"The impossible is possible in this story to preserve history." -Brigadier General R. Steve Ritchie USAF Reserve (Retired) "All these years I thought I was crazy for warbirds... I've met my match. Warbird Recovery is a compelling, exciting page-turner that should be read by all who've dreamed or are dreaming about recovering pieces of history. An owners manual of the do's and don'ts of warbird recovery. -Michael "Worf" Dorn, Actor, Director, Writer-Jet Pilot "Mr. Page has given us something rare: A book about aviation that actually flies!" -Wolfgang Czaia, Former German Luftwaffe F-104 Commander, American Airlines 777 Captian (retired), Me262 Test Pilot "One needn't have a passion for aviation before sitting down to read Gordon Page's Warbird Recovery. But one would find it hard to not have passion once this ride is over." -Col. William "Bill" Bower, USAF (Retired), Doolittle Raider Pilot

The hunt for a rare WWII plane in Siberia, Russia. Since the early 1990’s, many American, British, German and other foreign entrepreneurs have attempted to do business in Russia with the hopes of acquiring riches which had been untouchable up until the fall of communism. Unfortunately, most of those who entered into a “can’t lose” business deal in Russia, ended up losing big. Most of the business opportunities that surfaced early in Russia were to buy bulk hardwoods or vodka, but Gordon Page of Denver, Colorado had hopes of finding something different-an elusive Russian treasure in the form of a rare and historic World War II aircraft. Many museums and private aviation collectors around the world were led to believe that there might have been aircraft available in Russia that may have been flown by one of the historic Doolittle Raiders, or possibly the WWII Luftwaffe leader, Adolf Galland. There were legends of complete squadrons of former World War II Lend-Lease fighter aircraft that were still possibly sitting on remote runways in Siberia, Russia and the stories always had “someone” in Russia that wanted to have someone show up, pay a few bucks, and then simply fly the rare aircraft away. After World War II, the Lend-Lease types of aircraft that the US had sent to Siberia to support an ally, were thought of as worthless metal to the Russians, but a flying version of one of the planes could be valued up to millions of dollars in the United States. Needless to say, the idea of acquiring one or two of the planes would be financially motivating for anyone. However, it was never advertised how an average aviation enthusiast like Gordon could get a chance to go to a cold, scary country like Russia and just “fly one away.” The adventures of a “can’t lose” business deal with the Russians wasn’t just a once in a lifetime, but twice in a lifetime for Gordon. Everything about traveling to Russia proved how different the world really is. A ride in a taxi, buying lunch, the attempted purchase of an aircraft, or simply placing a call was a strange and dangerous experience in Russia. Fortunately, the business deal ultimately concluded with the arrival of a rare and historic Messerschmitt Bf 109 to an aircraft hangar in the United States. It was an enormous effort to get just one airplane out of Russia and into the US, and there is much more that has to happen to get the plane back into the skies.