Cuba: Warplanes of the Second World War preserved

Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in Cuba

The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document Warplanes from the Second World War preserved in Cuba. Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these aircraft to provide and update the data on this website. Photos are as credited. Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Warplane Survivors of the Second World War in Cuba would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.

Aviones de combate de la Segunda Guerra Mundial preservados en Cuba

Museo del Aire, Avenida 212 y La Coronela, Cubanacan, Havana.

Douglas A-26B Invader.

(Missiontoday Photo)

North American P-51D-30NA Mustang (Serial No. 44-74505), FAR 401, Reg. No. N68DR.

The Fuerza Aerea Rebelde (FAR) assigned one of its pilots, Michel Yabor to acquire combat aircraft. On 18 Nov 1958 he was able to purchase North American F-51D-30-NT Mustang (Serial No. 45-11700) from Leeward Aeronautical Sales in Miami. The aircraft had been bought as war surplus, stripped of its military equipment and given the civilian Reg. No. N5422V. The FAR's second Mustang was F-51D-30-NA (Serial No. 44-74505), ex-Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) (Serial No. 9233). This aircraft was also sold on the US civilian market, Reg. No. N68DR, later Reg. No. N3990A, and also went to Miami, where it was bought by Allen McDonald, possibly a cover name for an FAR operative. The aircraft were secretly flown out of the US by Michel Yabor and Adolfo Diaz Vazquez. The aircraft were coded FAR-400 and FAR-401. These two aircraft were given FAR markings as well as shark mouths. En route to their FAR base in Cuba they were attacked by Republic F-47 Thunderbolts of the Cuban Air Force. On 1 Jan 1959, the war ended before the two famous fighters could engage each other. The two Mustangs saw very little action during the Bay of Pigs invasion on 15 April 1961. The Mustangs remained in active FAR service until June 1961 when the first Soviet-supplied MiG-15bis were delivered to Cuba. FAR 401 is currently on display in Havana.

North American (Canadian Car and Foundry) Harvard Mk. 4.

Museo de la Revolucion, Calle Refugio 1, entre Monserrate uy Zulueta, Havana.