Warbirds and Reenactors Converge for World War II Weekend
PA – On the first weekend in June for the past thirty-one years, dozens of vintage World War II aircraft fly into Reading Regional Airport (RDG) in Reading, Pennsylvania, to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s (MAAM) World War II Weekend. In addition to the warbirds providing continuous eye- and ear-candy for AvGeeks and rides for guests, nearly two thousand military reenactors set up camp on the airfield as they might have appeared during the war. Wearing the uniforms of numerous countries on both sides of the conflict and hauling gear and equipment of the time, they drove around the grounds in meticulously restored 1940s-era military jeeps, half-tracks, tanks, staff cars, and other vehicles. They also conducted mock skirmishes in a reconstructed French village and recreated the battle of Iwo Jima and the U.S. flag-raising on Mount Suribachi. Meanwhile, music and news broadcasts from that time are heard continuously and many guests are dressed in period attire. Other than cell phones and the food trucks, there is little evidence of the present, and the overall effect makes one feel immersed in a time-travel experience fully alive with the sights and sounds of the 1940s.
The aircraft that fly in are mostly owned and maintained by chapters of the Commemorative Air Force, MAAM, and some by private individuals. They include the Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Fifi, Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Diamond Lil”, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Yankee Lady”, North American B-25 Mitchell bombers “Panchito” and “Take-off Time”, Douglas C-47 Skytrain “Hairless Joe”, North American P-51D “Red Nose”, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless “Lady in Blue”, Curtiss-Wright SB2C-5 Helldiver, Grumman TBM Avenger “Doris Mae”, Fairchild PT-19, several North American SNJ Texans, Boeing Stearman N2S-1 Kaydet, Chance-Vought FG-1D Corsair, Mitsubishi Zero, and many more on static display. In 2018, the only other flying B-29, “Doc” was present, marking a rare occurrence when both B-29s were in the same place at the same time.
The Museum is also in the process of restoring to flight condition a Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night Fighter, one of four in existence. The aircraft was recovered nearly thirty years ago from a mountaintop in New Guinea, and when complete it will be the only one airworthy. The other three are on permanent static display in national museums.