A rebuilt Handley Page Halifax III Bomber, flown during World War II, will be on display at night for a one-off event at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Friday 13th March 2015. The Handley Page Halifax III Bomber is renowned for its role during World War II. It was first flown in 1939 by the Royal Air Force and was put into service in 1940 with 35 Squadron. Their first raid took place over Le Havre and then occupied France.
The Halifax III had Bristol Hercules engines, rather than Rolls Royce as seen in its predecessors. It was used for heavy bombing raids, as well as coastal command and delivering paratroopers. There were more than 6000 Halifax III built during the war years, flying a total of over 75,500 missions. It had two main bases in the UK at Yorkshire and Elvington, and two French Squadrons.
More widely, the Halifax-type Bomber was used by the Canadian and Australian Royal Air Forces, as well as the French Air Force and Polish forces. Post-World War II, the Halifax was also used by Egypt and Pakistan.
The Yorkshire Air Museum’s rebuild of the Bomber has been developed using the fuselage of a Halifax II, which was last used in 1945, with the wings coming from another aircraft in Hastings. The rebuild has been named “Friday the 13th” after another Halifax Bomber which took part in almost 130 missions.
Also on display will be a Douglas Dakota IV and a De Havilland DH104 Devon, which are both prop-planes and will have their engines running, as well as a De Havilland Mosquito nightfighter. Members of the Royal Air Force World War II re-enactment group will also be participating to bring about a real World War II era to the event, The Northern Echo reports.
The event is ideal for World War II aircraft enthusiasts since they will get the opportunity to take pictures and see the Halifax Bomber at night time. The event was organised with a picture of the museum’s rebuilt Halifax Bomber featured in Flypast magazine, much to the excitement of aviation enthusiasts around the world.
The event runs from 5pm to 9pm on Friday 13th March, 2015. Tickets are available from the museum’s website: www.yorkshireairmuseum.org