CAF, Keeping WWII Birds Aloft
If you’re a fan of vintage aircraft, especially the great warbirds of WWII, you’ll want to spend some time poking around the home page of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). The group started back in 1951 with a single Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Eventually the CAF preserved a working example of every aircraft that flew in World War II.
Annually some 10 million people get to see these legends of aviation in action and some of the CAF birds are rare. They have the only working examples of both the B-29 Superfortress and the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. The group maintains the American Airpower Heritage Museum on a 75-acre plot of land in Midland, Texas.
In addition to viewing approximately 20 aircraft on display at any one time (exhibits change quarterly), visitors will enjoy an internationally recognized collection of uniforms, photographs, weapons and a host of other memorabilia and artifacts. The CAF has an archives and research facility and has amassed an impressive collection of oral histories. These folks are doing an outstanding job of preserving an important part of World War II history, both mechanical and intellectual.
And be prepared to spend some time drooling over their online photo gallery of aircraft. I did.
Commemorative Air Force, CAF, vintage planes
Leave a Reply