[applause] we hope you enjoyed todays ceremony. Thank you very much for coming. We are honored to welcome nearly 500 people from the air force and marines and merchant marine. This event was conceived in large part to recognize the contributions they made it to ultimate victory in europe and the pacific. Several will be on board the aircraft participating in the flyover. He is now 96 years old and still an active pilot in alaska. He drove here from alaska by himself and will be on board one of the b17s. A rear admiral shot down in the aircraft for the navy. Today he will be flying in one of the texans that comes by early in the flyover. Al tucker through a lightning in europe during world war ii before been shot down over germany on his 22nd combat he spent the last several months of the war as a prisoner of the germans. Mr. Tucker will be one of the biplanes for todays flyover. In 1945, a pilot was based in the pacific theater, and he will be participating in the flyover as a passenger in one of the b17 flying fortresses. Also with us today are veterans who participated in a Discussion Forum last night at the national air and space museum. Many thanks to bud anderson, charles mcgee, chester finnigan, and one other for joining us last night and again here this afternoon. But as grateful as we are for their bravery and service, were here to celebrate not just g. I. Joe, but rosie the riveter as well. In a speech he made in december of 1940, franklin results roosevelt recognized the great arsenal of democracy that would be important in the war that was already raging across the globe. President roosevelt understood the power of the people, when the focus will and resources on a single common goal. He knew that once this country became involved in hostilities the immense u. S. Industrial complex would transition from peacetime manufacturer of automobiles, tractors, bicycles, and airliners to the production of jeeps, tanks, machine guns, and warplanes. And he was right. For the second time in less than a quarter of a century, mouth the American People were called on to help save the world from forces of oppression come and in the battlefields of europe, the waters of the south pacific, and factories throughout this great country of ours, they responded to that challenge as americans always have. In the intervening years, the stories of what those brave americans did and how they did it has been told less frequently, in the schools and the history books and our schools, the narrative of world war ii has been reduced to a few paragraphs or a day or two of instruction. Those stories deserve more. Americans should know not so very long ago our way of life, our freedom, and the fate of much of the world hung in the balance, and the result and the resolve with which this country rose to that challenge is even 70 years later quite remarkable. Over the last several months, as we prepared for this commemoration of v. E. Day and the historic flyover several themes emerged. First, everyone participated. If not serving in the field then working in the factories to produce the machines are on battlefields around the world. Put to use on the battlefields around the world. Second, there is a genuine heartfelt humility among these men who willingly walked into harms way to protect and defend this country. As recently as yesterday evening, i have a personal had the personal hero hero tell me he was just doing his job. The deep respect that the veterans here with us today have for those they consider to be the real heroes of world war ii, those men who did not come home, the warriors who gave their last full measure of devotion to the epic struggle that took place seven decades ago in faraway places like burma, bataan, bastogne, the coral seea, and tunisia. Today it is our challenge and great honor to use the remarkable collection of vintage military aircraft to tell their stories. We will start the arsenal of democracy with the airplanes that taught our boys to fly, the trainers. In 1938, when general arnold who was the commander of the u. S. Air force considered our preparedness, he recognized u. S. Did not have enough airplanes or pilots. Three years before the japanese attack on poor harbor, the u. S. Army air forces was comprised of 21,000 airmen. But by the end of the war, the Army Air Forces included 2. 3 Million People and production of aircraft of all types. Reached nearly 300,000. In a war that military leaders learned would be determined by air superiority, this unprecedented, almost inconceivable increase in american air power was recognized to be one of the most important factors in the victory. Three years before pearl harbor of the challenge had not been sold in the United States were looking at a disparity between what it had and what it would noteed. He created what would be called the civilian Training Program. By the time the program had ended it had trained 430,000 pilots including senator john glenn and one of our guests here today, tripolis kernel triple ace kernecolonel bud. Ladies and gentlemen approaching are the trainers. All u. S. Military pilots accomplished a Training Program in three phases, primary, basic, and advanced. These future aviation warriors learned to fly in a wide variety of airport aircraft like the grasshopper and the piper cub. Here they come now. [applause] ladies and gentlemen please kneel down so you are not blocking the view of those behind you. Thank you. In addition to serving as training aircraft, all these planes had wartime functions. As reconnaissance and liaison aircraft. One pilot reported 60 confirmed kills of german tankers while flying a piper l4 grasshopper outfitted with a bazooka. These two aircraft are part of that l bird gaggle. All having the top speed of 90 to 95 miles per hour. All u. S. Military pilots completed a program with three phases, primary, basic, and advanced. This process was designed to increase the complexity of the training. One of the iconic trainers was a boeing stearman biplane, constructed of wood, fabric, and tubular steel. There were more than two dozen different variants of the stearman. It earned a wellknown nickname. These are the stearman biplanes. [applause] primary training introduced cadets to the principles of flight. Basic training introduced them into the complexities of Radio Communication and flying in formation. And advanced was designed to prepare air crews to go into combat. Another primary trainer was the fairchild, a monoplane used by the Army Air Forces, British Royal air forces, and the Royal Canadian air force. The pt19 was an open cockpit design. Advanced training was accomplished in aircraft like the north american texan weighing in at nearly three tons with retractable landing gear, the t06 was designed to help pilots fly stateoftheart aircraft they would fly in the war. By the end of the war, 16,000 texans were built. Including the sn j version for the navy. When world war ii began, the corporation was a big name in aviation. The Company Built radios for the b 25 to b 34. It also manufactured all threats ball turrets for the b 25. The company is now a part of honeywell aviation, one of our sponsors of the arsenal of democracy flyover. There was no Single Company that made a bigger contribution to americas success than the grumman corporation. Grumman designed and built the wildcat f6 hellcat fighter. And the torpedo bomber. All planes were essential to our countrys success in naval battles in the pacific. In 1994, the company merged with Northrup Corporation to form a northrop grumman, a sponsor of today. We will see several grumman planes in the formation flyovers today. When the Triumph Group acquired industry a few years ago, they acquired some world war ii history. The corsair was a critical tool in the war against japan. After several name changes and acquisitions, the company is now part of the Triumph Group, a sponsor of todays flyover. General electric was a vital part of the american arsenal of democracy. In addition to groundbreaking research and development of the first jet engine in the United States, ge pioneered the development and integration of turbochargers into aircraft engines. Many thanks to ge for being a sponsor of todays flyover. In just a moment, that t6 flight will be coming over, the texans. Also used by the moral Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. They called it the harvard. It was indeed an aircraft of higher learning. Here comes the texans, the 600 horsepower plane. Listen to the sound that they make as they go over. There were also multi engine trainers. One was named the kansan. It have a light cargo designation. It served many functions including as a training platform for bombing, navigation, and gunnery. With two 450 horsepower engines, it will have a great sound all its own. Look over the memorial. It is inbound now. Ladies and gentlemen, the at11, the twin beech. Inbound now are two curtis war hawks, a 1937 design that at the time of pearl harbor was our number one fighter in the pacific. Directly to our left, the two curtis p40 war hawks, liquid cooled engines. In 1942 after a series of stinging setbacks in the pacific, a Lieutenant Colonel led 16 of these mitchell bombers all full of the uss hornet off of the uss hornet on a bombing raid to tokyo and four other cities. The raid was american improvisation at its finest. An American Strike on the homeland of japan so soon after pearl harbor provided americans with a much needed boost in morale. Although the raid resulted in only minor damage, it had a profound impact on japanese strategy, causing concern about attacks on japan than they otherwise would have been. They commemorated the 30th anniversary just last month. Ladies and gentlemen, three b 25 mitchell commerce, two of the be 25s, one of them actually a marine corps pbj1. In june of 1942, as the japanese and american navies converged on a tiny volcanic island in the middle of the pacific, the sta ke was set for a dramatic shift in momentum. Caps off to japanese plans by cryptographers who had broken Japanese Naval codes, pby catalinas were deployed from midway to search hundreds of miles of ocean for enemy ships. One of them found a japanese fleet steaming toward midway and radioed the information to American Military planners. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the pby pby catalina. From three u. S. Carriers wildcat fighters flew escorts for bombers, but problems and bad luck plagued americans as they began their attacks. Most of the american torpedo bombers were battle. Not a single u. S. Walmart torpedo hit a japanese ship palmer torpedo hit a japanese bomber hit a japanese ship despite eight separate attacks by 94 airplanes. Then the tide turned. As the japanese focus their attention on the torpedo bombers flying off the surface of the water, sbd dive bombers attacked from a higher altitude, fatally damaging three of four japanese carriers. An hour later, destroy destroyed the fourth japanese carrier. The balance of naval power in the pacific had shifted permanently. We are right now awaiting the sb dauntless and the fn to wildcat. Evan two wildcat fn 2 wildcat. Wildcats were designed by grumman as the f4f, but were produced in great numbers by general numbers under the another designation. The wildcat and the gauntlet. Dauntless. Fn 2 wildcat. When the u. S. Marines stormed the shores of guadalcanal, in august of 1942, japanese conquests had reached their peak. This bold, unexpected offense of often see of offensive would be a critical turning point in the war in the pacific. A small airfield on the island was the focal point of six months of fierce battles on the ground, air, and sea, and by the time japanese conceded the island, 25,000 japanese had been killed with thousands more dead from malaria. Central to the battle was the venerable grumman f4 wildcat which operated from carriers by u. S. Navy pilots and henderson field by marine corps pilots. Throughout the campaign. Although outmatched by the faster and more agile mitsubishi zero, the wildcats were able to hold their own because of their Rugged Construction and the unique battle tactics developed by the naval aviators who flew them. By the end of 1943, the first grumman f6 hellcats, a new and far superior grumman fighter were being deployed to the pacific theater, but during the early critical battles in the pacific in 1942 and 1943, it was the wildcat that shouldered the burden as americas principal carrierbased fighter. The wildcats you will see here today are both the fm2 variants deployed on smaller escort carriers for antisubmarine and pickett duty. Interestingly, pilots of the wildcat told me that rather than flipping a switch to raise the landing gear, after they took off they maintained about 90 or 95 miles an hour, put their left hand on the stick instead of the right hand, and to the right hand and had to crank the landing gear up 29 turns to get it up. It was not a fun airplane in the pattern. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the wildcat. Admiral yamamoto was commander of the combined fleet, and mastermind behind japans attack on pearl harbor. In the spring of 1943, american codebreakers intercepted and decoded a message with his itinerary from an airplane trip between two islands in the Solomon Islands area of the south pacific. On april 18, a flight of 18 p 38 lightnings was dispatched from guadalcanal on a route that was designed to maximize the element of surprise. Here comes the forktailed devils which shut down shot down yamamotos plane. The mission, nicknamed operation vengeance, not only avenged the deaths of 2400 americans at pearl harbor, but also described deprived the japanese of one of their finest military strategists. Known as hitlers gas station was a huge complex of romanian oil refinersies the supply germany with more than 1 3 of its fuel. After identifying it as a high priority target military , strategist opted for a single large raid by bombers attacking from an altitude of just 200 feet. Flying the mission at low altitude would help avoid radar and increase the accuracy of their bombs but the low altitude would also put the aircraft and crews at greater risk. B 24 was selected for the mission because it was only u. S. Bomber that could manage to 2400 mile roundtrip from libya and back. Though complex and a finicky to fly and maintain, the u. S. Produced more b 24 bombers than any other, and in 1944, Assembly Lines rolled out a new one every 58 minutes. But the americans lost nearly a third of their bombers and 500 airmen on that lowlevel raid on august 1, 94943. 1943. They then adopted daily rates from higher out to with that be 51 mustang b51 mustang. Destroying the Production Capacity over a. Buying of 14 months period of 40 months. As attacks tax on the Oil Refineries of romania continued during the summer of 1944, American Forces pushed into france. General hap arnold noted the increasing number of vehicles along the side of the road that had just run out of gas. Heres the liberator with the mustang. In the early days of the war after the allies had decided that the british would conduct nighttime bombing raids on german targets and americans would bomb during daylight hours, mission losses were horrific. Without fighter escorts, u. S. Bombers in particular suffered unsustainable losses. Two german fighters and antiaircraft. By some estimates, the fatality rate of b17 and b 24 crews was put at nearly 50 . That began to change with the introduction of the p59 mustang. When outfitted with external fuel tanks made of a papiermache here come the mustangs. Mustangs also flown by the 332nd fighter group, the Red Tails Squadron of the tuskegee airmen. By 1944, the German Air Force was trying to survive. In a single week, the allies sought to hasten the end. Operation argument, better known as big week, was a series of largescale Royal Air Force and u. S. Army in a single week, the raids. More than 1000 bombers were sent against their targets. Allies dropped more than 25 Million Pounds of ordinance. Raids were intended to bait german fighters in the air. The German Air Force lost 1 3 of its remaining single engine fighters that month, and eat 8 of its pilots, but u. S. Forces suffered as well. In more than 3000 sorties, 247 b17s were lost despite the bombers almost ability to sustain damage and bring airmen home. Outfitted with 13 50 caliber machine guns in eight different locations on the plane, the 10 member crews who flew this aircraft earned the nickname flying fortress, with the ability to fly long distances with a payload of 6000 pounds. These aircraft were the workhorse of americas Strategic Bombing campaign in europe. Four 1200 horsepower motors allowed the b17 to lumber at high altitudes but it was not a pressurized aircraft. When you have to fly up where it was cold, crew members wore suits that had electric wires in them to keep them warm. They wore oxygen masks, and they would come back from missions with marks on their faces from frostbite that was created from being such highaltitude and low temperatures. In all, over 12,700 b17s were built, remaining flying today, anywhere in the world, somewhere around a dozen. It is part of the reason that we love to see these airplanes fly. So few are still in existence today. The p51 mustang longrange fighters had a production total of somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000, and about 160 are still flyable around the world today. Announcer were waiting for the two b17 bombers that will be coming across very, very shortly. They were part of our heavy bomb fleet along with the liberator we saw fly by earlier. There were about 18,000 b24 liberators made, more than any other american aircraft during the war. Here come the b17, the first b17, and the second. The flying fortress, 10 crew members in each aircraft. The first allied soldiers in france on dday arrived by parachute just after midnight on june 6, 1944. 13,000 paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division made the trip. In the more than 800 c 47 transport aircraft. These elements jumped into normandy to secure a series of bridges, causeways, and crossroads vital to the success of the allied invasion of france. The c47 began its life as the douglas dc3. An airplane credited with revolutionizing the airline industry. With the outbreak of hostilities, the plane was reconstructed as a military transport. C 47s cap in china during the war flew cap in capped kept in china flew supplies and personnel from muddy airfields across the himalaya range to places in china. After dday, the c47 supported the allied effort in germany. Here comes the c47. After 1945, eisenhower credited four weapons to winning the war, the bazooka, the jeep, the atomic bomb, and the c47. About 11,000 of those were built, and 1100 remain flyable around the world today, some with turbine conversions on engines. The june 19, 1944 battle of maybe gulf was the largest carrier to carrier at all. In a flotilla that included 15 aircraft carriers and more than 100 supporting ships, the u. S. Navy arrived to capture the island of saipan for use as a base for b29 to bomb japan. One hellcat pilot shot down six japanese dive bombers in less than eight minutes. American losses were 29 aircraft, plus a nominal damage to a single battleship. The superiority of u. S. Pilots was so dramatic that the battle came to be known as the great maraianas turkey shoot. The battle also included the loss of 11 japanese ships including a three aircraft carriers. U. S. Navy aircraft attacked and attacked enemy ships with hellcats, dive bombers, grumman avengers, and of the guarded the curtis hell diver. What youll see here today are two tbm and a held diver, the only one that still is flying today. The battle was decisive in eliminating the Japanese Navy to conduct largescale operations. Giving the u. S. A new level of naval dominance that lasted until the end of the war. Announcer ladies and gentlemen, we have two special guests with us today, two veterans, senator robert dole and senator warner. They are in the front row. Lets hear it for them. Announcer ladies and gentlemen, here come the two tbm avengers and the curtis hell diver, nicknamed the big tailed beast. The battle of the bulge was germanys last Major Campaign in world war ii. It began in middecember of 1944 as a surprise attack on American Forces in the ardennes area of belgium. The battle would involve more than 500,000 germans, 600,000 americans, and 50,000 british troops. Characterized by cold temperatures, the battle demonstrated how thoroughly air support had been integrated into contemporary military operations. The allies inability to dominate the skies prolonged the german offensive and conversely the return of air support help ed the allies achieve victory in the battle. It began on december 16 with a german attack designed to catch allies unaware and split forces in half. The germans wanted to capture the belgian harbor of antwerp. That offensive against the allies created a bulge in the allied lines. One of the aircraft that drove the germans back was the a26 invader, built by douglas. Immortalized forever by the photo of marines raising the u. S. Flag over the mountain, the battle of iwo jima helped secure three airfields and provided a staging area for the much anticipated invasion of the japanese homeland. It is a testament to the ferocity of the fighting at iwo jima that more than 25,000 u. S. Marines were killed in february and march of 1945. And nearly 19,000 japanese soldiers were killed. The only battle of the war in which u. S. Casualties exceeded japanese. The corsair was critical to the american success on iwo jima. Initially designed as a carrierbased fighter, the pilot sat far back in the fuselage and the view was restrict by the motor and propeller and a huge fuel tank, making landings challenging on the pitching deck of a carrier. So early models went to landbased marine pilots who put the aircrafts feed and have the armament heavy armament to effective use in dogfights and ground support. Eventually corsair pilots shot down 11 japanese aircraft for every corsair lost, and by the beginning of 1945, marine corps pilots were flying lowlevel missions with bombs, rockets and napalm in support of their fellow marines on the beaches and in the jungles of the small islands throughout the south pacific. Including iwo jima. The japanese called this airplane whistling death. Some of you remember vma 214 the black sheep squadron, led by pappy boyington. The recalled him that because he was older than the rest of this very called him that because he was older than the rest of the squadron. He was 28. He also racked up 28 kills during his career. From the right and in front of you, here come the f4u corsair, a bentwing bird. The b29 super fortress could carry 20,000 pounds of bombs to targets more than 2000 miles away. At an altitude of 30,000 feet, it was able to fly above most of japans home island defenses. Instead of conventional gun turrets, the weapons were on lifters on the fuselage, meet to linked to a system that was a marvel of technology in the 1940s. By the time the plane entered the war, an earlier generation of heavy bombers had leveled much of germanys so the germany so they super forces were deployed to china and to tinian. The move to the islands but aircraft within 1500 miles of tokyo, well within the bombers range. With large numbers and vast payloads it was not long before the b29 had destroyed every strategic target in japan. The only aircraft of them aircraft then capable of delivering the worlds First Nuclear bombs, modified super fortresses join their standard comrades on tinian. In the summer of 1945. On august 6, the enola gay dropped a bomb on the city of hiroshima. Three days later, boxcar destroyed nagasaki with a plutonium bomb. On august 14, japanese surrendered unconditionally. The surrender was formalized in a ceremony aboard the missouri in tokyo bay on september 2, 1945. Compared to the 12,000plus b17 and 18,000 plus liberators that were built, production of the b29 super fortress was about 4000. It was rushed into service. It was fraught with engine problems, so great that engines were routinely swapped out after only 25 hours of flying time. Just shy of 4000 b29s were built by boeing, and also by bell. And also martin aircraft. The ability for the b29 to fly at such high altitudes is because it was the first u. S. Aircraft that was pressurized. Enabling the aircrew to be operating the aircraft in normal kinds of temperatures. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the b29. Over 12 million americans answered the nations call over the course of the second world war. We are going to have now what is known as a missing man formation. It serves to remind us of those who sacrificed their future for that of our nation, and it is a tradition which dates back to world war ii. The symbolic moment when a single aircraft breaks formation and soars skyward. Ladies and gentlemen, you help us please recognize our Fallen Heroes and stand while taps is being played. [taps] announcer ladies and gentlemen, you may be seated. Thanks to the texas flying legends for performing the missing man formation. 70 years ago the world rejoiced. Ladies and gentlemen. Londons Trafalgar Square was the scene of an immense impromptu street party. Joyful frenchman celebrated on the champs elysees. And vast crowds gathered in red square. In the United States, although the country knew there was so much work to be done in the pacific, huge celebrations were held in chicago, los angeles miami, and times square. Every contributor to the arsenal of democracy had done their part from the servicemen to the factory workers and businesses providing servicemen the weapons of war so vital to their success , to the families who went without so that the boys overseas could have all of the a victory was a collaborative effort, a triumph that the entire country could be proud of. Seven decades later, we are no less proud. For all those here today who played a role in americas victory in world war ii, whether in military or civilian capacity thank you for your service and for everyone else, thank you to for commemorating our countrys victory in world war ii. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3. For
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