Air Marshal Stephen Chappell and Royal Australian Air Force Warrant Officer Ralph Clifton unveil the restored P-40E Kittyhawk A29-90, Ming the Merciless, on March 25, 2025, at the Australian International Airshow

Bringing a World War II aircraft back to life is a labor of love, especially when the airplane is named after Flash Gordon’s arch-nemesis, Ming the Merciless. Also known as P-40E Kittyhawk A29-90, Ming the Merciless was recently restored to its former glory by a dedicated team of mechanical enthusiasts. At the unveiling of the restored aircraft today, Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force Stephen Chappell spoke of his passion for history, and its important role in helping us understand how the past shapes our identity and culture.

"Our Air Force has a history that is a source of great pride, particularly the history of our airmen during the Second World War -they were bold, courageous and faced unimaginable danger and sacrifice", said Air Marshal Chappell. "By restoring Ming the Merciless, we are preserving the stories of the men who crewed this Kittyhawk, as well as the stories of the men who crewed more than 840 Kittyhawks used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during that conflict".

Soon after being assigned to 76 SQN on 2 May 1942, A29-90 fought in the Battle of Milne Bay, New Guinea, in August and September of that year. On 4 August Flying Officer Peter Ash flew A29-90 from Gurney Field, near Milne Bay, to engage six enemy Zeros on a patrol. Flying Officer Ash was credited with one aerial victory over an enemy aircraft, 76 Squadron's first over Milne Bay, before later returning to Gurney Field, despite A29-90 having suffered damage from enemy fire. After serving at several Australian bases, A29-90 was damaged beyond repair following a crash landing in 1944.

Fast forward several decades and work on restoring Ming the Merciless began in 2012. Chappell said the aircraft’s unveiling was the result of a remarkable team effort. “The restoration of A29-90 could not have been completed without the efforts of David Gardner, Senior Air Force Heritage Collections Manager, and Gary Walsh, Air Force Heritage Collections Curator", the Air Marshal said. “I would also like to acknowledge the work of Doug Hamilton, Mark Rendell and the team at Precision Automotive in Wangaratta Victoria, without whom this project would not have been a success".

Although unveiled at the "Australian International Airshow 2025" which began today (March 25-30 at Avalon Airport, Victoria), the P-40E Kittyhawk A29-90 will go on permanent display at the RAAF Museum at RAAF Base Point Cook, the birthplace of military aviation in Australia and home to more than 100 years of Australian Air Force history.

The Curtiss P-40 was a single-engine, single-seat monoplane of American manufacture that in the first half of the 1940s was used by the Allies as a fighter or fighter-bomber in many of the theaters where the Second World War was fought. Produced by Curtiss-Wright of Buffalo (New York), as a version with an inline engine of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk, it was never an exceptional aircraft due above all to the engine, not very powerful at high altitude; however it was nevertheless built in a large number, and the notable robustness combined with the wide availability from the first months after the entry of the United States into the war, made it one of the most important fighters for the American Air Force in 1941 and in the years of conflict that followed.