Wings of Dreams, Part Two

Now let's talk planes. Actually, let's talk planes that flew in World War II for the United States. These have been renovated and prettied up with shiny new paint - but they all flew in WWII.

The Stearman Bi-Plane. I've actually flown in one of these in Jacksonville at Herlong Field - a loooong time ago. We toured the parking lot, did a little loop-de-loop stuff and puked in a paper sack. Yeah, that was a load of fun! Well, I didn't actually puke in a paper sack, but I was as close as you could get without actually doing it - lol!

Beautiful detail work.



This particular aircraft is the Vanguard, a US Navy fighting chopper. I'm sure it has an official name, but there wasn't a display board with it. Sorry.

The Vanguard specialized in being big and scarey looking.

Powerful!

It could hold a lot of equipment and a lot of soldiers.

I guess this "Beware of Blast" has more to do with the "Jet Intake" stuff than it does actual guns and shooting.


This is a P-51C Mustang. I believe those are little guns sticking out along the nose-side.

The P-51C Mustang was built in 1940. Of all the ones used in WWII, the Betty Jane is the only one still in existence.

Dwight Eisenhower rode in one of these Mustangs over the beaches of Normandy after the invasion on D-Day. Notice the swastikas over the wing.

The B-24J Liberator.

The Witchcraft - notice the "bombs" painted on the side of the nose.

The Liberator was built in 1944. It carried a crew of ten soldiers and was armed with ten .50 cal. machine guns.


Here's a shot of the rear guns.

The B-17G, also known as the Flying Fortress, was built in 1945. This particular one was used to test the effects of three nuclear explosions.

Plenty of firepower on this craft!




There's another gunport.

I don't know anything about this plane, except it flew in while I was there and was on display. US Air Force.


No display board with this one either. It reminded me of M*A*S*H for some reason :).

That's a big gun!

I liked the way this shot turned out. Stilled blades on top and in the tail. Cool!

If you get the opportunity to check out the Wings of Dreams/Wings of Freedom Air Show - by all means go! You'll get a rich history lesson for WWII. Not only the aircraft and ground vehicles and soldiers, but there were also tents set up with displays from that time frame.

I am so thankful for all the military men and women that protect our country. And so thankful for their families that make the sacrifice to allow that to be. If you ever get an email from me you will notice my signature also carries a thank you salute to the military. I grew up a military-kid. Career Navy family. "God bless the USA" means something to me. Maybe more so than to others, but I was raised that way and it's what I still believe. The Wings of Freedom really brought that home to me.Please visit them if you get the chance!