The P40s I recovered were from right where they bellied in during the war.Some were better than others but all were rebuildable.I had to remove the 50s from the wings and that was a bitch because the guns load from underneath so we had to jack the planes up to get at them.We are in the middle of nowhere and made log stacks to accomplish this.Somewhere I have pictures of me standing on top of the longerons with a death grip on the lifting cable we used to pick up one of the planes with a chopper.Even the Russians thought I was crazy.I was sober as a judge at the airport when I managed to get out.We got to arkangel by train from Moscow and they did not check our coach.21 hour train ride was something to experience.Wild youth.I did manage to aquire the P40 that was on display at the museum in Monino(?) much to the amassment of people in the business.
“I did manage to aquire the P40 that was on display at the museum in Monino(?) much to the amassment of people in the business.”
You acquired the P-40 out of the collection of the Central Air Forces Museum!? Wow! Now I know you were dealing with the Russian criminal element. I can imagine the line given to the guards at the facility gate or was the transaction conducted in cash?
How were the crates marked for export: “scrap metal” or “used machine parts?”
Very cheeky all the way around. Congratulations.