean September 1951 to April 1952

This weekends photos.
Three photos of 109 Sq Mosquitos when based at RAF Little Staughton in 1944.



The use of Oboe was worked out using Mosquitos of 109 Squadron. After four months work the device was put into service to mark the bomb aim point against Düsseldorf on 1 January 1943. The use of Oboe equipped Mosquitos to mark targets was crucial to the success of the RAF's campaign against the Ruhr. The squadron continued performing marking duties till the end of the war, including the last raid on Berlin on 21 April 1945. As the war finished it used its accurate navigation equipment to help drop supplies in the Netherlands. The squadron was disbanded on 30 September 1945 at RAF Little Staughton it had carried out 5,421 operational sorties with the Mosquito with the loss of 18 aircraft.

This weekends extra,
KG 2 bombers were stationed at Dutch airfields for quite some time. One of the Dornier Do 217s of the 7./KG 2 was given a light paint camouflage for operations over the North sea, which made it less noticeable. The aircraft was therefore known to the personnel of the Kampfgeschwader as 'der weisse Gustav'. Here the aircraft warms up its engines at Gilze-Rijen.

This midweeks photos taken at RNZAF Station Ohakea, This aircraft brought Lord Reith from Sydney to New Zealand..





Commando (Air Ministry serial number AL504) was a very long range Consolidated Liberator II aircraft adapted for passenger transport, to serve as the personal aircraft of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Commando disappeared without a trace on 27 March 1945 over the North Atlantic Ocean, while on a flight from RAF Northolt to Lajes Field in the Azores, en route to Ottawa in Canada. The cause of the disappearance of the aircraft remains unknown to this day.

On delivery Commando had a regular Liberator nose and tail configuration despite the internal modifications but was later converted to have a covered nose and also the same single tail fin used on the Consolidated PB4Y-2. The VIP ("Very Important Person[s]") interior had comfortable seating, an electric galley and even a bed, installed for Churchill. After the second extended trip, Churchill never again flew in Commando, instead switching to Ascalon, an Avro York.

This weekends photo.
And a fantastic detailed shot of a P-47D canopy.

This weekends extra.
The Ursinus floatplane fighter Marine Number 782 seen from the side with floats extended. The cockpit was well aft because the engine was set back to the center of gravity and drove the propeller via an extension shaft.
The Ursinus U.1 floatplane fighter was unique in having retractable floats, a significant innovation for its time. To improve maneuverability the 150 hp Benz Bz.III engine was located on the center of gravity. Technical difficulties with the extended drive shaft to the propeller and the float retraction mechanism limited the design to a single prototype.

Oskar Ursinus (Editor of Flugsport magazine) designed a single-seater to embrace several features intended to obtain the very best performance from the 150hp Benz six-cylinder engine. Built by Flugmaschinen Rex GmbH and allocated naval number 782, the aircraft is shown at Warnemunde during evaluation in April 1917. The most revolutionary feature of the design was its retractable float undercarriage. The pilot manually operated a small differential winch which reduced the lengths of the bracing cables on one diagonal of the undercarriage struts and lengthened corresponding cables on the other diagonal, allowing the floats to be cranked to the 'up' position. They were retracted forward against the airflow; this kept the centre of gravity forward and also assisted with float extension. In the event, the aircraft was never flown, since during initial taxiing trials at 900rpm the machine nosed over. After further investigation the design was abandoned.

This midweeks photo.
Bf 109 G-6 W.Nr. 160 756 KT+LL Gelbe 4,flown by Uffz. René Darbois, I.-JG 4.

Its story can be found here -- https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/smithsonians-bf-109-unveils-a-hidden-story-of-resistance.html