Upcoming Events
Spring Big Band Hangar Dance
Saturday May 31, 2008
8:00 PM - Midnight
Annual Open House
Saturday September 6, 2008
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Fall Bomber's Moon Ball
Saturday September 6, 2008
8:00 PM
North American P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen"
Since 1988, the Minnesota Wing has been the custodian of an extremely rare (one of four left in existence) P-51C Mustang. The aircraft has had a long and varied career, facing many challenges to its very survival, much less ever again being flyable, during it's many years since it was manufactured. The story of this aircraft is rich and detailed and continuing to be documented. Presented here is only a very brief overview of the story surrounding what is now known as "Tuskegee Airmen."
P-51C-5 S/N 42-103645
Manufactured by North American Aviation in Dallas, Texas, this aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps on April 7, 1944.
The aircraft was first assigned to the 341st AAF Base Unit (Third Air Force) at Pinelle AAF, Florida. In December, 1944 it was transferred to the 378th AAF Base at Venice AAF, Florida. Finally, in June, 1945, the aircraft was moved to the 339th AAF Base Unit at Thomasville AAF, Georgia. The aircraft served as a trainer at each of these locations.
With the cessation of hostilities in August of 1945, 42-103645 wasa declared surplus and dropped from the inventory in October, 1945. Her final flight before a 56 year slumber, was to Montana State College in Bozeman, Montana where she was utilitized in the education of aspiring aviation students.
The tranquility of campus life came to an abrupt end when, in order to expedite its next move, for some obscure reason, the wings were sawed off! After the wings were cosmetically reattached by welding, the future Red Tail Project was destined to serve out its remaining days as a building ornament for a local VFW.
Trivia Question
Trivia question: although visually identical, a common question is "What is the difference between a B and C model Mustang?" The answer is simply "Where it was built". "B" model Mustangs were built in Inglewood, CA and "C" models were built in Dallas. 886 "C" model Mustangs were built before the production line was converted to producing the new "D" model Mustangs in July, 1944.
Restoration Efforts in the 1970's
According to CAF records, the aircraft was donated to the CAF sometime during 1970. The majority of the aircraft was transferred from Montana to Texas where it awaited resources for restoration. While there, it unfortunately was given a rather thorough salt water bath by Hurricane Beulah which began its insidious corrosion attack on what had once been a relatively pristine structure.
In 1974, the aircraft was moved to Minneapolis where a unique effort was made with the cooperation of interested parties to restore the aircraft to racing condition and have the aircraft be a contender in the Reno Air Races. However, racing was not in this airplane's future and little progress was made. The aircraft was once again sent back to Harlingen, Texas.
Efforts in the Early 1980s
The next migration of 42-103645 came in October, 1983 when it was moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa under the stewardship of the Great Plains Wing of the CAF. Once again the all too familiar combination of abundant enthusiasm was tempered with the reality of limited resources.
Initial progress was made on the restoration where many things were learned about the aircraft. The team in Council Bluffs was broken into several groups dedicated to specific restoration areas on the aircraft. For the first time, the aircraft was completely stripped of paint, parts sand blasted and numerous parts overhauled and repaired. Work also began on rebuilding the cockpit area and acquiring new glass for the aircraft.
When the fuselage was stripped of its silver paint, many interesting things were underneath. While outside and used as a piece of playground equipment in Montana, it had been used by kids as a graffiti board. Somone had drawn a picture of the Mustang and wrote underneath it:
F-51 Mustang
North American
Aircraft Corporation
May 3, 1942
There were other pictures drawn such as the sun, etc. The original markings when it was painted for the US Army were exposed as well. It showed the stenciling underneath the cockpit:
U.S. ARMY P-51C-5-NT
SERIAL NO. 42-103645
CREW WEIGHT 200 LBS
SERVICE THIS AIRPLANE WITH
100/130 OCTANE FUEL IF NOT
AVAILABLE T.O. 01-5-1 WILL
BE CONSULTED FOR EMERGENCY
ACTION
During it's stay at Omaha, the C model had all components in the fuselage removed, overhauled and primed. Fuselage paint stripped and primed, all glass removed and new glass installed by contractor, electrical rewiring of the cockpit and wings was in progress, the main wing spars had been spliced and new stringers installed, but not complete, and the landing gear was removed, repacked and reinstalled into the Wing. The photo shows the early efforts at repairing the damage caused to the wing.
The last log entry in the restoration logbook was made on October 21, 1984. Soon afterwards, due to a number of uncontrollable circumstances, the project was cancelled and the aircraft was put back into storage.
Return to Minnesota (Again)
The Minnesota Wing was anticipating the completion of its long B-25 restoration of Miss Mitchell and anxious for another project. Many of the members, experienced with Mustangs from their days in active duty or with the Minnesota National Guard enthusiastically accepted the idea of continuing the restoration of the rare P-51C.
The aircraft was transferred from Council Bluffs, Iowa to South St. Paul, Minnesota in 1988, but once again was assigned to "back burner" status as the Wing dealt with teething problems associated with getting Miss Mitchell online for the next several years. These setbacks consumed not only time and effort, but the limited monetary resources of the Minnesota Wing.
Miss Mitchell finally flew for the first time in April, 1992 on the 50th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. It was at that point that greater attention could once again be paid to this unique airplane.
Birth of the Red Tail Project
Minnesota was ultimately the aircraft's last destination in the effort to return her to flight. After extensive research, it was discovered tha the C model Mustang was the signature aircraft of the African-American aviators of WWII known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The story of these American patriots, who painted the tails of their aircraft red, had been left out of most history books. Thus, the "Red Tail Project" concept was born.
The decision was made to paint this rare aircraft in the distinctive colors of the Tuskegee Airmen~ the 332nd Fighter Group ~ and, in so doing, honor these long neglected heroes who, during World War II, accomplished a "double victory"; one over nazism and the other over racism. The importance and justification of this decision was ratified by the Minnesota Legislature with a substantial monetary grant towards its ultimate completion.
The Final Restoration Efforts
It was decided to perform a complete rebuild of the wings through the added talents of Bob Odegaard at his shop in Kindred, North Dakota. The new wings emerged as masterpieces of craftsmanship as good, if not better, than the original NAA factory efforts.
Close inspection of the fuselage, however, revealed that Hurricane Beulah's salt water bath had done more damage than originally believed and a complete reconstruction of the very core of the aircraft was the only realistic solution. For this, the Wing turned to Jerry Beck at Tri State Aviation in Wapeton, North Dakota. Jerry not only virtually remanufactured the fuselage, but was also responsible for the final assembly and completion of the aircraft.
During that process, the aircraft was completely dismantled and every rivet removed. It was then reassembled with new sheet metal and structural components replacing any that were corroded or damaged.
The Start of the Mission
The return of this beautiful aircraft to its natural element is but the first stage of the "Red Tail Project" however. Now it is the honor of the Minnesota Wing to tell the shamefully ignored story of the Tuskegee Airmen. This story can be used as tangible evidence that seemingly insurmountable odds can be overcome with boundless determination, enthusiasm and perseverance.
As such, the ultimate goal of the Red Tail Project is to inspire the youth of America to overcome the perceived barriers to success that confront us all and fix their eyes on the star of their choosing.
We invite you to learn more about the Red Tail Project and our aircraft through our website dedicated to this on-going important project. Please visit us at www.redtail.org.