1995 “Warplane Collection”
Shepherd Neame Ltd., 25-Airplane trade card cards, United Kingdom (England)

Set Overview

Series Title: Warplane Collection
Cartophilic Reference Number: n/a
Issued by: Shepherd Neame Ltd.
Associated with: Shepherd Neame Premium Spitfire Kentish Ale
Country: United Kingdom (England)
Number of Cards: 25
Card Numbering: 1-25 on reverse
Type of Card: Airplane trade card
Card Dimensions: 67.9 × 36.4 mm
Circa: 1995
Checklist: Checklist

The “Warplane Collection” of 25 airplane trade cards was issued by the Shepherd Neame Brewery in 1995. Founded in 1698, Shepherd Neame Ltd. is England’s oldest brewery. The “Warplane Collection” set is associated with Shepherd Neame’s “Premium Spitfire Bitter Ale” which includes the tagline “Continuing the Legacy” within its logo. The set features attractive “landscaped” color artwork of 25 World War II British, American and German military aircraft.

The card backs are presented in a “portrait” format and include card numbers, descriptive text, and advertising. The cards measure 67.9 × 36.3 mm.

We are currently unaware of how the “Warplane Collection” 25-airplane trade cards set was distributed. We would appreciate your comments.

The following reference card shows the fronts and backs of a typical 1995 “Warplane Collection” card. Click on the card images to reveal full-size computer-enhanced 900-dpi images of the card.

Image-Guide

The following Image-Guide shows computer enhanced images of the fronts and backs of the 25 cards in the SHN1995 set. Behind each thumbnail image is a 600-dpi computer enhanced card image that you may access. In addition, directly beneath the (SHN1995) Image-Guide, in tabular form, are links to the original scans used for this article.

Checklist

We have provided two versions of the checklist for this set: (1) An 8½ × 11 inch PDF version, and (2) the web version shown below. Click on the PDF graphic below to access on print-out the PDF checklist version.

Contributors

John Shupek — John is retired Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineer that lives in Southern California. John’s 36 year aerospace career/adventure started in the mid-1960s when he worked for Pratt & Whitney at their “FRDC” … Florida Research and Development Center, West Palm Beach, Florida. John was part of the P&W jet engine design team for the CIA/USAF’s Lockheed A-12/SR-71A “Oxcart/Blackbird” engines (J58/JT11D-20). He also worked on the RL-10 rocket engine and the JTF-17A which was P&W’s entry into the United States’ SST competition between Boeing and Lockheed. Several years later, John moved back to California and worked at the AiResearch Mfg. Company at LAX and Torrance. He originally worked on the thermal design of the HRE (Hypersonic Ramjet Engine) which was a supersonic combustion Mach 7 ramjet engine that was to be tested on the North American X-15. John did about three more years of jet engine design work before he disappeared for 13 years into the classified DOE “GCEP” (Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant) Atomic Energy program for the enrichment of U₂₃₅. After the GCEP program was cancelled by the DOE in 1985, John was hired by Northrop Aircraft to do the thermal design for Northrop’s entry into the ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter) competition, the Northrop YF-23A “Black Widow II” stealth supercruise fighter. He also worked on the Northrop Grumman B-2A “Spirit” stealth bomber. After several years on a classified stealth missile program, John worked the remainder of his Aerospace career as one of Northrop Grumman’s Program Directors on the United States Navy’s F/A-18E/F “Super Hornet” jet fighter program.

During John’s career at Northrop Grumman he served for five years as Northrop’s “Vintage Aircraft Club” Commissioner and the Curator and Webmaster for the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, California. Several years later, John was the volunteer webmaster (for about 3 years) for the Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California. He also served as President and webmaster for two different NPO’s after his retirement. The Whittier Historical Society & Museum and Whittier Meals on Wheels.

John’s love of aviation history and aviation photography lead to the establishment of this Skytamer.com website in 1998. The Skytamer.com site has continued to expand and will always grow and will never be completed. It’s sort of analogous to a snowball rolling down a hill without any trees to stop it. In approximately 2002, John remembered that he had collected Topps “Wings” (ACC# R707-4) airplane trading cards while in High School. Somehow the cards had disappeared over the years. So at this point, he started to re-collect airplane trading cards via eBay and become an airplane card “Image Collector” rather than a “Card Collector” per se. After John scans an airplane card for the website, he has no further use for it and he puts it back into circulation via eBay. John’s mission statement for the Skytamer.com is basically to restore and preserve high-quality card images/artwork associated with the various airplane card sets from the early 1900s to the present. These cards are wonderful historical “snapshots” into aviation history showing which aviation events and aircraft were important at that point in time. For the Skytamer.com website, basically if it is a trading card collection that features things that fly, but doesn’t have feathers, it is eligible for consideration on the Skytamer.com website. John always welcomes inputs and high resolution scans (600-dpi) that can be used on this website. John can be reached via the “Contact Us” navigation button on the left.

References

1. Shupek, John A. “Warplane Collection (SHN1995) Shepherd Neame Ltd..” The Skytamer Archive (600-dpi Image Scans). Skytamer Images, Whittier, CA, 2020. Digital Image Database.