This is OmahaNebraska.com with…
John Mummery, and I’m with the Commemorative Air Force.
Tell us a little bit about the Commemorative Air Force and what you do.
The Commemorative Air Force is a worldwide non-profit organization that operates World War II aircraft. We operate the largest fleet in the world, about 175 flying aircraft from World War II.
Tell me a little bit about this particular plane and what it did.
We’re here today at the Offutt Air Force Base Show. We’re based out of Grand Junction, Colorado, and what we flew here today is a Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bomber from World War II.
Is that similar to a P-3?
No, this would have been the largest of aircraft deployed to U.S. carriers in World War II, and it carried a single 2,000-pound torpedo, primarily used against Japanese shipping in World War II.
And tell us a little bit about yourself and what you did before and then why you’re with the CAF.
Okay, so I’m retired, and this is really my retirement gig. I just love old World War II aircraft. I love going to shows and trying to foster our mission, which is really to kind of educate people about World War II and the heroes of World War II, as well as inspire younger generations using the example of what people did in the war, and inspire the younger generations along similar paths of excellence.
World War II was a very remarkable time. So many people stepping up to the plate and doing things they didn’t even know they could do.
That’s correct. One of the things I love talking to younger people about is the fact that the men that served in these aircraft were all in their late teens and early 20s. I try to inspire them by saying they’re in the same age group, and they have the same opportunities today as back then, if they think about it. They just have to seek out those opportunities and they can perform just like the so-called Greatest Generation performed as well.
Is there a particular mission for this one that sticks out in your mind?
Well, this one, yes. This one’s unique because it is an actual combat veteran. Now, it was delivered in 1945 with the intention of being deployed for the invasion of Japan. It never got deployed because the war ended. However, very quickly it went into service with the Canadian Navy, and it served for a number of years in anti-submarine patrol in the North Atlantic off of Canadian aircraft carriers.
That’s why I was thinking of the other more modern aircraft.
Exactly. So it actually was the precursor—you’re correct—of the P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft. The other interesting thing is that other than being a carrier combat veteran of the Cold War, this aircraft was selected due to its missions. It was selected to be one of only 12 aircraft that honored the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and it flew over her coronation in 1953.
It was in active Canadian service, and she chose it to represent the Commonwealth of Canada for her coronation.
Wow.
Yes. It also served in some movies, such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was in that movie. We’ve restored it to what it would have looked like had it gone to the invasion of Japan. That’s how we’ve restored its look. But it’s really a veteran of the Canadian Cold War.
It takes a tremendous amount of money, even with a modern plane, to keep it up and all of that. Tell us about some of the restoration work for this and for your other planes and how people can get involved.
The Commemorative Air Force has what we call wings or squadrons all over the country. The closest one to Omaha is based in Council Bluffs, and it’s called the Great Plains Squadron, but we have them all over the country. People can volunteer for those squadrons to either help restore aircraft or help keep them flying. The typical World War II aircraft now for restoration will take about 20 years to restore. They’re very, very long projects. This one took us about 10 years to restore. and has been flying actively on tour since the early ’80s.
Does your organization have a website?
Yes, the Rocky Mountain Wing of the Commemorative Air Force has a website at rmwcaf.org.
I’m sure there’s a donation button there…
There is a donation button there. [ https://rmwcaf.org/donate-and-support-the-rmw ] There’s also a link to our rides button. One of the most unique things we do is to offer rides in a lot of our aircraft to the general public. [ https://rmwcaf.org/warbird-rides ] That’s an unbelievable experience. Our absolute most favorite thing that we do on tour—and it’s getting more rare—is to be able to give a ride to an actual World War II veteran who served in the actual aircraft. This year in St. George, Utah, we flew a 101-year-old veteran who was a ball turret gunner in a TBM Avenger. Those people are disappearing, but it’s amazing to fly them. If we don’t fly them, another wonderful thing we like to do is to offer tours or flights to the children and grandchildren of World War II veterans. That gives them the connection.
It’s very important to keep history alive and these amazing aircraft, so thank you very much.
Thank you.
Links:
Rocky Mountain Wing CAF
https://rmwcaf.org
Great Plains Squadron
https://www.greatplainswingcaf.org/Great_Plains_Wing/index.html
