Fairey Firefly   RAN        WB518

                              

                                   Firefly WB518 was one of the first of 10 MK VIs built, but still retained the earlier fuselage of the
                                   MK V.     It was originally delivered to the Royal Australian Navy's 817 Squadron. It exchanged
                                   its aircraft for those of 816 Squadron for duty in Korea.    After being retired from service, WB518
                                   ended up on a pole in Griffith, NSW, where it served as a memorial to airmen.   Twenty-five years
                                   later, an Australian organization purchased the damaged wreck of Firefly WD828 and arranged to
                                   swap it for WB518's fuselage.  It was purchased in 1994 by Eddie Kurdziel, a NWA captain and
                                   former U.S. Navy pilot.  Over the years he has extensively restored it and was the winner of the
                                   Post-WW II Warbird Grand Champion at the EAA's Air Venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2002.
                                   The above photo was taken long before all this, of course, and is from the collection of Nick
                                   Lindsley.  That's little Nick (aged 4 or 5) standing with an unknown officer.  The photo was
                                   evidently taken by his father, Fred Lindsley who had a notable career in aviation.