By JANET McGREGOR
Contributing Writer

The Dixie Wing is the Atlanta branch of the American Airpower Heritage Foundation (AAHF). The Foundation is more commonly known as the Confederate Air Force (CAF), although the name does not accurately portray the scope or purpose of the group.

Strangely enough, the name “Confederate Air Force” was adopted from the side of an airplane. A group of avid vintage airplane buffs got together some years ago to develop a World War II Flying Museum. One night an unknown prankster painted the words “Confederate Air Force” on the side of a plane and the group decided to band together under the name.

The purpose of the Dixie Wing, and its parent group, is to “honor the greatest call to arms in history,” per their literature. Members of the Wing maintain and fly older planes built between 1939 and 1945. They operate as a “flying museum,” participating in numerous air shows.

Jim Friday, a retired Eastern Airline pilot and active Wing member, says, “I had always wanted to fly old airplanes and that's what I do now. I think almost every pilot wants to.”

The Dixie Wing owns, among others, one of the only two Dauntless SBD-5 Dive Bombers left. As the other Dauntless is currently out of service, they own the only one in flying condition.

The Douglas Dauntless, the “pride of the Dixie Wing,” was acquired in 1990. According to Friday, “The SBD Dive Bomber literally turned the tide of the war in the Pacific at the Battle of Midway.”

The Dauntless shot down the first Japanese Zero fighter of the war over the skies of Pearl Harbor and was the only U.S. combat aircraft to fight from the beginning of the war to the end. The SBD-5 was featured in “Midway,” “The Winds of War” and its sequel, “War and Remembrance.”

The Wing also has a PT-26 Primary Trainer, acquired in 1988, and a C-45 Expediter. The Expediter was introduced by Beechcraft in 1937. The Wing's C-45 is painted in British RAF Expediter markings “complete with D-Day invasion stripes.”

The PT-26 was built by the Fairchild Aircraft Company in the late 1930's. The Dixie Wing's restoration process took close to three years. Restoring World War II airplanes can be a long and difficult process. As parts are no longer manufactured, they are hard to locate and obtain. Oftentimes needed parts must be hand-made.

The Dixie Wing, approved in 1987, is the 83rd unit of the AAHF. Currently there are over 100 members it is based at the Peachtree City - Falcon Field in Peachtree City. The AAHF is a non-profit organization. Its stated mission is to “never let this country forget the massive sacrifice and the technological miracles that were produced in so little time by the United States during WWII.”

All money raised through their various air shows and other efforts are used to maintain, restore and operate the Wing's aircraft.

For those who have an interest in joining or supporting the Dixie Wing, call Col. Tom Barnes at 770-951-0070 or write to Dixie Wing CAF, 842 Farley Mill, Marietta, GA 30067. 8Å

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