Vintage warbirds and the men who flew them in WWII soar again in Featured Article, War Articles / by Jack /
on August 17, 2012 at 08:12 /WW II P-51 Mustang pilots gather for a picture in front of one of the aircraft they fly at Camarillo Airport during an Aug. 16, 2012 tour for this weekend’s Wings Over Camarillo Air Show.
Admiring a shiny, silver Mustang that resembled the same warplane he flew in Italy decades ago, retired P-51 pilot Thomas O. Batey pets the aircraft’s wing and laughs at what he now calls his luck. “I guess my claim to fame is I got my 50 missions in flying out of Italy in World War II and was lucky enough to make it home in one piece,” said Batey, 88, who now lives in Hawaii. | More Wings Over Camarillo photos
Batey will be among a group of WWII pilots celebrating a 67th reunion this weekend at the 33rd Wings Over Camarillo Airshow. The show, organized by the Camarillo Wings Association, takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Camarillo Airport. “This is a community event to give the people a taste of aviation,” said airshow announcer Greg Andrews.
“Aviation really is America’s thing, and part of the airshow that’s really important to us is showing kids and adults alike … what really goes on in general aviation.”
While this year’s theme is “Youth in Aviation,” to educate and inspire pilots of tomorrow, Camarillo Wings Association president Don Miller plans to introduce the public to the Checkertail Clan. Batey is one of nine Checkertail Clan members, formally known as the 325th Fighter Group, to make it to Camarillo for the airshow.
The three warplanes flown by the Checkertail Clan — the P-40 Tiger “Shark Mouth” Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt “Flying Jug” and the P-51 Mustang — will kick-start the event, Miller said. “This is extremely rare,” he said. “There are only a few P-47s still flying so having one here at this airshow, let alone having all three of them together at the same time, is a really unique experience.”
While the fighter group originally consisted of 2,000 pilots, there are now 56 active clan members, said Kathy Cluff, president of the Checkertails Organization.
Gerald Edwards, 92, flew in from New York just for the airshow and Checkertail Clan reunion. Sitting in the shade of the hangar on Thursday during a private pre-airshow event, he squinted as the propellers of a P-51 blew dirt through the air. Edwards later got to ride that P-51 after decades of retirement.
“He didn’t know he’d ever get that chance again. He just couldn’t stop grinning,” Cluff said, adding that at least one other member actually got to fly again. From the vintage warplanes on the ground to the high-flying stunts, Cluff said the Checkertail Clan might be one of the biggest attractions at the airshow. “Do not miss one minute of these guys because we’re counting days and hours,” Cluff said, referring to the dwindling number of World War II veterans.
Cluff, whose late father was a crew chief for the Checkertail Clan, hopes airshows like Wings Over Camarillo will also remind others of their luck as well.
“These guys are the greatest and we should show them honor and appreciation,” she said. “We wouldn’t be here to do what we do if it wasn’t for them.”
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