”THE DAWN PATROL” (1938) airplane found while being restored.

I came across an article of the discovery of a ”N28 WW1 aircraft ”Hero” used by Errol Flynn in the movie ”THE DAWN PATROL”. While it didn’t actually fly, there are numerous scenes where we can see Flynn climbing in and out of the plane and the plane taxiing with Flynn inside (probably being pushed on the ground). Used in the movie were WWI Nieuport 28’s (there were 4 of them). This was the last movie these planes appeared in, so it still retained the movie camouflage from 1938 (although worn after 70 years). After the movie, they resided in storage at Orange County airport, and eventually they were sold and restored in the UK in the 90’s, flown for awhile, and in the late 1990’s sold to a private collector. The new owner noticed there were painted designs on the aircraft panels when new paint was removed. The aircraft was researched and traced back to being used in the movie. As seen in the pictures, the panel design was on the bare shell of the plane before being removed for the restoration of the plane. This piece measures 18″ x 27″. When looking at detailed pictures, the paint and markings on the other panel from this plane can be matched up exactly with a picture from the movie. The aircraft now on display at the Army Airforce Museum.

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— Kevin Wedman