This aircraft was produced at Castle Bromwich in 1943 and was delivered to 6 MU RAF on July 21, serialed MA793. It was shipped to the Mediterranean on August 5 and was operated by the Mediterranean Allied AF till it was transferred to the USAAF on October 31. It was returned to the RAF in May 1944 and stored with 39 MU in the UK till it was sold to the South African AF on September 30, 1948, serialed 5601.
It never flew with the SAAF and was reduced to spares, eventually the airframe was fitted with wings from an other aircraft and sold as a playground toy for handicapped children to the Meerhof Hospital near Pretoria on April 27, 1954. Thirteen years later it was bought by Larry Barnett and Alan Laurie and from 1969 to 1975 the aircraft was restored and the Atlas Aircraft Corporation’s apprentice school did the final assembly and the aircraft flew again from Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg, on August 29, 1975.
Marked PT672 WR-RR it was loaned to the Test Flying and Development Center of the SAAF, but was based at Lanseria Airfield. On July 14, 1986 it was sold to Larry Barnett, of Los Angeles, California, USA, the aircraft was shipped to Chino, California. Registered N930LB it was first flown on January 1, 1987, carrying the markings EN398 JE-J of one of the aircraft flown by Johnnie Johnson, the famous ace of WW II with 38 victories. N930LB was operated by the Museum Of Flying, Santa Monica, California.
In February 1999 the aircraft was sold to Rolls-Royce of Filton, UK, disassembled at Camarillo, California and shipped to Motores Rolls-Royce Ltda. at São Paulo, Brazil, where it was overhauled. It flew again on May 3, 2002, still carrying the same markings, and was presented to the TAM sponsored Museu Asas de um Sonho (Wings of a Dream), 10 mls (16 km) north of São Carlos, where it is preserved in airworthy condition.
Old slide scan, photo taken in Johannesburg 1976.