10/31/2013. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was delivered to the USAAF under serial 45-49205 in May 1945 and assigned to Air Material Command, under the MDAP it was delivered in March 1953 to Peru. Initially serialed 547, later FAP122, it served with the Peruvian AF until it was withdrawn from service in 1963. It was stored at Piura Air Base in the open until 1969 when it was one of six aircraft recovered by Ed Jurist of Vintage Aircraft International Ltd, Nyack, New York, on July 24, 1969, along with 45 tons of spares.

It was shipped on the SS Rosaldina to USA, arriving at Harlingen, Texas, on September 5, 1969.

(Johan Visschedijk Collection)

Assembled by the CAF at Harlingen and registered N47DE, the aircraft flew again in 1973, sustaining minor damage after a collision with a Cessna at Harlingen on May 22, 1973. David Tallichet of Military Aircraft Restoration Corp. of Chino, California, acquired the aircraft on April 30, 1975 and subsequently stored it at Barstow Daggett County Airport.

Next owner was Doug Arnold of Warbirds of GB Ltd. at Blackbushe in the UK, who bought the aircraft in May 1979; N47DE arrived at Blackbushe on November 11, 1979. It came on the British register as G-BLZW on July 15, 1985. Two months later, September 18, it was sold to Stephen Grey of Duxford, and three months later, December 17, it was sold again. New owner was Robert J. Pond of Planes Of Fame East at Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA, and the previous US registration N47DE was taken up again.

The aircraft was shipped to Chino, it was reregistered to N47RP in March 1986, and it flew again in June 1986. In December 1997 the aircraft was registered to the Palm Springs Air Museum at Palm Springs, California, on July 3, 2001. Finally it was registered to Pond Warbirds LLC. at Saint Cloud, Minnisota, while it remained based at the museum in Palm Springs."