Hollister
– Three vintage World War II bombers will land at Hollister
Municipal Airport this weekend, giving locals a chance to see the
aircraft that a generation of young men flew into battle more than
half a century ago.
Hollister – Three vintage World War II bombers will land at Hollister Municipal Airport this weekend, giving locals a chance to see the aircraft that a generation of young men flew into battle more than half a century ago.
The bombers – a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator and an North American B-25 Mitchell – will thunder into Hollister Friday where they will be on display through Sunday as part of the Wings of Freedom Tour organized each year by the Collings Foundation. The aircraft to be displayed were used between 1942 and 1945.
“Living history, that’s what it is,” said Mark Saklad with the Collings Foundation, a Massachusetts–based nonprofit group with a collection of vintage cars and aircraft. The Wings of Freedom Tour will visit 130 cities nationwide and 19 cities in California this year.
Visitors will be able to tour the aircraft inside and out, for a fee of $8 for adults and $4 for kids under 12. People will also have the opportunity to take a 30 minute flight in one of the bombers for $425.
“These are what a whole bunch of 19-year-olds were flying around, going off to war,” Saklad said.
Hollister Airport Manager Bill Gere encouraged people to come see the display this weekend.
“It’s a real slice of American history, and the history of Hollister too” he said.
During WWII Hollister’s airport was a training base for pilots and crews who would later be sent into war, Gere said.
Jonna Doolittle, granddaughter of Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, will be on hand to talk about her grandfather’s experience with the B-25. In 1942, Jimmy Doolittle led a group of 16 B-25s on a raid on Japan following that country’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The aircraft will be displayed at the Gavilan Aviation site at the Hollister Municipal Airport on Friday between 3pm and 6pm; on Saturday from 9am to 6pm; and Sunday from 9am through 6pm.
With only a handful of airworthy B-17s and B-25s in the U.S. and only one flying B-24 left in the world, it’s a rare opportunity, Saklad said.
“The World War II veterans are dying off at a rate of 1,000 a day and the aircraft they flew are far and few between,” he said.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
