May 16 2026
Disaster struck on Monday, May 11, 2026, in the Seine-et-Marne region of France when a vintage Fouga CM.170 Magister crashed shortly after takeoff from Melun-Villaroche Airport. Both occupants of the aircraft lost their lives. The accident occurred at approximately 4:15 p.m. in a wooded area located between Fontainebleau and Chailly-en-Bière. According to several witnesses at …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2026/05/16/france-two-killed-in-fouga-magister-crash-near-paris/
May 16 2026
The warbird community is mourning the loss of Dan Fordice, who was killed on May 12, 2026, in the crash of his North American P-51D Mustang “Charlotte’s Chariot II” near Tallulah-Vicksburg Regional Airport, Louisiana. Fordice was a respected warbird pilot and philantropist. The circumstances of the crash are currently under investigation by the NTSB. A …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2026/05/16/dan-fordice-killed-in-the-crash-of-p-51d-mustang-charlottes-chariot-ii/
Aug 31 2025
Randy “Duke” Cunningham, former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and Vietnam War ace, passed away on August 27, 2025, at the age of 83. He was one of the most recognized American aviators of the conflict, credited with five aerial victories that made him the first U.S. Navy ace of the Vietnam War. Born on December …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2025/08/31/randy-duke-cunningham-vietnam-war-ace-has-passed-away/
Aug 25 2025
A chapter in aviation history was closed on August 14, 2025, when Donald Melvin McPherson passed away at the age of 103. Don McPherson, the last living American ace of World War II, leaves behind not just a legacy of aerial valor but also one of faith, humility, and heartfelt community dedication. Born on May …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2025/08/25/donald-mcpherson-last-surviving-us-ace-of-ww2-has-passed-away/
Jun 07 2025
A dramatic accident occurred on Friday, June 6 around 2:30 p.m. at Air Base 721 in Rochefort-Saint-Agnant, France. The Morane-Saulnier MS.733 F-AZXU crashed, resulting in the death of Alexandre Fritz, a former military pilot with 30 years of service. He was performing a flight demonstration on the occasion of the graduation ceremony of the promotion …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2025/06/07/pilot-killed-in-morane-saulnier-ms-733-crash-in-france/
May 25 2024
The Spitfire Mk IX MK356 of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight crashed on Saturday, May 25, not far from its base at RAF Coningsby. The pilot, whose identity has not yet been revealed, tragically died in the accident. According to witnesses, the Spitfire appeared to have suffered an engine failure. The Vickers Supermarine Spitfire …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2024/05/25/uk-pilot-killed-in-battle-of-britain-memorial-flight-spitfire-crash/
May 18 2024
The famous American pilot and ace, Clarence Emil “Bud” Anderson, passed away on Friday, May 17th. He was 102 years old. Born on January 13, 1922, in Oakland, United States, “Bud” Anderson served as a fighter pilot during World War II with the 357th Fighter Group and ended the war with a total of 16.25 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2024/05/18/clarence-bud-anderson-has-passed-away/
Jun 28 2023
It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Paul Ehlen. He crashed yesterday afternoon in Curtiss P-40E Warhawk ‘AK753’, registered as N4420K and belonging to the Wings of the North Air Museum, near Hamilton, Montana. Little information is available about this tragic event but the police announced that Paul Ehlen, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2023/06/28/paul-ehlen-killed-in-crash-of-his-curtiss-p-40e-warhawk-in-montana/
Jan 18 2022
Charles Edward McGee, born on December 7, 1919, passed away in his sleep on Sunday the 16th of January 2022, aged 102. A member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, he was deployed in February 1944 with the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, which was then based in Italy. Flying the P-39 Airacobra, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2022/01/18/brigadier-charles-mcgee-one-of-the-last-surviving-tuskegee-airmen-passes-away-at-102/
Jun 20 2021
We have just learned of the tragic crash of North American T-28B Trojan BuNo 138179 registered OE-ESA of the Austrian Flying Bull collection. The aircraft crashed in Jickovice in the Czech Republic as it was returning from the Leźno airshow in Poland.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2021/06/20/one-killed-in-flying-bull-t-28-crash-in-the-czech-republic/
Dec 08 2020
World-famous test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager died on Monday the 7th of December at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old. A World War II P-51 Mustang ace and test pilot, Yeager made international headlines when he became the first man to break the sound barrier on 14 October 1947, flying a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/12/08/brigadier-general-charles-e-chuck-yeager-%e2%80%a0/
Nov 21 2020
Sergent-chef René Billotet, born on 18 April 1925 in Dôle (France) and last survivor of the Royal Air Force’s No 342 (Free French) Squadron passed away at his home aged 95. Better known in France as the Groupe de Bombardement Lorraine, the squadron played an essential and unusual role during the D-Day landings. On the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/11/21/rene-billotet-last-survivor-of-no-342-free-french-squadron-has-passed-away/
Oct 29 2020
Joseph “Jeff” Moureau, the last Belgian pilot to have fought with a Belgian squadron in the Royal Air Force, has passed away at age 99, according to the Belgian air component. “With sadness, the Belgian air component says farewell to the last Belgian Spitfire fighter pilot in World War II”, the Belgian Air Component wrote …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/10/29/joseph-jeff-moureau-the-last-belgian-pilot-to-fight-on-d-day-has-passed-away/
Sep 20 2020
A DHC-1 Chipmunk crashed on September 17th near Paulinenaue in Germany. The pilot, aged 68, was killed in the crash and his passenger was gravely wounded. The aircraft, built in 1952 and registered D-ELLY, had taken off from Bienenfarm airfield moments before. The causes of the accident are unknown at this time. Our thoughts and …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/09/20/fatal-dhc-1-chipmunk-crash-in-germany/
Aug 09 2020
Pierre Robin, who designed the famous Robin DR-400 with Jean Delemontez, passed away on 5 August 2020. Robin aircraft are ubiquitous on French airfields and also a common sight abroad. Robin Aircraft’s most famous design was the DR-400, of which 2,700 were built. Born in 1927, Pierre Robin was buried on 7 August in Talant, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/08/09/pierre-robin-has-passed-away/
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