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Invader[Next Page - Twinkies]
March 15, 2008
[Photos]

Note: Written Nov. 11, 2023.

I finished up going through my 2008 images today. On this Veterans Day, one of the "new" images I have added to my site is this one of an unfamiliar aircraft from the TICO Warbirds in Titusville, Florida. A Google search ensued. It is an A-26 Invader that carries the name "Spirit of N.C."

Although the A-26 was developed during World War II and saw some action, this particular plane was manufactured right at the end of the war. In 1948 the US Air Force redesignated it as the B-26, which is somewhat confusing because there was a previous plane called the B-26 Marauder. This plane did not see combat until the US Air Force loaned it to the French for use in Indochina (Vietnam) 1951-55. It was christened as the "Gascogne" and flew 300 missions. Hobbymaster released a 1/72nd scale die-cast model of this particular aircraft painted in its French colors. It served as a civilian transport for an oil company for a few years, then sometime in the 1970's was converted into a warbird. It got its current name and paint job in 2001, but the owner passed away in 2021 and it isn't clear where the plane is currently located.

Another "new" image from 2008 is these two bison facing off in Custer State Park. I have some similar images but decided this one was worth adding.

The archiving project is complete (more or less) for the years 2008-2019. I still have to go back to about 1998 and forward to present day, but getting 2008 done was a big one. I re-edited every image, 382 in all. I wish I could automate some of the steps in Photoshop LE version 19 (released 2021), but it is a much better photo editor than I had back in 2008. Some images take less than a minute, others take longer.


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