2024 Exhibits

Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is – one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up. It was ready to fall out of the sky. Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you’ll be surprised…..

The classic P-51 Mustang is one of the greatest success stories of military aviation. Originally designed for Great Britain, the North American fighter was adopted by the U.S. Army Air Force and upgraded with the powerful, reliable Rolls-Royce Merlin which powered the Supermarine Spitfire.

The Curtiss P-40 was a development of the radial engined P-36/Hawk 75. The prototype XP-40 was a converted P-36A with the R-1830 replaced with an Allison V-1710-19 liquid cooled V-12. First flown in October 1938, the P-40 was evaluated at Wright Field in May 1939 resulting in an order for 524 aircraft.

The Harvard began life as a North American Aviation designed aircraft around 1934, commonly identified in the USA as the  AT-6 Texan (Advanced Trainer).  The term Harvard was coined by the RAF in England, and is generally referred to by all of the commonwealth countries, including Canada. Early Harvard models were built in California by North American Aviation, while the later Harvards were built under license by Canadian Car & Foundry (Thunder Bay) and Noorduyn Aviation (Montreal).  Many Harvards served under the British Commonweath Air Training Plan (BCATP) in Canada.