Sun, Sep 08, 2024
Iconic World War II Aircraft Pair Up At Great Bend AirFest
The History Restored Tour of the B-29 Superfortress Doc will be at the Great Bend Municipal Airport (KGBD) in Kansas for a brief stop and will be available for flight experience rides September 19-23.
In a symbolic recreation of their historic roles in World War II, Doc will be joined by the P-51D Gunfighter, one of the aircraft that provided long-range escort and top-cover for the bombers in the Pacific Theater. The additional protection and firepower provided significant advantages in helping Allied air power defeat Japan.
Gunfighter was built in North American Aviation’s Inglewood, California plant, and both it and Doc were delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) in March 1945. Doc was built by the Boeing Company plant in Wichita, Kansas.
Larry Lumpkin, Gunfighter Team Lead said, “Teaming up with B-29 Doc brings a unique past in our nation’s history to life. Both of these aircraft played a pivotal role in World War II, and bringing both to Kansas and a city that played a crucial role in the training of our nation’s arsenal of pilots, aircrew and maintainers, will further tell the story of what it was like to fly in these iconic airplanes.”
Following the war, Gunfighter was assigned to Olmsted Field in Pennsylvania, where present-day Harrisburg International Airport (KMDT) in Pennsylvania is now located. In another coincidence, both aircraft were retired from military service in 1956. Doc was reassigned to non-combat roles back in the U.S. assisting with radar calibration, target towing, and eventually as a bombing target at China Lake in California. Tony Mazzolini discovered Doc in 1987 after she sat in the Mojave Desert’s China Lake boneyard for more than 40 years. Thus began the nearly 15 year process of recovering and restoring the airplane now making the air show rounds for flight experiences for younger generations to appreciate the history behind the important aircraft of World War II.
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