WWII National Capital Flyover – May 8, 2015

[PotomacCyclist]

If you missed the smaller WWII-era plane flyover last year, you have another chance to see the skies over D.C. filled with WWII-era planes.

From the Smithsonian announcement:

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the war that changed the United States forever. To honor the 16 million who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War 2 and to spotlight the essential role that aircraft played in U.S. victory, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association has led an effort to bring one of the largest privately owned collections of WW2 airplanes ever assembled to Washington, D.C. to fly over the National Mall on May 8, the 70th anniversary of VE day (the public holiday to mark the Allied victory in Europe). The “Arsenal of Democracy” aircraft will fly over the Mall in 14 formations, beginning at 12:10 p.m. As the media sponsor of the event, Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has created recognition cards for viewing on a smartphone (at airspacemag.com/spotter) to help you identify the airplanes as they fly overhead. (Or download a PDF of the spotter cards here.) You can also find the histories of these airplanes here, presented in the order the formations will fly over the Mall.

From Air & Space Magazine:

On May 8, 2015, a large formation of World War 2 fighters, bombers, trainers, and transports will fly over the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to honor veterans on the 70th anniversary of VE Day.

As the media sponsor for the flyover, Air & Space/Smithsonian has produced World War 2-era airplane spotter cards, similar to what the soldiers used, which you can download as a PDF or view on your smartphone (at airspacemag.com/spotter), to help identify the aircraft flying overhead on May 8. You also can get a digital copy of our May 2015 special issue on World War II for your iPad, Nook, and Kindle, or buy print editions at the National Air and Space Museum locations on the National Mall and at Udvar-Hazy in Chantilly, Virginia, or subscribe to get future issues here.

Schedule for Friday, May 8, 2015

10:30 a.m.: Program begins at World War II Memorial. (Register here)

12:10 p.m.: The first formation flies over the Lincoln Memorial
 at an altitude of 1000 feet.

12:35 p.m.: Missing Man Formation flies over the Lincoln Memorial to conclude the flyover.

Though there will be plenty of places throughout Virginia and D.C. to see the flyover, we picked a few of what should be the best viewing spots, as marked above on the map:

– U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial / Netherlands Carillon
– Arlington Memorial Bridge
– Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
– World War II Memorial
– Washington Monument
– National Air and Space Museum
– Tidal Basin / Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
– Thomas Jefferson Memorial
– Hains Point
– Gravelly Point Park

During the event, follow along with us on Twitter at @airspacemag and #WW2Flyover

As many as 20 of the aircraft in the flyover also will appear on static display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for Family Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 9. Admission is free, but parking is $15 at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

*Flyover is weather permitting. Rain date is May 9, 2015.

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Due to factors such as weather or mechanical issues, participating aircraft are subject to change without notice.

We’ll continue to update this post with more information as we get closer to the event.

Follow us: @AirSpaceMag on Twitter

http://www.airspacemag.com/airspacemag/national-mall-flyover-details-180954735/

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ww2-70th-anniversary-flyover-180954736/

Topic

[Starduster]

One of my music friends will be filming this (old expression, lol) in 4K. I’ll share here when he posts it.

[Tania]

We have a 12th floor south-facing rooftop at metro center and had prime viewing. Once I got back to my desk and read the stats about each plane (and learned that is the only flying B-29), I wished I’d paid more attention to this event beforehand. Super cool.

[Mikey]

My coworkers and I at the navy yard rode our bikes to the center of the Douglas Bridge, and were able to see their entire flight. As they got closer, we saw them bank to the south and fly directly overhead – very cool!

[PotomacCyclist]

I took plenty of pictures with the digital camera. The camera has WiFi but I haven’t tried to transfer any of the photos yet. If I figure it out this afternoon, I’ll start posting some here. If I don’t figure it out right away, I’ll post photos by the weekend.

The Washington Monument grounds were very crowded with onlookers. Office workers, some veterans? (but probably not WWII veterans, because they would be in their late 80s or 90s now), tourists and even the Border Patrol out on their lunch break. I’d say there were probably thousands of people there, plus many more at the WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.

[bentbike33]

@PotomacCyclist 115312 wrote:

I would mention the name of the highest-scoring U.S. ace, who flew all his missions in the P-38. But I think I might get banned for doing so. Let’s just say that his nickname (which is a regular nickname) plus his last name make for a very unusual phrase. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bong

The aforementioned ace was from Wisconsin, and in his honor, the state has named a recreation area for him. I rode a mountain bike there once. Not terribly interesting terrain. It’s more of a hunting ground really. But the road sign is outstanding.

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[CaseyKane50]

The MVT was jammed from the Memorial Bridge to Gravlley Point. Lots of bikes carefully weaving through the throngs. Cars were parking on the grass, as well as on the parkway. The river also had lots of boats, including many kayaks. It also appeared from my vantage point that the Memorial Bridge was jammed with viewers.

As I was coming up the trail at Jones Point, I did see one veteran who was most certainly old enough to have been in WWII.

It was great to see all the planes and the crowds that came to view the flyover.

[PotomacCyclist]

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The last airworthy Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, named “Fifi.”

[PotomacCyclist]

NOTE: Some of the planes will be available for viewing at the Udvar-Hazy Center (the Air and Space Museum at Dulles). Tomorrow from 10 to 2:15.

http://airandspace.si.edu/events/detail.cfm?id=16029

[vvill]

That was a pretty awesome event. I walked over with some work colleagues. We started off north of the monument which wasn’t ideal for photos but we walked around to try to get a better angle. I always loved reading WWII history when I was growing up, I liked building model airplanes (and ships) and there was a short time in life where I learned to spot RAAF aircraft…

Kind of surprised I didn’t run into someone from bikeDC that I knew but then again it was really packed.

If you’re on Instagram there are some awesome photos under the “ww2flyover” hashtag, including one from a cockpit (posted by Honeywell).

[Starduster]

Here ya go (photos courtesy Richard Taylor): https://www.facebook.com/RichardTaylorTV/posts/10153310608288734?pnref=story

As soon as Richard Taylor TV has the video, I will share it.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Me and 12 other people had the two baseball diamonds near South Cap and I St SW all to ourselves. It was a great spot because the planes banked south right around us. The P-51s really hit that turn with power. Awesome display.

[Author]

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