The Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget airport in Paris.

[kelticheart]

A good day to everybody!

Back in August I took a one-week vacation to Paris and, among the many many things that splendid city has to offer, I could not miss a visit to the Air and Space Museum at the historical Le Bourget airport.

Gate guardians are three Fouga Magisters, former aircrafts flown up until the 1980's by the "Patrouille de France", the French Air Force aerobatic team.

The firts hall is completely dedicated to the history of space flights. Beyond that the first early aircrafts, among them a beautiful Boeing Stearman.

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[kelticheart]

... on the floor of the hall were the Stearman is displayed there are quite a bunch of early piston engines. Unfortunately, and I am still wondering why, none of them carries a description or identification tag.

They are just laying there, among the aircrafts displayed. Probably they are waiting for a further display organisation of the museum, I don't know.

At any rate, I thought I could identify the one below as a Daimler-Benz DB603 by the serial numbers casted on the engine casing (third shot)...


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[kelticheart]

... I guess this is a Rolls-Royce Merlin, but I could be wrong...

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[kelticheart]

..the following two radial engines look very interesting and rather familiar, too, but I'll be ... if can tell for sure what engines they are! The third looks like a V-12 of some sort....identification replies are welcome!


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[kelticheart]

...Next hall I visited was the warbird section. My heart was racing, I only saw real WWII aircrafts on two occasions in my life. Both were Mustangs.

There I saw real eye-candies like this Spitfire MkXVI in Free French squadron livery, with the Lorraine Cross painted under the cockpit.

The first real Spitfire I ever saw in my life, I could not resist but caress her wing, truly a thin one! I always thought the Spitfire was a small aircraft, I was surprised to see her real size.

Next to the Spit a P-51D and a Jug. All the descriptions of the P-47 talked about her as a huge aircraft. No kidding!


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[kelticheart]

...Opposite to the Spitfire, mounted on a high post, there's a Dewoitine D.520, but the picture did not come out good becasue of the strong light illuminating it.

Next to the Dewoitine another US aircraft: I could not believe I was standing in front of a B-26 Marauder!

This one again belonging to a Free French squadron, she carries French roundels on her wings and fuselage.


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[kelticheart]

...behind the Marauder another surprise: a Polikarpov I-15 "Tchaika"! Where else such a rare bird could be seen?

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[kelticheart]

...Now a legendary FW190A-8 painted in Luftwaffe ace Priller colours. The description talked about a squadron of FW190A operating from Le Bourget during WWII.

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[kelticheart]

...The last warbird displayed there is the last surviving Yak3 of the Normandie-Niemen squadron, the French pilots who fought on the Eastern Front flying for the Russians. This was a surprise as well.

Not only I was standing in front of an aircraft quite rare, she was also one of the aircrafts actually flown by the legendary Normandie-Niemen pilots!

Behind the Yak3 a picture of the whole Normandie-Niemen group.

I took close up pictures also because I was amazed to see how roughly built this aircraft is. Next to the smooth finish and accurate paneling of the Spitfire, the Mustang and the other aircrafts there, the Yak looks as if it was thrown together in a hurry by workers who could not tell the difference between a tin can and a plane.

Amazingly enough, we all know how deadly effective this aircraft was. Yaks' victory tally by the end of WWII speaks by itself.

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[kelticheart]

... Out of the Warbird Hall, the history of flight with Leonardo's models and Otto Lilienthal's gliders and an original Wright's Flyer. I did not take pictures until I reached the WWI section with some very interesting aircrafts.

First a German Pfalz....

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[kelticheart]

...then a RFC plane I could not identify, but I am not too good with WWI aircrafts...

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[kelticheart]

...and a Fokker DVII.


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[kelticheart]

...Out of there the Concorde hangar with displayed the first prototype and the airliner which flew the last Concorde flight ever.

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[kelticheart]

...We visited last the jet era section. Visitors are welcomed by a Jumo 004 display. The last shot shows the two-cycle small engine who was used to start the turbine of the Jumo 004. Flying a Me262 was complicated from the engine start onwards...

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[kelticheart]

... the last two pictures I took show a beautiful F-100 Super Sabre next to a F-86D and my hon, who patiently followed me around the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a hot August 19th, when the thermometer reached 36 C, with that look on her sweet face: "Aren't you tired yet?"

Cheers!
KH :ernae:

[Jaxon]

Thanks for sharing, Kelti!

I was surprised as well, when I saw the first Fieseler Storch in real life, it was somehow larger than I had expected.

I bet the same will happen, once I will see my first P-47.
There is a tale out there, when the first Thunderbolt landed somewhere on a new airfield, groundcrew personel asked the pilot, where the rest of the crew was...

[Jaxon]

The radial "unknown 2", looks like a BMW 132 to me - used in Ju 52s

The radial "unknown 1", has 14 cylinders, if I am right, but it doesn`t look like a P&W Twin Wasp, nor like a Wright (Twin) Cyclone.

Your engine has a row of very odd devices in front of the cylinders, the US types don`t have. Maybe a french design??

[PJMack]

Thanks for sharing, Kelti!

[Ravenna]

Great pics Kelti, and I trust you took her out to a great bistro afterwards!

[Bill Kestell]

:ernae: Stef!

All I can say is W-O-W! Thanks for sharing ... really nice!

[Devildog73]

and KH, your "hon" is definitely a keeper for putting up with all of the aircraft museum jaunt. Do you have as good of taste in wine as you do in women?

[Cody Coyote]

Great photos Kelti! :applause:

The WWI plane is a De Havilland DH9A.

[Blondi]

Outstanding Kelti. Thanks.


Blondi:cost1:

[TARPSBird]

The first real Spitfire I ever saw in my life, I could not resist but caress her wing, truly a thin one!
A common reaction when guys first see a real Spit! :icon_lol: It's one of those great pieces of machinery that we'd all like to have one of for ourselves.
Great pics KH, thanks for posting. Would be nice to see that Free French Marauder in flying condition.

[safn1949]

Very nice,if you ever get to the US make sure you go to Dayton,OH.The Wright-Patterson AFB museum is a must see.:USA-flag:

[Pachy]

Your engine has a row of very odd devices in front of the cylinders, the US types don`t have. Maybe a french design??

Indeed, this one is a Hispano-Suiza 12Z.