PORT ANGELES — Three propeller-powered pieces of aviation history will revisit Clallam County from Wednesday through Friday when the Wings of Freedom Tour arrives at William R. Fairchild International Airport.
A TP-51C Mustang fighter modified for two-seat, dual-control training, a B-17G Flying Fortress and a B-24J Liberator will offer tours and flights all three days.
The bombers were famed for flying in the Pacific and European theaters during World War II.
The fighters gave long-range protection to them over Europe during the war, and saw limited service against Japan.
Mustangs also served in the Korean War, and many were converted to air racing.
The B-17 in the Wings of Freedom contingent, nicknamed Nine-O-Nine, was built in Long Beach, Calif., by Douglas Aircraft and accepted by the Army Air Corps April 7, 1945.
It never flew in combat but served in an air/sea rescue squadron and later in the Military Air Transport Service.
The B-24 is the world’s only fully restored and flying Liberator, built at Consolidated Aircraft Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 1644.
After delivery to the Army, it was transferred to the Royal Air Force and saw combat in the Pacific in operations that included bombing and resupply of resistance forces.
It was nicknamed Witchcraft after restoration.
The P-51 nicknamed Betty Jane was built in Dallas and restored as a two-seat version similar to the aircraft that carried Gen. Dwight Eisenhower over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
It will be the seventh time the vintage warbirds have come to Port Angeles since 2002.
The public can tour or fly aboard them from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.
Walk-through tours cost $6 for children 12 and younger, $12 for adults. World War II veterans can tour for free.
Half-hour bomber flights cost $450 per person.
Flight training in the P-51 costs $2,200 for 30 minutes and $3,200 for an hour.
“These magnificent aircraft are wonderful tools to educate our young people that freedom comes with a cost,” said stop coordinator Alan Barnard of Port Angeles, “and that many Americans have paid the price for our freedom today.
For reservations, phone the nonprofit Collings Foundation at 800-568-8924.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
