Aug 31 2025
The Airmotive Specialties Inc. workshop, located in Salinas, California, unveiled this week the first photos of the P-51D Mustang “Hel-eter” in its new colors. This marks an important milestone in the restoration of this aircraft, whose return to airworthy condition has been underway for several years and is expected to lead to a new first …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2025/08/31/hel-eter-rebirth-of-a-pacific-theater-p-51-mustang/
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 26 2025
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located in Dayton, Ohio, has recently reinstalled in its World War II Gallery an iconic aircraft of German aviation: the Fieseler Fi 156C-2 Storch. Removed from display in 2017, the aircraft underwent a complete restoration between 2024 and 2025, carried out by the museum’s technical teams. This …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2025/08/26/the-fieseler-storch-of-the-national-museum-of-the-u-s-air-force-has-been-restored/
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/
Aug 04 2024
The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota, announced the successful test flight of their restored SB2C-5 Helldiver on July 22, 2024, marking its first flight since 1945. The Helldiver, built in early 1945 and originally stationed at Naval Air Field Newport, Rhode Island, and NAS Dahlgren, Virginia, crashed during a test flight on …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2024/08/04/restored-fagen-fighters-wwii-museum-sb2c-5-helldiver-flies-again-after-79-years/
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/
Jun 26 2023
Gorgeous footage of the first flight of Lockheed VC-121A Constellation “Bataan”, which once served as the personal transport for General MacArthur, has been uploaded by Skyes9 on YouTube : Push the sound up and enjoy !
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2023/06/26/watch-footage-of-lockheed-vc-121a-constellation-bataan-returning-to-flight/
Jun 22 2023
Lewis Air Legend’s Lockheed VC-121A Constellation “Bataan”, which served as General MacArthur’s personal aircraft, flew again on 21 June 2023 after an eight-year restoration by Fighter Rebuilders in Chino, California. Footage of the first flight can be viewed on Lewis Air Legend’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/reel/3572688642970226 The Lockheed VC-121A Constellation “Bataan” holds a rich history spanning …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2023/06/22/lewis-air-legends-vc-121-baatan-flies-again/
Mar 10 2023
Sadly, this is not a bad joke or an April’s Fool. The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA), the organizer of the National Championship Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada, announced on 9 March that the Reno Air Races will no longer take place at the world-renowned Reno-Stead Airport after this year’s edition, from 13 to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2023/03/10/no-more-national-championship-air-races-at-reno-stead-airport-after-2023/
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/
Nov 17 2021
The Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 Werk Nr. 410077, under restauration by Midwest Aero Restorations Ltd and belonging to Bruce Winter of San Antonio, Texas, has had its first engine run since 1943, in Danville, Illinois. Midwest Aero Ltd has posted this video of the engine runs on its YouTube channel.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2021/11/17/first-engine-runs-for-messerschmitt-bf109g-6-wknr-410077/
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/
Sep 20 2020
The B-25 Mitchell “Old Glory” was seriously damaged when it struck an irrigation ditch during an off-airport landing attempt near Stockton, California. The three crewmembers on board were injured and two were taken to the hospital but fortunately their injuries are not life-threatening. “Old Glory” is North American B-25J Mitchell built in 1944 (serial number …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/09/20/three-wounded-in-b-25-old-glory-crash-in-california/
Apr 20 2020
Jerzy Główczewski, who is reported to have been the last surviving Polish fighter pilot of World War II, passed away in New York on 13 April 2020 aged 97. Główczewski was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1922 and fled the country after the 1939 German and Soviet invasions. After pilot training, he was assigned to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/04/20/jerzy-glowczewski-last-surviving-polish-fighter-pilot-of-world-war-ii-has-passed-away/
Apr 14 2020
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation Douglas C-54 Skymaster was severely damaged by a tornado at the Walterboro airport, South Carolina. The aircraft seems to have been blown into a hangar, resulting in major damage. Please read the full official statement from the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation below:
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2020/04/14/berlin-airlift-historical-foundation-c-54-skymaster-damaged-by-tornado-in-south-carolina/
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