LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) – A World War II bomber restored during 12 years of volunteer work in central Ohio has been flown to a museum in New York.
The Historical Aircraft Squadron in Lancaster donated the labor needed to get the twin-engine plane back into flying condition, and the California plane collector who owns it paid about $200,000 for parts.
The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reports the 26,000-pound plane was flown Tuesday to the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum in Geneseo, N.Y., for display.
Tuesday was its seventh – and potentially last – flight.
“They’ll keep it a flyable plane, but who’s to say if it will fly again,” said Branson Rutherford, a volunteer with the organization who oversaw much of the plane’s restoration.
The squadron says the aircraft was introduced to combat late in World War II and flew in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Squadron and museum officials say the plane that originated as an A-26 bomber was later designated as a B-26 (1948-1965). They say operational planes of either type are rare.
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Information from: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com
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AP-WF-07-06-11 1518GMT
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