Wings of Freedom Tour brings World War II-era aircraft to Butler County
PENN TWP — A short but furious electrical storm Thursday afternoon wasn't the only thunder in the sky over the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.
Five World War II airplanes — the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, P-51 Mustang and P-40 Warhawk — made their loud and impressive arrival about 1:20 p.m. as more than 150 people watched in awe along the fence at the airport parking lot and in the grassy strip along Airport Road.
The first to arrive was the massive Flying Fortress, which spurred many memories in the 99-year-old mind of Jim Davis of Center Township.
Davis was a technical sergeant in the Army Air Corps' 94th Bomb Group from 1942 to 1944, serving most of that time as a propeller specialist on the B-17 at Rougham Air Base in Bury St. Edmunds, England.
“I think what a great airplane they were,” Davis said of his thoughts on seeing the B-17 again. “They'd take a beating.”
He easily recalls the details of his time in England during the war.
“Each squadron had 16 planes,” Davis said. “It was my job to remove and replace the propellers when they would change the engines.”
He also worked on the mechanical and hydraulic components within the propeller's hub.
A certain wrench that came with the tool kit to replace the hub on the huge propellers was too flimsy for the job, so Davis had a solid, stainless steel version made in Pueblo, Colo.
Gazing at the Flying Fortress just a few feet away, Davis explained to another visitor standing beside him that the plane had a crew of 10 and a diminutive gunner had to be found to fit into a small ball turret suspended from the lower midsection of the plane.
“That ball turned every direction,” Davis said.
Davis also had memories of the P-51 Mustang, a short, scrappy fighter sitting jauntily beside the immense B-17.He recalled that the Mustang was the first American fighter plane that could accompany the bombers to Germany in the air.“That's the plane that beat the German fighters,” Davis said.One occurrence he recalls after more than 75 years is a fighter pilot who made an emergency landing at Rougham in a plane that was completely shot up from German fire.Davis and his fellow soldiers watched in amazement as the shredded bird miraculously made a safe landing and limped to a stop.“You could drop a washtub through a hole in the wing,” Davis said.He said the commander of the base, a colonel, came out onto the airstrip to greet the pilot, who followed protocol despite his nerve-racking landing and snapped to attention with a salute to the superior officer.“The commander said 'Son, the fact that you landed that plane in that condition ... I should be saluting you,'” Davis said.While they didn't have direct experience with the World War II planes at the airport on Thursday, many gazed at them in awe. Others lined up to pay the fee and peruse the planes up close.Bob Dora of Elizabeth, Allegheny County, shifted excitedly from one foot to the other as he filled out the paperwork to take a ride in the P-51 Mustang.“It's been my number-one bucket list item forever, but I could never afford it,” Dora said. “Now I can.”Asked why he is fascinated with the Mustang, Dora made an incredulous face.“The Mustang is the fastest, the best and the most popular,” Dora replied. “It's the neatest plane of all time.”Demi Bamber, the flight coordinator with the Wings of Freedom Tour, said the planes visit 110 to 120 cities per year in 300 consecutive days. On Thursday, they arrived in Butler from Jamestown, N.Y.
“Being able to experience them in flight truly keeps people engaged,” Bamber said of the rides offered by Wings of Freedom.She said many youngsters whose parents bring them to the display immediately begin pestering their parents to buy them a book about the planes so they can learn more, Bamber said.The World War II veterans who flew and worked on the planes are becoming fewer and farther between at the shows, she said.“They are all in their 90s and 100s,” Bamber said. “We are here to honor them and keep all their efforts alive.”A much younger veteran, Amanda Wissinger of Butler, came to see the planes with her husband, Tim.Amanda served with security forces in the Air Force from 2004 to 2008, including a deployment to Qatar.“I like anything military related, plus it's history,” she said of the World War II planes, “and my husband is a history buff.”She especially enjoyed the P-40 Warhawk, which served as the early front-line American fighters during World War II, and the P-51 Mustang, which was engineered and built later to outdo the high-tech German warplanes of the time.“We didn't have the cool planes on our base,” Amanda said.She was glad that such a large crowd turned out to see the big birds arrive.“It's important to see because it's our history,” Amanda said.Les and Debra Isles of Middlesex Township brought their daughter and her family to see the planes.“These planes aren't going to be around forever,” Debra said, “and I enjoy being with my grandchildren.”
One of those grandchildren, Christopher Kowalczyk, 7, of Wexford, said his favorite was the Mustang.“They fought the Germans,” Christopher said. “All the planes defended our freedom.”His younger brother, Matthew, 6, was most impressed with the hulking B-17.“It's so big,” he said.Teenage members of the Civil Air Patrol prepared for their job of parking cars during the weekend-long Wings of Freedom event.Chase Allard said he finds the event “fun and interesting.”“I think (the planes) endured a lot and were a key part in the war,” Chase said.He hopes to check out the planes at some point, particularly his favorite, the B-24 Liberator. He appreciates that plane because of the history of its design.“I'm surprised they could land here,” Chase said of the big bombers.The five airplanes in the Wings of Freedom display will remain at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport until 5 p.m. on Sunday.More information on the event, including pricing to enter the tarmac and look at the planes as well as taking a ride, is available at www.collingsfoundation.org.
