https://aviationweek.com/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg
Skip to main content
  • Market Sector
    • Aerospace
    • Air Transport
    • MRO
    • Defense and Space
    • Business Aviation
  • Markets
    • Aerospace
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Connected Aerospace
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Manufacturing & Supply Chain
      • Advanced Air Mobility
      • Commercial Space
      • Sustainability
    • Air Transport
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports & Routes
      • Airlines & Lessors
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
    • MRO
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Supply Chain
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Workforce & Training
      • Sustainability
    • Defense and Space
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Sensors & Electronic Warfare
      • Missile Defense & Weapons
      • Supply Chain
      • Budget, Policy & Operations
      • Space
      • Sustainability
    • Business Aviation
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports, FBOs & Suppliers
      • Flight Deck
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
  • Marketplace
  • Services
    • Services
      • Advertising
      • Marketing Services
      • Fleet, Data & APIs
      • Research & Consulting
      • Network and Route Planning
      • Marketplace
  • Store
    • Market Sector

      • Aerospace
      • Air Transport
      • MRO
      • Defense and Space
      • Business Aviation
    • Type View All Products
      • Intelligence Bundles
        • AWIN - Premium
        • AWIN - Aerospace and Defense
        • AWIN - Business Aviation
        • AWIN - Commercial Aviation
      • Market Briefings
        • Advanced Air Mobility Report - NEW!
        • Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
        • Aviation Daily
        • SpeedNews
        • The Weekly of Business Aviation
      • Directories
        • Air Charter Guide
        • Aviation Week Marketplace
        • Route Exchange
        • The Engine Yearbook
      • Data Services
        • AC-U-KWIK
        • Aircraft Bluebook
        • Airportdata.com
        • Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM)
        • CAPA – Centre for Aviation
        • Fleet Discovery Civil
        • Fleet Discovery Military
        • Fleet & MRO Forecast
        • MRO Prospector
      • Publications
        • Air Transport World
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO
        • Business & Commercial Aviation
        • CAPA - Airline Leader
        • Routes magazine
        • ShowNews
      • Resources
        • Downloadable Reports
  • Events
    • Recent webinars
    • Events View All Events
      • MRO
        • MRO Americas
        • MRO Asia
        • MRO Australasia
        • MRO Baltics & Eastern Europe Region
        • MRO Europe
        • MRO Latin America
        • MRO Middle East
        • Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium (MALMS)
        • Asia Aerospace Leadership Forum & MRO Asia-Pacific Awards
      • Commercial Aviation/A&D
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions
        • A&D Programs
        • A&D Manufacturing
        • A&D Raw Materials
        • A&D SupplyChain
        • A&D SupplyChain Europe
        • Advanced Air Mobility
        • Aero-Engines Americas
        • Aero-Engines Europe
        • Aero-Engines Asia-Pacific
        • Aerospace IT
        • Engine Leasing Trading & Finance Europe
        • Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance Americas
      • Air Transport
        • CAPA Live
        • Routes Americas
        • Routes Europe
        • Routes World
        • ATW Airline Awards
        • CAPA Airline Leader Summit
        • CAPA Americas Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit
        • CTC Asia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Expo
        • CAPA World Aviation Outlook Summit
        • GAD Americas
        • GAD World
      • Aerospace and Defense
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions Conference (ADMA)
        • A&D Manufacturing Conference
        • Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference (RMC)
        • A&D Programs
      • Awards
        • Aviation Week 20 Twenties
        • Aviation Week Laureate Awards
        • Program Excellence Awards and Banquet
        • CAPA Asia Aviation Summit & Awards for Excellence
  • About
    • About Aviation Week Network
      • Our Story
      • Content and Data Team
      • Aviation Week & Space Technology 100-Year
    • Contact Us
      • Subscriber Services
      • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
      • Content Sales
      • Events
      • PR & Communications
      • Content Licensing and Reprints
      • FAQ
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My Account
    • Profile
    • Sign Out
  • AWIN Access
  • My cart
    Back to
  1. Home

Share

Warbirds Flock To Oshkosh 2017

John Morris July 25, 2017

Warbird Alley

Maureen Spuhler

You would think you are walking into a military camp at the warbird end of Oshkosh’s Wittman Field. And there you will find more bombers and fighters, trainers and communications aircraft than operated by most air forces in the world. Here the entrance sign frames one of the more than a dozen B-25 Mitchells at this year’s show.

Break Right!

Maureen Spuhler

A pair of F-35 Lightning II fighters wowed the crowds in formation with a P-51 Mustang.

Can You Count Them?

Maureen Spuhler

Massed formations are the order of the day. Here’s a flight of T-34 trainers. And the sound of so many deep-throated engines roaring in unison is unforgettable.

Re-Creating Havoc

Maureen Spuhler

More than 7,000 Douglas A-20 Havocs were built in World War II and the only one flying is here at Oshkosh, thanks to Rod Lewis and his Lewis Air Legends collection based in San Antonio, Texas. Lewis Air Legends also owns the P38F Glacier Girl, as well as the famous Reno racer Rare Bear, a highly modified F8F2 Bearcat. This particular  Havoc was built in 1943 as an A20G, powered by two 1,700hp Wright R2600 engines.

Wild Horses

Maureen Spuhler

P-51D-25NA, s/n 44-74202 appears here painted as s/n 44-15660, ‘Swamp Fox,’ the last mount of then-Lt. Will Foard of the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, based out of Leiston, England. Robert Dickson Sr. and his son Robert bought the Mustang in June of 2012 after a five-year restoration managed by Jeff Harris at Allied Fighters in Chino, California with Mike Breshears of Vintage Airframes in Caldwell, Idaho, doing a majority of the work. 

The World’s Oldest Flying Jet

Maureen Spuhler

This F-86A Sabre is the world's oldest flyable jet. Built in 1948, serial number 48-178 spent 22 years flying around air shows in Europe before returning home to the U.S. in 2014. It is the 50th Sabre off the production line, and the only remaining airworthy F-86A. Legendary Air Force test pilot and air show performer Bob Hoover flew the aircraft on several occasions. 

Birds of a Feather...

Maureen Spuhler

A line-up of some of the B-25 Mitchell bombers here for the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, in which B-25s were flown off an aircraft carrier to bomb Tokyo led by General Billy Mitchell.. The one in the foreground is unusual in that it wears Russian markings, representing one of the 900 B-25s that were supplied to that country under World War II’s Lend/Lease program.

No, Its Not a Political Statement

Maureen Spuhler

The nose art on the Lewis Air Legends’ B-25 could almost be considered topical, but it harks back to the days when B-25s served in Russia.

More Mustangs

Maureen Spuhler

“Charlotte’s Chariot II” is painted in tribute to Cary Salter of the 354th Fighter Group. 9th Air Force, known as the “Pioneer Mustang Group” for having been the first fighter group to receive the P-51 for combat assignment. This particular aircraft was built in 1945.

A Rare Blossom

Maureen Spuhler

The world’s only flying Douglas A-20 Havoc in serener surroundings than its history would suggest. The aircraft was armed with seven machine guns, and could carry a bomb load of 4,000 lbs. 

Previous
Next

Hundreds of warbirds old and new flock to EAA AirVenture every year for the world’s largest extravaganza of ex-military aircraft, from bombers to fighters to trainers, from early Korean conflict jets to the U.S.’ very latest F-35 Lightning II.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the formation of the 8th Air Force, and the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid on Japan. One could call it Bomber Week: highlights include formations of the world’s only two flying B-29 Superfortresses, the venerable B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers, massed flights of B-25 Mitchells to honor Doolittle, and the world’s only flying Douglas A-20 Havoc light bomber.

Two World War II P-47 Thunderbolts will fly with the USAF’s A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, and B-17s will be escorted by hordes of P-51 Mustangs.

Ever seen a Bell Cobra fighter, a rarity in the skies today? No? Well, there are four of them here, nearly the world’s entire flying population of them, comprising a newly-restored Bell P-39 AiraCobra and three of the later P-63 Kingcobras that had more success in post-war air racing than air combat.

Only at Oshkosh!

John Morris

John has led Aviation Week's ShowNews, the best-read daily news magazine of aerospace trade shows, for nearly two decades. His background in business journalism before joining Aviation Week includes stints at Reuters, the American Banker daily banking newspaper and as business news editor at the Milwaukee Journal and the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Follow us on

Markets

  • Aerospace
  • Air Transport
  • MRO
  • Defense and Space
  • Business Aviation

Products

  • AWIN Intelligence Bundles
  • Market Briefings
  • Publications
  • Data Services
  • Directories
  • Resources

Contact Us

  • Subscriber Services
  • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
  • Content Sales
  • Events
  • PR & Communications
  • Content Licensing and Reprints
  • FAQ

Other Resources

  • Aviation Week Marketplace
  • Knowledge Center
  • Newsletters
  • ShowNews
  • Advertising - Media Kits
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC.
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use