May 2013
This rare polished P-40C was recovered in Russia and restored to flying condition by Matt Nightingale’s California Aerofab. It was sent as Lend-Lease to Britain, where it was apparently used for training before being sent along to Russia, which evidently used it in combat. This P-40C was one of a pair that lay in the snow for 50 years. When helicopters tried to lift them out, they exploded a bomb beneath one of the planes, destroying it, the helicopter, and the helo crew. It wears the colors of the 10th Air Base Squadron, a training unit at Chanute Army Airfield. Nikon D300 w/18-200 mm, re-processed with Aurora HDR 2017 and Aperture.