Help Return the “Eyes of the Fleet” to Flight Massive, graceful, and endlessly versatile, the PBY Catalina was one of World War II’s most valuable aircraft—scouting the seas, hunting submarines, and rescuing downed airmen. The CAF Lake Superior Squadro...

Help Keep 'Em Flying One of the most impactful programs at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is the Restoration Grant Fund, designed to help CAF units get their aircraft back in the sky faster. Thanks to this fund, over 70% of the CAF fleet is currentl...

Help Keep B-24 Diamond Lil Flying Built in 1941, the B-24 Liberator Diamond Lil was one of the first of more than 18,000 Liberators to roll off the assembly line at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego. This groundbreaking bomber helped redefine long-ran...

Preserve the Smallest Air Force One Before jets and helicopters became symbols of presidential travel, President Dwight D. Eisenhower relied on a sleek Aero Commander L-26B nicknamed “Ike’s Bird.” This little twin-engine aircraft carried the President,...

Keep “Silver Streak” Flying Built in 1942, the Fairchild PT-19 introduced thousands of young Americans to flight during World War II. Simple, rugged, and dependable, it served as the first stop for cadets learning the basic skills they would carry into...

Bring Arkansas’s WWII Trainer Back to Life Before pilots ever climbed into Mustangs or Thunderbolts, they learned to fly in the rugged Vultee BT-13 Valiant. More than 11,000 were built, and nearly every WWII Army Air Forces pilot earned his wings in on...

Help Keep the Flying Tigers’ Warhawk Flying The CAF’s P-40 Warhawk is one of the most iconic fighters of World War II—its shark-toothed grin honoring Brig. Gen. David Lee “Tex” Hill and the legendary Flying Tigers who battled Japanese forces before Ame...

Help “Jake” Keep Kicking With its open cockpit, wind-in-your-face flight, and bright yellow wings, the PT-17 Stearman is one of the most beloved trainers of World War II. Nearly every American pilot—from cadets to combat aces—first learned to fly in a ...

The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.[1] Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearm...

Help Nella Keep the WASP Legacy Flying.Few aircraft tell a story as inspiring as “Nella,” the CAF’s AT-6 Texan dedicated to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II. From 1943 and 1944, Nella trained hundreds of these trailblazing women