Home | Airshows | The Hangar | Nostalgia | Links

Mustang P-51D-20 44-63864 'Twilight Tear'

This aircraft was built at North American Aviation's huge factory in California late in 1944 before being delivered to the USAAF in December that year. Early in 1945, the fighter was crated up and shipped to the UK to join the Eighth Air Force's Duxford-based 78th Fighter Group - one of 60 brand new P-51 Mustangs delivered to the 78th Fighter Group as replacements for the Group's P-47 Thunderbolts.

The aircraft was assigned to Lt Hubert "Bill" Davis who called it Twilight Tear and flew the bulk of his 35 combat missions in it, scoring three aerial victories and one damaged. Twilight Tear remained at Duxford until the end of the war and was then flown to Speke, near Liverpool in July 1945 where she was handed over to the American Assembly Unit Number One for storage. In the late 1940s, the Swedish government purchased a number of surplus Mustangs from the USAAF to equip the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) and Twilight Tear was one of the Mustangs purchased and ferried to Sweden via Scotland. She stayed with the Flygvapnet until 1953 when the Mustangs were phased out. Once more, Twilight Tear was up for sale and this time, was purchased by Henry Wallenburg and Co and ferried to Israel, via Athens and Rome.

Upon arrival in the Middle East, the Mustang was allocated a new identity and served with the Israeli Defence Force until being retired in 1961. Twilight Tear's whereabouts are then unknown, although it is thought she was placed in storage, until March 1978 when she was spotted on static display outside at Herzlia. A former Israeli Defence Air Force pilot, Israel Itzhaki, duly acquired the Mustang and decided to restore her to airworthiness. With some help from several American collectors and despite limited resources, Itzhaki restored Twilight Tear to airworthy status and the aircraft remained in Israel.

In December 1986, Itzhaki decided to sell Twilight Tear and The Fighter Collection's Founder Stephen Grey inspected and test flew her on behalf of the Swedish company FlygExpo. The aircraft was duly ferried to Malmo in Sweden and painted in full Swedish Air Force markings. She remained in Scandinavia until acquired by the Duxford-based Fighter Collection in April 2002.

It was whilst the aircraft was under-going a thorough over-haul and maintenance work in The Fighter Collection's workshops at Duxford that her true identity was discovered and subsequently verified by Stephen Grey, who went to great lengths to prove the provenance of this historic Mustang - Twilight Tear had come home.

Living Legend

Pictures by Gary Parsons

Set to make its debut at this week's Flying Legends Airshow at Duxford is a genuine Duxford-based wartime Mustang, now back in her original wartime colours.

The aircraft, called 'Twilight Tear', was based at Duxford with the USAAF 78th Fighter Group towards the end of the Second World War. The personal aircraft of young American pilot Lt Hubert 'Bill' Davis, who flew the bulk of his 35 combat missions and achieved three aerial victories in her, Twilight Tear's survival is remarkable in that, at the end of hostilities, most of the Groups' aircraft were flown to a depot near Blackpool for scrap.

Hubert Davis had three children - son Bob and daughters Louisa and Virginia. They are all at Duxford together with Bob's two daughters. Their verdict? "A very emotional day"

The aircraft was acquired from Scandinavia by the Duxford-based Fighter Collection in April 2002 and it was whilst carrying out a thorough over-haul and maintenance work that the aircraft's true identify was discovered - incredibly, Twilight Tear had come home. Immediately, efforts began to trace her pilot and his family. Sadly Lt Davis died tragically young in 1967, aged just 48, but his son and two daughters in America were traced and were astonished to learn that their father's aircraft, which he had named after a famous American race horse, had been found. They are at Flying Legends to witness Twilight Tear, restored to her former glory, make her air show debut and to pay homage to their late father's wartime exploits.

Bob Davis, son of WWII fighter pilot Lt Hubert Davis, sits in his father's actual aircraft some fifty-nine years later at the press launch for Duxford's Flying Legends Airshow

Twilight Tear, in her distinctive Duxford chequer board markings, will be joined by approximately eight other P-51 Mustangs, together with ten Spitfires in a 'Spitfire Scramble', several Hurricanes (including TFC's new Mk IV KZ321), the display debut for OFMC's La-9, the Breitling Fighters, a German Junkers Ju-52, the world's only airworthy Bristol Blenheim and the mighty B-17 Flying Fortress, Sally B. Also scheduled to fly are the Fighter Collection's impressive stable of aircraft including the Bearcat, Tigercat and Hellcat and the gutsy P-47 Thunderbolt.

Lavochkin La-9 to make its debut

Extract from OFMC site (www.ofmc.co.uk)

A Russian built aircraft, it arrived too late to participate in the Second World War, the first La-9 being flight tested in November 1946, with series production beginning in 1947. An ASH-82FN air-cooled 14-cylinder engine of 1850 hp driving a three-blade propeller powered the aircraft.

TF-51 also to debut

Also painted in 78th FG markings for Flying Legends is TF-51D 67-14866 from Chino Warbirds Inc. Flown by experienced warbird operator Ed Shipley, the twin-seat Mustang will be based at Duxford for the summer.

1,630 La-9s were built and served with the Soviet Air Force, and in small numbers in Bulgaria and other East block countries. In 1950/51 large numbers were delivered to China and some to North Korea where they were involved in early fighting during the Korean War. On several occasions they were involved in combat with USAAF F-86 Sabre jets and other allied aircraft.

In design and performance the La-9 was the equivalent of the American Bearcat and the British Sea Fury, heavily armed with 4x 23mm cannon, mounted in the nose.

The Old Flying Machine Company's aircraft (serial Number 828) flew with the Soviet Air Force before being transferred to the Chinese Air Force in 1950. Taken out of service in the early 60s the aircraft became a technical exhibit at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where in 1986 negotiations were begun to obtain the aircraft for restoration in the United Kingdom. Following ten years of complex discussion, agreement was finally reached and the aircraft was delivered to Duxford in 1996.

After initial inspection and appraisal the decision was made to ship the aircraft to New Zealand (2001) to be re-built to flying condition by Pioneer Aero Restorations at Auckland’s Ardmore Airfield. The engine and propeller were overhauled in the Czech Republic in 2002 and the combination mated to the airframe in New Zealand in January, 2003. The completed aircraft finally returned to Duxford during May.

Home | Airshows | The Hangar | Nostalgia | Links