The B-17 Flying Fortress, “FuddyDuddy,” was used as a VIP transport in the Pacific at the end of World War II. It once carried General Dwight D. Eisenhower who later became the 34th President of the United States.
The Birddog was first built in 1950 by the Cessna Aircraft Company, as a reconnaissance plane for the U.S. Army. Between 1950 and 1964 3,398 airframes were built. Originally called the L-19, it was later re-designated the 0-1 in 1962. It saw extensive combat duty in Korea and Vietnam, often at the hands of former fighter and bomber pilots of World War II. The Birddog served with the U.S.
The Invader fought in more wars than any other aircraft type of its era. Americans flew the attack bomber in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, while other air forces fought with it in Indo-China, Algeria, Biafra, Cuba, The Congo, and in at least a dozen other conflicts.
Lyon Air Museum’s C-47 Dakota, recently christened “Willa Dean,” has had a long and successful service life. Transferred from the USAAF to the French in May of 1945, this aircraft continued to fly for the most part unmodified, unlike so many of its contemporaries. In 1967 it again changed ownership, this time transferring to the Israelis.
The DC-3 airliner was not only comfortable and reliable, it also made air transportation profitable. American Airlines’ C.R. Smith said the DC-3 was the first airplane that could make money just by hauling passengers, without relying on government subsidies for transporting U.S. Mail. As a result, by 1939, more than 90 percent of the nation’s airline passengers were flying on DC-2s and DC-3s.
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the modeland operating air force.
Named after the controversial champion of U.S. Airpower, General “Billy” Mitchell, the B-25 is best known for the April 18, 1942 bombing of Tokyo. Led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, and flown from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, 16 B-25s successfully completed the first strike on Japanese soil during World War II.