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History[]

Initially operated from Grove by NJG 1.[2]

Following it's capture at Grove it was surrendered to the RAF and allocated USA 10. This aircraft was transported to the United States aboard HMS Reaper. Reassembled at Ford Field, Newark, New Jersey. Werke Nummer 290202 was given the foreign equipment number FE-614 and later T2-614. It was flown to Freeman Field, Indiana for flight testing along with a second of the three He 219s; a He 219 A-5 prototype, Werk Nr 290060, which was given the foreign equipment number FE-612. The fate of Werk Nr 290060 is unknown, but is as claimed as 'unsalvageable' on 17 January 1947 due to its hydraulic system, though having been installed, was not operational; The landing gear not installed and finally the engines, though having been installed, were not operational either.[3]

Following testing 290202 was then moved in 1946 to Orchard Place Airport in Park Ridge, Illinois. It was stored in a vacant aircraft factory and then transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air Museum on 3 January 1949. Finally the He 219 was crated and shipped to the Smithsonian's Silver Hill, Maryland storage facility in early 1955. He 219 A-2 Werknummer 290202 is undergoing restoration in the collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., USA. The fuselage had been put on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center by Dulles Airport, however the wings were still being restored at the Paul Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The fuselage could be seen displayed near the museum's Dornier Do 335 and Arado Ar 234, aircraft that accompanied it across the Atlantic over 60 years ago.[4]

In 2016 the restoration was advanced so that the wings and the fuselage could be formed again. It will only be a matter of time for the aircraft to be viewed in its entirety for the public. By August 2019, the wings were reattached to the aircraft. As of July 2021, the aircraft's propellers and radar antennas have yet to be reinstalled, though the aircraft is on public display.

Sources[]

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