Warbirds roadshow: The Planes of Fame Midwest WWII Fighter Tour - the start of a great adventure

Air Classics, Jun 2003 by O'Leary, Michael

"Major Cragg was the driving force in getting the Lightning for the 80th - well before the other squadrons received the plane. He knew the P-38 was ideal for combat in the Pacific."

His new P-38 became, naturally, Porky II. On 26 December 1943, Maj. Ed Cragg in Porky II was shot down shortly after downing his 15th Japanese fighter. His parachute was seen to open, but he was never found. Just 24 years old at the time of his death, Porky Cragg was a squadron commander, a triple ace, and highly decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Purple Heart, and the Air Medal (four Oak Leaf Clusters).

"For the Corsair, we did a lot of research on paint schemes," said John Maloney, "and we settled on an early tri-color scheme. We did not pick the markings of a particular pilot but a more generic factory scheme that would honor all USN/USMC Corsair pilots. Our Corsair is the oldest flying example and we have been able to trace its history to when it was sent to the Pacific and then returned in 1944 when it went to a training unit. We have found numerous photos of other Corsairs out of the same production batch - as often as close as ten Bureau Numbers away - and we are pretty certain this machine saw combat but would certainly like to obtain some factual proof." If any reader has information regarding BuNo 17799 please contact the Editor.

The concept of the tour had to be approved by the Planes of Fame's Board of Directors and there were some concerns. It was obvious that money could be raised for the hangar project but there are variables and unknowns which are part and parcel of operating vintage fighter aircraft. What if an engine broke? What if there was an accident? What if airshows were canceled because of impending war in Iraq? These were all legitimate concerns but, in the end, it was decided that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

"We went through all the aircraft," said Steve. "We replaced all the hoses, did any necessary mechanical repairs, and thoroughly inspected all the systems." While all the mechanical work was going on, Mint was busy contacting airshow organizers. "Most of 'em went real quiet when I got them on the phone and told 'em we could bring a P-38, F4U, P-40, and F6F to their event. For the most part, they had never seen one of these airplanes on the ground - and certainly not in the air," stated Mint. Response was enthusiastic.

"One of my concerns," said Steve "was the cost of moving pilots back and forth between various shows. No matter what, airline travel is expensive and can really eat into the overall profit. However, after checking our available pilots most have day jobs driving airliners and could travel for free so that was a big help (Dieckman, Eldridge, Mike DeMarino, and Chris Fahey are all airline pilots). This also gave as a great flexibility in scheduling since each pilot is qualified to fly any of the four fighters."

As the departure day of 18 March drew closer, the plan for the Midwest Tour had pretty much solidified but there was last-minute work on the aircraft. The P-38, which had been a very reliable aircraft, suddenly had problems with one of the Allisons that required care and attention and it was not until the morning of the 18th that the last piece of cowl was fastened back into place and Steve took the plane up for a test flight.