Tag Archives: stuka

Stukas Are Rare as Hen’s Teeth

Given how many of them were built, it is surprising how few Stukas remain. There is one in restoration in Everett at FHCAM which is supposed to be intended to fly when it is complete. I saw that one at various times when still in Seattle. There is also one in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The RAF Museum at Hendon also has one and this is the one I saw most recently. Any others are wrecks that have been recovered. The shape of the Stuka is very distinctive. Footage of WWII so often includes them diving in on targets with the sound of the noise trumpet device that they could fit having become synonymous with aircraft diving. Not sure how many more of them I will ever see!

Status of the Stuka

When making my first visit to FHCAM after it re-opened, one of the things I was interested to know was whether the Stuka had made any further progress from when I last saw it or whether it was paused for restoration.  Things looked like they had moved on a bit since I was last there, but it didn’t look obvious that a huge amount had happened so that could have been after I was there and before they closed down.  It would be very cool to have a Stuka back in the air so we shall see if this one progresses.  If anyone knows, please comment below.  In the meantime, here are some shots of how it looks most recently.

Stuka Time

FHCAM opened up a new hangar at their museum facility in Everett.  To coincide with the new opening, they unveiled a new addition to the collection.  This addition was a Stuka.  They had hinted earlier in the week that it might be a Stuka and I was hoping that would be the case.  The other aircraft they were hinting at was the Me262 and, since we know they are close to flying their example of that, having a Stuka would be a significant addition.  I was really pleased to see that was the case although the 18-24 months until it is airworthy will be a bit of a drag.  Good things come to those that wait, though.

I put a fuller piece on GAR which you can see at the link below.  Here are a couple of shots of the current state of the airframe.

Warbirds – FHCAM Stuka Unveiling