Shot Down in WW2, This P-40 Flies Again!

After decades, this P-40 is finally in great hands.

Thom Richards pursued his dream to be a pilot after reading about the Reno Air Races as a kid. When he grew up, he worked his way up from being an airplane mechanic to becoming a pilot.

Richards  had a particular fascination with the P-40 and he finally got what he wanted in 2018. The P-40 he bought was once used by 1st Lt. Joel Thorvaldson during WWII. 

Thorvaldson crash-landed near Lae, Papua New Guinea, and ditched the plane. A friendly troop dropped a life raft for him which he used to survive for 9 days before getting rescued.

The wreckage was later recovered in 2005 and was exported to Australia. In 2018, it was finally sold to Thom Richard after multiple restorations made it airworthy once more.

The P-40 now has AVG markings with a red spinner and a shark mouth on the nose. How awesome is that!?