The Event Will Commemorate The 70th Anniversary Of VE Day

Seventy years ago this week, Allied leaders met at the Yalta Conference in Crimea to begin their discussions of the structure of post-World War II Europe.

To honor the heroes who fought in the War and those on the home front who produced the tanks, ships, and aircraft that enabled the United States and its Allies to achieve victory, one of the most diverse arrays of World War II aircraft ever assembled will fly above the skies of Washington, D.C. on Friday, May 8, 2015, the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, as part of the Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover.

As part of a thrilling three-day celebration in the nation’s capital, the May 8 event will coincide with a ceremony for veterans at the World War II National Memorial, followed by a vast assortment of World War II aircraft flying overhead in historically sequenced warbird formations. The formations will represent the War’s major battles, from Pearl Harbor through the final air assault on Japan, and conclude with a missing man formation to “Taps.”

The event will also be commemorated in a special May issue of Air & Space magazine dedicated to the airplanes and airmen who fought in World War II that will feature historic “spotter cards” of the aircraft. These cards will be used by students and others to identify the aircraft in the flyover and to learn more about the history of World War II.

Approximately two dozen different types of vintage military aircraft are expected to participate in the flyover. Aircraft are being provided by multiple organizations and individuals whose mission is to preserve these historic artifacts in flying condition. These organizations include the largest vintage military aircraft organization, the Commemorative Air Force—providing fighter and bomber aircraft, to include the only flying B-29 Superfortress FIFI.

Additionally, organizations such as Texas Flying Legends, Fighter Factory, and Fagen Fighters have thus far committed multiple aircraft, along with a number of individual owners. The historical aircraft expected to participate include the P-40 Warhawk,P-39 Aerocobra, P-38 Lightning, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, FG-1D Corsair, B-25 Mitchell, B-17 Flying Fortress, and many others.

The United States manufactured about 300,000 aircraft, 2.4 million military vehicles, and 124,000 military ships to support the War efforts. The ramp-up in manufacturing was extraordinary. Before entering the War, for example, annual production of military aircraft was less than 6,000 aircraft in 1939, but after President Franklin D. Roosevelt called in a May 1940 speech for 50,000 aircraft to be made each year, production rose dramatically—reaching its peak in March 1944, when 9,000 planes were produced that month. Millions of American men and women worked on the home front to manufacture the aircraft, ground vehicles, and ships that significantly propelled U.S. and allied forces to victory.

In addition to the actual flyover, the Arsenal of Democracy events will include a gala dinner on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

(Image from event Facebook page)

FMI: www.ww2flyover.org