Planes of Fame seminar on ‘Hitler’s Vegeance Weapon’

The British Gloster Meteor IV jet fighter will be displayed during
the Planes of Fame Air Museum Living History Flying Event at
the Chino Airport on Saturday, May 1.

Chino, Calif. - The British Gloster Meteor Mk. IV jet fighter and the German V-1 'Buzz Bomb's' pulse jet engine, "Hitler's Vengeance Weapon', will be the subject of the monthly Living History Flying Event hosted by Planes of Fame Air Museum at the Chino Airport on Saturday, May 1. The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a seminar describing the use of German's pulse jet-powered V-1s against Britain and the British use of the Meteor jet fighters against the 'Buzz Bombs'. It will conclude with a member-supported warbird orientation flight in the Planes of Fame Air Museum Cessna L-19 Bird Dog.

Near the end of World War II, jet propulsion was in its infancy. Countries such as Germany, Britain, the United States, Italy, Japan and Russia had begun to experiment with various forms of jet propulsion, including turbojet, rocket and pulse jet concepts, for both aircraft and guided missile. Only Germany managed to employ all three types of jet propulsion in combat before the end of the war, though Britain did deploy a small number of Gloster Meteor jet fighters against Germany in the last months of the war. In fact, the only jet versus jet combat that actually took place during WWII was the British use of Gloster Meteor jet fighters against the pulse jet-powered German V-1 "vengeance weapons."

An independent, non-profit institution dedicated to the preservation of the artifacts and history of aviation, Planes of Fame was the permanent air museum in the American West, and a pioneer in the concept of restoring historic display aircraft to flying condition. Staffed primarily by a core of dedicated volunteers, the museum supports its operations with admission fees, donations, faciltities rentals and proceeds from the use of its aircraft in various productions.

Planes of Fame Air Museum also has a special program available to the public, with one of the privileges of membership being the opportunity to experience orientation flights in genuine warbirds. At each monthly Living History Flying Event, members in attendance can have their names entered into a drawing for the free flight.

Planes of Fame Air Museum is open to the public every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. General admission is $11, youngsters 5-11 are admitted for $4 and admission is free for accompanied children under age 5. For more information, call 909-597-7576 or visit the museum's Web site at www.planesoffame.org