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The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s crown jewel, Northrop P-61B Black Widow 42-39445 was on external display at the museum's annual WWII Weekend in early June. While still years away from flying, it is clear that the restoration team has progressed a great deal in their quest to get this ultra-rare aircraft flying again! (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
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Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend 2019 – Air Show Report
By A. Kevin Grantham
The twenty-ninth annual WWII Weekend (WWIIW) took place at Spaatz Field (Reading Regional Airport) in Reading, Pennsylvania, over the weekend of 7-9 June 2019. The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum (MAAM) once again sponsored the event that featured a wide variety of warbirds, military hardware, and, most importantly, a salute to the veterans of World War II on the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion.
Tom Duffy’s beautiful Grumman J4F-1 Widgeon. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Tiger’s Revenge on the ramp with the City of Monroe, North Carolina’s Curtiss C-46 Commando “Tinker Belle” in the background. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Yankee Air Museum’s C-47D (44-76716) painted to represent ‘Hairless Joe’ that the legendary Lt.Col. Dick Cole flew with the 1st Air Commando Group in the China-Burma-India Theatre following his experience on the Doolittle Raid. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The original ‘Hairless Joe’ was flown by the late Lt.Col Dick Cole who also was the last surviving member of Doolittle’s Raiders. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The CAF’s B-29A FiFi (N529B, 44-62070) which is one of only two of the type flying in the world today. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation’s C-97G “Angel of Deliverance” is the world’s only flying Boeing Stratocruiser. That being said, this important aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine failure on the flight to Reading from Hagerstown, MD, and the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation will need a lot of help in raising the funds to replace it. Due to the engine failure, the Stratocruiser will likely be stuck in Reading for some time to come. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation’s Douglas C-54E (N500EJ, 44-9144) Spirit of Freedom. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Texas Flying Legend’s Mitsubishi A6M21 Zero (NX8280K) attracted much attention at WWIIW. Unfortunately, mechanical problems kept this rare Japanese naval fighter from flying on Saturday and Sunday. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A classic rear view of an authentic Zero airframe. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
In recent days many D-Day veterans have been asked about their service in the Second World War. While the specific words they used to answer this question may have varied, a common theme which bonded their statements was on of, “We served so you would not have to go through what we did!”Russel Strine, MAAM’s president, pioneered the notion of bringing World War II veterans to the museum’s annual air show as a way of not only honoring them, but also to give these brave men and women a forum to show the public how closely our future is connected to our past.
The show was also an opportunity to see the visible progress being made on the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s prized exhibit, a Northrop P-61B Black Widow, one of only four complete examples known to exist!
The MAAM’s P-61B (42-39445) showing off her new propellers and paint. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The museum’s P-61B was recovered in 1991 from 7,000 foot Mount Cyclops near Hollandia, New Guinea in 1991. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
This nose art could best be called a “Test” piece meant to inspire the imagination of thoise who view it, who in turn envision a better or more approprait period like image and name for the airplane. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A rear view of the MAAM’s P-61 complete with a massive black spider draped over the right hand vertical stabilizer. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)! (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Richard “Dick” Schimmel was one of the honored veterans this year. Mr. Schimmel joined the Army in 1940 because he wanted to go to Hawaii. He got his wish when he became a radar operator with the newly formed unit Signal Company Aircraft Warning Hawaii. Mr. Schimmel helped set up radar information centers on Oahu, Maui, and ‘The Big Island’ of Hawaii. “I was relieved by Joe McDonald on the morning of the attack,“ said Schimmel referring to the Japanese assault on Hawaii on December 7th, 1941. “My shift at the information center went from 6 PM Saturday to 6 AM the following Sunday. So, everything was going well until around 6:30 AM when McDonald received a call from one of the radar units saying they detected a bunch of planes. The fellow who was training McDonald told him not to worry about it. In about fifteen minutes, the radar unit called again and reported a large number of airplanes approaching the island. This time the information was taken to the officer of the day, who also told them not to worry about it. When they called me, I was in my tent looking over Peral Harbor. I could see the planes go in and, after a while, I could see the big black smoke, which meant the bombs were hitting the ships.” The rest is history. When asked what was the biggest thing we learned about radar at Pearl Harbor, Mr. Schimmel responded with, “It was effective!”
Pearl Harbor survivor Richard “Dick” Schimmel was a radar operator during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
As the air show began, a parade of liaison aircraft took to the air, followed by primary and advanced trainers. The pilots flying these largely unsung, but vital WWII aircraft designs, showed off the capabilities of each type and demonstrated the steps that a young aviator had to go through to win their wings.
Glen Oshrin’s Aeonica L-3C “Defender” (N29189) filled the spotter aircraft role in WWIIW’s D-Day battle. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A Stinson L-9B (NC26295) “Voyager” cleverly marked in Civil Air Patrol colors. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth (N4796, 85962). (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Trainer formation of five T-6/SNJ aircraft. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Missing man formation consisting of (l to R) a P-51, FG-1D, P-40M, and P-51D. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Kevin Russo and his aerobatic North American SNJ-6. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Next up were the aircraft from the Pacific Theater of Operations, starting with replica Japanese warplanes including a ‘Zero’ fighter, ‘Kate’ torpedo bomber, and ‘Val’ dive bomber originally built for the movie TORA! TORA! TORA! during the late 1960s. In an interesting twist, a restored Mitsubishi A6M2-21 Zero (powered by an American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine instead of the original Nakajima Sakae), then formed up with the TORA! movie birds for a joint display. Greg Shelton’s FM-2 Wildcat, MAAM’s TBM-3 Avenger and the Commemorative Air Force’s FG-1D Corsair took off to engage the ‘enemy force’. During Friday’s show, the Wildcat and restored Zero engaged in a mock dog fight, with each pilot clearly showing the advantages and disadvantages of each fighter. Charlie Lynch, flying the lighter and more nimble Zero, easily out turned Greg Shelton’s Wildcat. During the war, American forces recovered an intact A6M2-21 that had been forced down on Akutan Island in the Aleutian archipelago following a raid on Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The U.S. navy returned this Zero to flight during the war, and analyzed its flying characteristics, discovering, among other details, that the Zero did not maneuver as well at high speeds. Greg Shelton took advantage of this knowledge by converting altitude to speed and won the day by ‘downing’ the Zero. On Saturday and Sunday, the Avenger and Corsair provided ‘air support’ for ground-based re-enactors dressed as U.S. Marines attacking ‘enemy-held bunkers’ made from hay bales. The ‘Marines’ quickly overran the ‘Japanese’ position with the use of three flame throwers, which almost instantly incinerated the hay, turning it into plumes of dense black smoke.
Somewhere in here is a replica Zero (NX60DJ, CCF-4-264) created from the bones of a Canadian-built North American Harvard for the 1970 film TORA! TORA! TORA!. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
This replica Zero stared in the movies TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970), and Midway (1976) as well as in the TV show Ba Ba Black Sheep (1976-1978). (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Ken Laird’s replica AICHI D23AI Val. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Texas Flying Legends’ genuine Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero banking steeply during its takeoff; undercarriage still on the way up. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Wildcat’s arch nemesis the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Pilot Charlie Lynch gave a flawless performance in the rare Japanese Naval fighter at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend Air Show in early June. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
An excellent top view of the Zero. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Greg Shelton’s FM-2 closing in on the Zero. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Charlie Lynch’s Zero trying to evade the FM-2s advances. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Another shot of the Zero/Wildcat formation. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Greg Shelton and Charlie Lynch formation flyby for the WWIIW spectators. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The zero during its spirited performance. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Greg Shelton and his Eastern built FM-2 Wildcat. Shelton once again performed his fast-paced aerobatic routine at WWIIW. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Dixie Wing’s Goodyear FG-1D (N9964Z,BuNo 92468) Corsair retracting its gear after takeoff. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The flame thrower demonstration is one of the most popular events at WWIIW. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
One can only imagine how terrifying it would be to be on the receiving end of a flame thrower attack as depicted here. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The bombers took to the sky once the smoke from the ‘land battle’ cleared. Boeing B-29 Superfortress FiFi and Consolidated B-24A/LB-30 Diamond Lil from the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) represented the heavy bombers, along with the Yankee Air Museum’s Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Yankee Lady. Their presence offered the spectators an exceptional opportunity to see all three of the main World War II heavy bomber types in one flight. The Delaware Aviation Museum’s North American B-25J Mitchell Panchito and the Yankee Air Museum’s B-25D Yankee Warrior filled out the medium bomber force. Next, it was the fighter aircraft’s turn in the circuit. Thom Richard, flying the American Airpower Museum’s Curtiss P-40M Warhawk Jacky C, beat up the field and stunned the crowd with a thrilling aerobatic performance. Mark Murphy also performed aerobatics in a P-51D Mustang named Tigers Revenge, and later did some high-speed, tight-formation flying with Thom Richard in the P-40. The flying over the weekend was the best this author ever witnessed at any previous MAAM event. All of the pilots, along with Air Boss Greg Witmer, made the multiple layers of exciting flying look easy.
The CAF’s B-24A/LB30 performing a perfect banana pass. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
One of only two airworthy Boeing B-29s Superfortress bombers in the world. This rare aircraft was constantly in the air giving rides to the fare-paying public. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
FiFi on a photo-pass. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham). (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A nice shot of FiFi pulling away from her photo-pass. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Larry Kelley’s magnificent B-25J Mitchell “Panchito”. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
B-17G Yankee Lady majestically gracing the sky. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Thom Richard (P-40M) and Mark Murphy (P-51D) formation takeoff. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Mark Murphy low-level pass over the field. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Thom Richard taking off in the American Airpower Museum’s P-40M (NX123N, 43-5795). (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Ellenville, LLCs North American P-51D Mustang “Tiger’s Revenge” taking off. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Mark Murphy speeding by the Reading Airport control tower. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Goodyear FG-1D Corsair GODSPEED (NX83JC, Bu67089) decorated like the Corsair the late John Glenn flew with the VMF-155. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Corsair, one of two FG-1Ds at the show, about to touch down. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Matt Kropp at the controls of Thom Richard’s beautiful dual control TP-40 American Dream. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
C-47D “Hairless Joe.” Photo by A. Kevin Grantham
A nice shot of “Hairless Joe” banking away after a photo-pass. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Thom Richard’s TP-40 is one of very few dual-control Curtiss Warhawks flying in the world. Many pilots took advantage to fly this rare P-40 at WWIIW. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
This P-51D (44-73843) Old Red Nose launched the CAF in the late 1950s after being purchased by the CAF’s founding member Loyd Noland. It is presently maintained and operated by the Dixie Wing of the CAF. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Mark Murphy putting Tiger’s Revenge through her paces. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Another lucky flyer getting a check rid in Thom Richard’s TP-40M. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Military Aviation Museum’s PBY-5A (N9521C, BuNo 48294) Catalina. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Military Aviation Museum’s PBY-5A (N9521C, BuNo 48294) Catalina. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Then came a moment of levity with Clem Cleaver and Grandpa Fred adding some comic relief when they ‘stopped by to pick up some roadkill’ near the Reading Airport. The Alabama Boys, as they are known, have a notorious reputation for crashing air shows. Seeing all of the airplanes on the field ‘reminded Clem that he had bought a flight lesson back in 1984 and now was the time to redeem his five dollar purchase’. He somehow managed to get his pickup onto the field and drove it right up to the air show hut where announcer Fast Eddie was conducting his business. Fast Eddie did his best to explain to the Alabama Boys that they were disrupting a major aerial event, but Clem would not budge. Then Grandpa got out of the truck and fired his thirty-inch barrel twelve-gauge goose gun.At that point, Fast Eddie had no choice but to let Clem take a look at a Piper J-3 Cub, parked near the announcer stand. Next thing you know Clem and Grandpa are pulling on the wings and lifting the tail while Fast Eddie is losing his mind. Clem quickly assesses that he can fly this little aeroplane and, within an instant, he started the J-3’s engine and took off. The only problem being — he does not know how to land the thing! So, Grandpa enlisted help for some local army re-enactors who ‘disabled the plane with small arms fire’. Grandpa then hops in the truck and rushes down the runway where — by some miracle — Clem expertly lands the J-3 on top of the truck. By this time the crowd, no doubt, realizes this is an act conducted by air show performer Greg “Clem Cleaver” Koontz and Fred Masterson, also known as Grandpa Fred. But it is an act reminiscent of the early days of barnstorming, and rather wonderful to see still performed across America today.
The Piper J-3 Cub that was whisked away by Clem Cleaver and Grandpa Fred. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Watch out! Clem Cleaver and Grandpa Fred are in town. The Alabama Boy’s Piper Cub is able land on the roof of this truck as it speeds down the runway… quite a remarkable feat! (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Grandpa Fred holding court with his goose gun as Clem Cleaver discusses his flying intentions with airshow announcer Fast Eddie. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The Alabama Boys taking a very close look at the J-3. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Greg Koontz is also known as Clem Cleaver at the controls of a Piper J-3 Cub. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
That being said, the WWII Weekend is much more than just an air show. Ted Schwartz (The Voice of WWIIW) perhaps sums it up best by stating, “This is not just an air show. It is a World War II show!” Each year over 1,500 reenactors and volunteers come to the event. Many travel long distances, at their own expense, to show off their beautifully restored trucks, jeeps, and tanks. Others come because they are subject matter experts who can tell you how to breakdown an MG 42 machine gun or perhaps relate what it was like on the home front during World War II. The combined energy of this army of historical interpreters is what truly makes the WWIIW a unique experience. So, if you are interested in learning more about World War II history and culture — come to Reading, Pennsylvania over June 5-7, 2020 and help the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II.
A newly restored ice cream bicycles attended by Biene (left) and Moose (right). These lovely ladies had no trouble at all pedaling their frozen treats. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
SOAP – Spirit of the Airwaves Players performed radio plays and comedy skits for the public at WWIIW. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A few of the 1,500 or so re-enactors who come to WWIIW each year stand in front of MAAM’s B-25J Mitchell ‘Briefing Time’. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
SeaBee reenactor “Pappy” walking his pet rat named Reginald Cole Mackintosh III. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A rare British Bren Gun carrier sporting American Army markings. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
British anti-aircraft gunners ‘tracking German bombers’ approaching Reading. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Bren Gun carrier returning from a skirmish with German troops. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Ken Laird and Rob Kreig’s TORA Val dive bomber accompanied by some realistic looking Japanese reenactors. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A Winston Churchill re-enactor giving the wartime British prime minister’s famous victory sign. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A replica Panzer III tank which was one of three German tanks at the show. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Five-year-old Kevin Grantham sitting on a German tank at his first WWIIW. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Replica Panzer III on station for the ‘D-Day battle’. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
A simulated bazooka attack on a Japanese position. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
Parris Island Historical and Museum Society’s Living History Detachments reenactment of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. (photo by A.Kevin Grantham)
The author would like to thank Russ Strine, Clarence Carvell, and Dave & Tina Brown for making this article possible. And a special thank you also goes out to Greg Witmer and Jack Bertolet for taking such good care of this aging reporter!
Many thanks indeed to A.Kevin Grantham for his marvelous report. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have!
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.