PLEASE JOIN US IN HONORING THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED.
DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE WHO SERVED DURING WWII AND WOULD LIKE TO TELL THEIR STORY?
We will post their stories and pictures to honor their service and ensure their contributions are not forgotten.
It is estimated that there are fewer than 168,000 WWII veterans surviving today, and we are losing hundreds per day from the "Greatest Generation". Help us preserve the memory of their contributions!
DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE WHO SERVED DURING WWII AND WOULD LIKE TO TELL THEIR STORY?
We will post their stories and pictures to honor their service and ensure their contributions are not forgotten.
It is estimated that there are fewer than 168,000 WWII veterans surviving today, and we are losing hundreds per day from the "Greatest Generation". Help us preserve the memory of their contributions!
UPCOMING EVENTS/Recent NewsMay 2023
Three Men On A Mission: WWII Warbirds Unlimited recently posted an “Honor Roll” account of Winston Tucker, a remarkable gentleman and B17 pilot whose WWII missions included Bremen Germany on October 8, 1943. In following up to this account, Warbirds Unlimited became aware of two other men who were on this same mission, although in other aircraft and in different bomb groups. Mission: Bremen, Germany October 8, 1943 Shipyards were the main target for this mission although cloud cover forced some bombing of targets of opportunity. The raid consisted of 4 elements with a total of 344 B-17s and 55 B-24s. (A summary of this mission can be found at: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/mission/viii-bomber-command-111) For those interested archive footage of portions of the mission is available for viewing at https://archive.org/details/CS-610. Additional archive footage of B-17s over Bremen is available at https://archive.org/details/CS-1062 although there is no date for this footage.) Winston Tucker: This was the 19th mission for Winston Tucker and as part of the 92nd Bomb Group he would have been in the second element of the attack consisting of 56 B-17s. His mission notes are as follows: “Target Bremen, Germany. See more enemy fighters than ever before. Mostly Ju88’s. Lots of tail attacks. Rocket guns fired on us. Flack was so thick and heavy at target could hardly see through it. I led low Squadron. Very hard mission. Lost 30 Forts.” Lawrence Kooima: John Kooima, nephew of B17 pilot Lt. Lawrence Kooima, brought his uncle’s background tother attention of Warbirds Unlimited. At the time of the Bremen mission, Lt. Lawrence Kooima was a member of the 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, flying B-17 42-29959 “Red Fury”, based out of Thurleigh, England. On this mission the B-17 Lawrence Kooima was piloting (one of 344 B-17s on the mission and part of the second element) was shot down and although it was reported that most men were able to bail out, Lawrence was listed as one of the six reported KIA, with 4 reported as prisoners of war. Among the awards earned by Lt. Kooima were the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf clusters, and Purple Heart. Impressive accounts of Lt. Kooima, his crew, associated aircraft missions places and even eyewitness statements from Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) are available on the American Air Museum website starting here: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/lawrence-w-kooima John Luckadoo: A friend of Warbirds Unlimited observed that another B-17 pilot on the October 8, 1943 Bremen missions had recently celebrated his 100th birthday (March 16, 2022). Bremen was the 22nd mission for John “Lucky” Luckadoo. There are numerous sources available with substantial information on John “Lucky” Luckadoo and mis WWII service, some of which are listed below for our readers reference: Mr. Luckadoo was assigned to the 100BG, 351st BS. See the links below for additional information on Mr. Luckadoo including his personal account of the Bremen mission: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/john-h-luckadoo https://www.100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=211:the-bremen-mission&catid=25&Itemid=581 https://www.100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&Itemid=334&id=3204 For our readers interest here are links to film (no sound) of aircraft on the Bremen mission: https://archive.org/details/CS-610 https://archive.org/details/CS-1062 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IhqBrogTDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCqORnzI80I The below link is to a first-hand account of the mission as published in “The AF News, September 2014: 2014-9RD.pdf (8thafhs.org) Warbirds Unlimited lost a dear friend and amazing aviation historian in the passing of Col. Ole Griffith, who passed away February 17, 2021. A link to his obituary is posted below:
Col. Ole Griffith Obituary Link August 2020 - Warbirds sailing to Hawaii for World War II Commemoration: 14 WWII vintage warbirds were transported to Hawaii aboard the USS Essex in preparation for a series of flyovers commemorating the 75th anniversary of the wars end. Below are several links about this event:
https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/wwii-warbirds-arrive-in-hawaii-for-historic-flyovers-to-commemorate-end-of-war-75-years-ago-1.640952 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/f-35s-b-25s-uss-essex-transports-world-war-ii-warbirds-hawaii-166877 https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-wwii-warbirds-hitch-ride-on-us-navy-amphibious-ship-2020-8 https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a33524836/uss-essex-taxi-wwii-warbirds/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S7H-iyhj8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoD8OL77yjk March 30, 2019: Mesa Falcon Field Airport Open House. (see a few photos from the event in our gallery - click here!)
Historic Photo Dedication at Mesa Falcon Field Airport February 25, 2019! See pics below.
The tour stop of the Experimental Aircraft Association Ford Tri-motor at Mesa Falcon Field on January 24-27, 2019.
Visit our Honor Roll for our latest addition and listen to the interview of "Sinker" Robinson, a B24 gunner shot down over Yugoslavia in March 1945.
Merry Christmas! Enjoy a greeting from Christmas past when Arizona News Channel 3 covered the event when Santa took the controls of BarbieIII
Click Here!. November 3, 2018: Mesa Falcon Field Airport Tennants and Family BBQ.
It is with great sadness that Warbirds Unlimited learned of the passing of Lynn Davis. Lynn was the lead restorer on a AN75-N1 Stearman. God Speed Lynn Davis, we are grateful to you for your friendship and expertise. You will be greatly missed.
Link to obituary of Francis Lynn Davis here
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