Confederate Air Force

For those that love machines, particularly flying machines, and like to combine that with history a Confederate Air Force facility near you is the ticket.  O.K., it’s no longer the Confederate Air Force – it’s the Commemorative Air Force – but the mission remains the same.  I had the chance to stop in at the Arizona Airbase facility at Falcon Field in Mesa.  What a facility it is.  The museum part is very informative and the aircraft are impeccably restored.  The hanger / work shop is part of the tour and you get to see how much work it takes to keep these vintage aircraft in shape to fly.
The original name, Confederate Air Force, started as a simple tongue in cheek joke, poking fun at the organization's ragtag beginnings. As the collection of warbirds at Central Valley Airport in Mercedes, Texas started to grow, someone painted the name on the side of the original North American P-51 Mustang Red Nose. The name stuck, and it grew to the point where the airport was renamed Rebel Field, all members were called "colonels" (a tradition which still remains), and it led to the creation of a fictitious leader named Colonel Jethro E. Culpepper. There was even a humorous CAF twist put to the old AVG Flying Tigers World War II "blood chit" that read, "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care." The CAF version seen on the backs of flight suits and flight jackets stated, "This is a CAF aviator. If found lost or unconscious, please hide him from Yankees, revive with mint julep and assist him in returning to friendly territory. CONFEDERATE AIR FORCE". Their rallying cry is, of course, "Semper, Mint Julep".
In 1957, Lloyd Nolen and four friends purchased a P-51 Mustang, each sharing in the $1,500 cost of the aircraft. With the purchase of the Mustang, known as Red Nose, the group that became the CAF was unofficially founded. In 1958, the group made their second purchase of two Grumman F8F Bearcats for $805 each. Along with the P-51, this gave the pilots the two most advanced piston-engine fighters to see service with the U.S. Army Air Forces and the United States Navy.
In 1960, the CAF began seriously to search for other World War II aircraft. The CAF colonels were shocked to find that the aircraft which played such a major role in winning World War II were being rapidly and systematically scrapped as obsolete with no efforts, not even by the Air Force or Navy, to preserve any for display for future generations. On September 6, 1961, the CAF was chartered as a nonprofit Texas corporation to restore and preserve World War II-era combat aircraft. By the end of the year, there were nine aircraft in the CAF fleet. By 1963, the group had achieved their goal of acquiring one of each American World War II fighter plane. Their first airshow was held on March 10, 1963.
The CAF has many wings and squadrons. Starting in 2013, a limited number of larger units may be designated as an "airbase." The first is Airbase Arizona, located at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ and redesignated in Jun 2013. Most CAF units are in the United States, but there are four outside the country.  The aircraft at Airbase Arizona are:

B-17 Flying Fortress -Sentimental Journey was originally manufactured and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces for war service in 1944 where she flew missions in the Pacific Theater. After the war she flew for training, testing and at-sea rescue missions and was eventually sold for surplus and used as a fire bomber. In 1978 the aircraft was purchased by a Commemorative Air Force (CAF) member and donated to the newly formed Arizona unit of the world-famous CAF. She was meticulously restored and is today maintained in tip-top condition and operated by all-volunteer crews from the membership of CAF Airbase Arizona. This plane was actually undergoing heavy maintenance in the hanger when I was there.  The pilot allowed me to take a walk through the fuselage and across the open bomb bay.  The pilot wanted to know what I thought of the restricted space and I told him I was more amused with the emergency release for the belly turret.  The belly gunner had to be really nice to his crew.or else….

B-25J Mitchell - “Maid in the Shade” was built in early 1944. She’s very rare – one of 34 B-25Js still flying. Nearly 10,000 were produced. Used mainly as a low altitude strafe and skip bomber. Was used in America’s first large-scale bombing offensive in the Philippines - sunk 8 ships and shot down 5 planes.

The Stearman Boeing PT-17 “Kaydet” bi-plane served as a military trainer in the 1930s and 1940s for the USAAF (USAF), US Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. A total of 8,584 were built in the United States and is one of the most recognized trainers of all time. The majority of pilots learned to fly in a Kaydet and were required to solo in this aircraft before receiving pilot wings. Post-war, the PT-17 was used crop dusting, aerobatics, wing walking and various sport uses. It has also been in the movies seen chasing Cary Grant across a field in North by Northwest and was featured in The Aviator.

SNJ-5 Texan - Trained several hundred thousand pilots in 34 countries. Named “the pilot maker” by its crews, it was a trainer aircraft with all the characteristics of a high-speed fighter with more maneuverability and easier handling. It was designed to give the best possible training in all types of tactics, from ground strafing to bombardment and aerial dog-fighting, and contained such versatile equipment as bomb racks, blind-flying instrumentation, gun and standard cameras, fixed and flexible guns, and just about every other device that military pilots had to operate. Today, the SNJ-T6 Texan established a unique racing class at the Reno National Air Races and is a regular participant at air shows. It’s made many movie appearances including Tora, Tora, Tora; A Bridge Too Far, and many more.

The L-16 was a US civilian aircraft in military colors. The result of numerous design and engine upgrades throughout its use in WWII and post-war civilian pleasure-flying, it served in the Army throughout the Korean War, where it performed many of the same roles it had in WWII: Target-spotting, observation, general utility, liaison missions, and rescue. Post war, in the late 1950s, quite a few L-16s returned to civilian life, where most of them shed their wartime paint and resumed life as 7BCM or 7CCM Champs, teaching primary students to fly across the US. Still others went on to serve in the US Civil Air Patrol, a civilian search-and-rescue arm of the US Air Force.

The C-45 Expeditor or a variant was initially introduced to the civilian market, but once war broke out, its potential was realized and produced began in large quantities. It was used in every branch of American service during WWII and Korea and remains one of the world’s most widely used light aircraft. The C-45 Expeditor or a variant was initially introduced to the civilian market, but once war broke out, its potential was realized and produced began in large quantities. It was used in every branch of American service during WWII and Korea and remains one of the world’s most widely used light aircraft. Post-war, the Expeditor was still being produced up through 1970 and used for Strategic Air Command, civilian feeder aircraft, business travel, aerial spraying, dry cloud and fish seeding, aerial firefighting, mail delivery, ambulance service, skydiving, weapon- and drug-smuggling, skywriting, banner towing, and stunts. It could be modified with tail or nosewheels, skis or floats.

Old Number 30” is a C-47A produced by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA and delivered to the Army Air Force in April 1943. The airplane was then assigned to the 60th Troop Carrier Group (TCG), 11th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) and flown to the Mediterranean Theatre in May 1943. During the period of 1943-1945 it operated from numerous U.S. and British Airbases in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. On those missions “Old Number 30” flew invasion troops into Southern Europe, towed gliders during the Invasion of Sicily, dropped spies, propaganda and supplies for the OSS and SOE in Serbia, delivered supplies, artillery and mules to Yugoslav Partisan forces, flew night rescue missions of partisans and war orphans in Yugoslavia, and dropped food to starving Greeks. Allied action in this region seriously weakened the ability of the Nazi’s to continue to control the territory. The 60th TCG and the aircrews of “Old Number 30” were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation – the highest unit award in the military. These stories, and “Old Number 30” in particular, were lost to history until recently. A Presidential Executive Order in 1995 resulted in the declassification of long-secret military documents giving details of many of these operations. Post-war, the C-47 is a modified version of the Douglas DC-3 “Dakota” passenger airliner and was used as a corporate plane after WWII. She was then purchased by the “Wings of Flight Foundation” before arriving at Arizona CAF Museum.