Invader for Poland
As recently announced by the organizers of the Antidotum Airshow Leszno, in Leszno, Poland Douglas A-26C Invader 44-34313 ‘Sweet Eloise II’ will make its European debut during their show on 17 and 18 June 2022. In the coming weeks the warbird, registered as NL4313 (c/n 27592), will be ferried from Santa Rosa (CA), USA to its new owner in Poland.
The Invader was built in 1945 as an A-26B-50 but modified into an A-26C, with glass nose, before being sent to Korea, where it saw extensive use in the war. 44-34313 was the personal aircraft of the 730th Bomb Squadron Commander, Charles H. Howe, at Pusan, South Korea in 1951, who named the aircraft ‘Sweet Eloise’ after his wife. ‘Eloise’ accumulated close to 1900 combat hours in two years.
After four years of storage, the Invader was sold at a government surplus auction in 1957, and became registered as N5457V. Initially converted for cloud seeding, the machine was modified into a waterbomber, ‘Tanker #27’ in 1960. During this modification, the solid nose was re-introduced. Until retirement in 1986, the A-26 was flown as a waterbomber in both the USA and Canada.
The last commercial user was Conair of Abbotsford, Canada, where she flew as C-GHLK, ‘Tanker #23’. Conair donated the plane to the Reynolds Aviation Museum, but it was soon sold to Don Crowe of Victoria (BC) who repainted her in the WWII livery of the 319th Bomb Group and refitted her (again) with a ‘C model’ glass nose.
From 1990 to 1999, C-GHLK was flown by the Canadian Warplane Heritage, for some period even in French military colours. In July 1999, the Invader was sold back to the USA, where David R. Lane had her registered as N119DR, and named her ‘Miss Michelle’. In 2011 the machine was acquired by two new owners in Santa Rosa (CA) and they registered the A-26 as N4313 and named her ‘Sweet Eloise II’, bringing back the wartime name.
Currently, the aircraft is awaiting its ferry flight to Europe where she will be taken by the new owner in Poland. When it arrives, the aircraft will be one of only three A-26s flying in Europe, the other two being the A-26B N167B ‘Sugarland Express’ of Nordic Warbirds, based at Västerås in Sweden and the A-26B N500MR ‘Rum and Coke’ of Tina Fly GmbH based at Bremgarten in southwest Germany.
Photo: Dan Stijovich via AirHistory.net
Source: Europeanairshows.co.uk