On June 14 and 15, 2025, don't miss the event of the year: the Navy to Victory Tour at the Cerny-La Ferté Alais airfield, a unique opportunity to relive the history of the Second World War through emblematic aircraft and objects!

We are honored to welcome from Texas a World War II veteran aircraft, the Douglas R4D Ready 4 Duty, the US Navy version of the famous DC-3, belonging to the Commemorative Air Force. This legendary aircraft will open its doors to you for exceptional interior visits, to discover the flight conditions of the time and the technical characteristics of this living legend of military aviation.

The exhibition also features objects and relics from World War II warships such as the USS Texas, USS Laffey and USS Yorktown, moving testaments to the heroism of American sailors.

This event is organized by the CAF French Wing and the Musée Salis in partnership with Le Fana de l'Aviation magazine, in an exceptional setting where history buffs, families and the curious can immerse themselves in the heritage of the Atlantic and Pacific wars and military aviation.

Timetable :

10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Prices :

- General admission: 19€ (5-14 years 15€)

- Navy Gold Wings Spotter Ticket (privileged access to exceptional viewing areas, meeting and dinner with pilots and crew, night photo shooting with engines running... Entertainment and supervision by the DCA association): 180€.

On-site catering

Come and celebrate history, freedom and the courage of those who fought for peace. We look forward to seeing you for an unforgettable weekend at the heart of World War II history!

En l'honneur du 80e anniversaire de la victoire des Alliés lors de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale.

L'avion de collection Ready 4 Duty effectuera un voyage de 19 000 kilomètres en Europe.

DALLAS (28 janvier 2025) - Pour commémorer le 80e anniversaire de la victoire des Alliés lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Ready 4 Duty, un avion historique de l’US Navy exploité par la Commemorative Air Force (CAF) basé à Dallas, entreprend un voyage transatlantique du Texas à l'Europe pour honorer le service et le sacrifice des marins américains et alliés.

L'ambitieuse tournée Navy to Victory de Ready 4 Duty, d'une durée de douze semaines et d'une distance de 19 000 kilomètres, comprend des apparitions à plus d'une douzaine d'événements aéronautiques et cérémoniels dans le sud et l'est des États-Unis, en Islande, au Royaume-Uni, en France et aux Pays-Bas, d'avril à juillet.

« Exploiter en toute sécurité un avion de quatre-vingts ans pendant un voyage aussi long n'est pas une mince affaire », a déclaré Christopher Volpe, coordinateur principal du Navy to Victory Tour. « Mais le fait de contribuer à la construction d'un héritage durable pour les anciens combattants fait que tous les préparatifs et les sacrifices en valent la peine. »

Selon Christopher Volpe, l'âge avancé des anciens combattants de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, dont les plus jeunes ont aujourd'hui quatre-vingt-dix-sept ans, a joué un rôle important dans la décision d'organiser cette tournée intercontinentale. « La possibilité d'honorer ces hommes et ces femmes pendant qu'ils sont encore parmi nous s’amenuise rapidement », a déclaré M. Volpe. « Pour eux, leurs familles et la société dans son ensemble, nous sommes déterminés à leur rendre hommage à l'occasion du 80e anniversaire de la Victoire des Alliés.

Cet avion emblématique transportera également des objets provenant de navires de guerre américains de la Seconde Guerre mondiale qui ont survécu, tels que  le porte-avions U.S.S. Yorktown, le cuirassé USS Texas et le destroyer U.S.S. Laffey, au cours de la tournée « Navy to Victory ». C'est la première fois que des objets provenant d'un si grand nombre de navires de guerre américains de la Seconde Guerre mondiale sont exposés ensemble.

« Le Navy to Victory Tour est un hommage sincère aux innombrables marins et aviateurs alliés qui ont servi avec courage et conviction pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale », a déclaré David Oliver, président-directeur général de la CAF. « Cette mission commémorative incarne les liens transatlantiques forgés dans la lutte pour la liberté et reste une pierre angulaire de notre histoire commune. »

Stéphane Duchemin, leader du Wing français de la CAF s’exprime sur la venue du R4D en France :  « Nous sommes très fiers d’accueillir Ready for Duty en France. Sa tournée est une véritable opportunité pour le public français de rencontrer un véritable avion vétéran de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, d’honorer nos libérateurs et les marins américains et pour les membres du French Wing, de soutenir et accompagner nos amis de la CAF US avec notre Piper NE-1, lui aussi aux couleurs de l’US Navy. »

À propos de Ready 4 Duty

Construit en 1944, "Ready-4-Duty" (BuAer 50783) est un R4D-6S, la version navale du DC-3 et du C-47.

Celui de la CAF a été modifié pour transporter des grenades anti-sous-marines. Il a été affecté à l'U.S. Navy Atlantic Special Service Squadron au VR3. Il a servi dans les Caraïbes, du Texas à Guantanamo (Cuba), d’Amérique du Sud en passant par Rio, dans l'Atlantique Sud jusqu'à Dakar, dans l'Atlantique Est et dans l'hémisphère Nord, de Terre-Neuve jusqu'au Groenland et à l'Islande.

Lors de patrouilles opérationnelles en février 1945, il était l'un des 20 membres d'un escadron qui surprit un sous-marin allemand en surface au large des côtes brésiliennes et le coula.

Il est ensuite transféré à la Fleet Airborne Electronics Training Unit, Atlantic, et affecté au VX-1, un escadron d'évaluation basé à Key West, en Floride, où il évalue des "gadgets" électroniques top secret, dont les dossiers restent toujours classifiés de nos jours(ou perdus).

"Ready-4-Duty" a terminé sa carrière dans l'US Navy au NART, Naval Reserve Training, en 1959.

Ensuite, il a servi comme avion de largage pour les smoke jumpers de l'US Forestry Service avant d'être acquis par la Commemorative Air Force.

Il est maintenant basé à Lancaster, au Texas, où il est opéré par le Dallas Forth Worth Wing CAF.

Introduction

The Commemorative Air Force, CAF, is the largest flying museum in the world with 180 aircraft, most of which date from World War II. The CAF was founded in Harlingen, Texas in 1957, then moved to Midland before its Headquarters moved to its new National Air Force Base at Dallas Executive Airport in 2016. Today, the Commemorative Air Force has 12,000 members worldwide.

The goal of the CAF is to acquire, restore and maintain aircraft from the World War II to Vietnam War period in flying condition, and to engage younger generations to honor the pilots and crew members who fought.

Its objectives are: Educate, Inspire and Honor.

Since 1996, the French Wing is the French unit of the Commemorative Air Force. The statutes have been filed in France and the FW is in the form of an Association loi 1901. It maintains a Piper J3 in flying condition and is based in its hangar at Le Plessis Belleville where its volunteers organize an annual fly-in that brings together old planes, old vehicles and guests in period costumes.The French Wing conducts historical research and produces a documentary entitled "History and Duty to Remember" which publishes interviews with veterans that are primarily intended for a young audience and can be viewed on its YouTube channel and website.

Our project

The association acquired the Piper J3 F-GHLQ in 2003. The restoration of the aircraft was done in 1993.

The aircraft was named "Spirit of Lewis" in honor of Lewis Bateman, an English member of the French Wing who died in 2000. Lewis had been an unwavering supporter at the start of the association. A former mechanic on the Fairey Firefly during the Korean War, he had become a brilliant aeronautical engineer at the origin of the Airbus family.

Shortly after his acquisition, a contest for the most beautiful design was launched and Roy Grinnell, ace painter and member of the FW, won with an NE-1 version of the Cub. It is this version which was retained and in these colors that the plane will be painted.

The aircraft will represent NE-1 serial 26359 (NE-1 being the designation of the Piper J3 Cub for the US Navy, which served in the USA and in the Pacific theater

Here is his history reconstructed from its "History card" for the FW by an amateur historian, John Scott:

• 05/29/1942 : Delivered to US Navy at Lockhaven, Pennsylvania
• 06/13/1942 : Arrival at RAB (Reserve Air Base) d'Oakland, California (East of San Francisco across the bay),
• 11/11/1942 : Transferred to NAS (Naval Air Station) de Moffett Field, Sunnyvale California (south end of San Francisco Bay)
• 08/25/1942 : Assigned to ZP-32 Squadron, NAS Sunnyvale

• 08/1943, transferred to BlimpHedron 3, airship maintenance unit, Sunnyvale
• 11/1943 : Transferred to Pool (unassigned) Naval Air Station, Alameda, California (East of San Francisco across the bay north of Oakland),
• 02/1944 : transferred to Pool NAS, Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
• 03/1945 : in transit to Guam
• 04 through 06/1945 : NAB (Naval Advance Base), Orote, Guam
• 07/1945 : Awaiting assignment CASU (F) 12 (Combat Aircraft Service Unit - Forward), Guam
• 08/1945 : Pool CASU (F) 12, Guam
• 09/1945 :in transit to Japan (probably)
• 10/1945 : Okinawa (Kadena ?)
• 02/1946 through 03/15/1946 : NAB Yonabaru, Okinawa
• 03/15/1946 through 06/21/1946 : NAB Awase, Okinawa
• 06/1946 : FASRON 13, (Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron), Orote, Guam
• 10/31/1946 : Stricken from inventory (presumably Orote, Guam)

Roy Grinnell's painting features NE-1 serial #26359, in the paint scheme he wore between December 1942 and June 1943 while assigned to the ZP-32 Squadron at Moffett field in San Francisco Bay.

The ZP-32 operated airships from this base for maritime patrol, ship escort and anti-submarine warfare missions.

Herb Parsons, President of the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum (MFHS), received a gift from the family of a sailor who served in the ZP-32, a photo album containing a few photos of the NE1 captioned, "The little Blue Cloud".

The choice of this paint scheme twenty years after the contest won by Roy is a double tribute, to Roy now deceased of course and to the fighters.

At the end of 2021, the year of the 25th anniversary of the French Wing, the plane was transported by our members to Libourne at Aero Services Restoration for its restoration.

The plane will be dismantled, dismantled, inspected, the parts that need to be changed will be changed, the fuselage will be sandblasted, painted, then re-stained and painted.

The estimate amounts to a little more than 30000€ that the French Wing has saved over the years and is therefore this much more than the cost of the plane.

What are our goals for this fundraising campaign?

Thank you for your help in getting The Little Blue Cloud back in the air !

Looking for original instruments (not Wag Aero copies) for a restoration project, Piper J3 Cub :
- Waltham P/N 496163 tachometer
- U.S. Gauge P/N 496159 Oil pressure gauge
- U.S Gauge P/N 496160 Oil temperature gauge
- 40 to 140 mph P/N 496139 airspeed indicator
- Airpath Type 60 P/N 450625 Magnetic compass with bubble
- Cabine heat switch
We do accept donation
Contact Stéphane Duchemin by email : president@caffrenchwing.fr

de g à d, Anya, Eric, Sandrine et Laurent

Chers amis souvenez-vous, c'était il y a un an jour pour jour. La météo n'était pas aussi clémente que ces derniers mois, et les prévisions du Week-end nous avaient contraints à laisser notre J3 bien à l'abri dans le hangar du Plessis … oui mais ça c'était avant !

Drawing by François Hébrard – Coloring by David Voileaux

Because of COVID-19, most ceremonies for the 76th anniversary of the Normandy landings have either been cancelled or largely downsized. Let's take a trip back in time to the 75th anniversary, which was exceptional and memorable for the CAF and the French Wing.

First of all, the 75th anniversary was somewhat the conclusion of the support our Wing had brought to the C-47 “That's All Brother” restoration project, relaying and contributing to all fundraising campaigns for the past four years with our friend David O'Connor. Two CAF aircraft and D-Day veterans, the C-47 Skytrain “That's All Brother” and the C-53 Skytrooper “D-Day Doll”, joined the 15 Dakotas of the D-Day Squadron to cross the Atlantic from the US to Europe by the northern route. In May 2019, the aircraft successfully made the flight in small groups travelling a few days apart and made it to the United-Kingdom where they were stationed until early June. Their stay there ended with the Duxford airshow.

On June 5, 2019, That's All Brother crossed the Channel twice. In 1944, it was the same aircraft which, following the Pathfinders, led the first assault wave in Normandy . Seventy-five years later, it was leading the DC-3 that dropped parachutists on Sanerville. Members of the French Wing were present for their arrival at the Caen-Carpiquet airport. The landing and parking of the 23 aircraft was a memorable moment for our group.

C-47 “That’s All Brother”, French Wing group with Andy Maag

On June 6, the D-Day landing anniversary, all roads were blocked around the commemorative sites and part of our group went to the Arromanches beach to witness the vehicle gathering organized by the D-Day Landing Museum and its director Frédéric Sommier, a friend of the French Wing. Several hundred vehicles were present, most of them British, in a very British atmosphere with the smell of eggs and fried bacon.

Vehicle gathering, June 6, 2019, Arromanches

That same day, DC-3s overflew the American cemetery in Colleville during the commemorations with presidents Trump and Macron, and then overflew Arromanches and our Wing members before heading back to Carpiquet.

On June 7 and 8, the organization Daks over Normandy opened the Caen-Carpiquet airport to the public for a two-day airshow. Stormy weather on the 7th got the best of our tent and made any flying nearly impossible. On the 8th, our group was pleasantly surprised by an invitation from That's All Brother's crew to fly over the beaches and the Coleville cemetery. This was one of the highlights of the 75th anniversary for all of us.

Left to right : Kévin Rouxel, Stéphane Duchemin, John Rouxel and Bertrand Leduc.

June 8, 2019 : overflying the American cemetery in Colleville

Left to right : Kévin Rouxel, Stéphane Duchemin, Doug Rozendaal, Joe Enzminger, Andy Maag and John Rouxel

Left to right : David O’Connor, John Rouxel, Stéphane Duchemin and Kévin Rouxel

The following day, the DC-3 flew off to Germany to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift but this was not the end of the French Wing's adventures with the CAF's crews and aircraft.

Part of the group remained in Normandie to welcome the family of Marvin Rosvold, a P-47 pilot who was shot down in August 1944. Wing Leader Stéphane Duchemin, with the help of a local historian, had researched Rosvold's story and retraced his journey. A few family members had already made the trip in 2017, including his daughter Suzan Cunningham and his brother Harlan, following his footsteps in Normandy. In 2019, some twenty Rosvold family members made the trip and rented a bus from Paris to Normandy to attend the inauguration of a new wing of the Overlord Museum in Colleville, owned by FW member Nicolas Leloup. Nicolas has devoted a substantial share of the museum to airpower during the Battle of Normandy, as well as a permanent exposition dedicated to Lieutenant Rosvold. His brother Harlan, who also served in World War II in the Pacific with the US Marine Corps, and his daughter Sue were once again present and greatly moved when they discovered the various objects that had once belonged to Marv and had been recovered.

Left to right : Nicolas Leloup, Harlan Rosvold, Sue Cunningham, Carrie Clogston and Stéphane Duchemin

Exhibition on Lt Rosvold, Overlord Museum, Colleville, Normandy, France.

A few weeks prior to their arrival in Europe the CAF D-Day Wing, which regroups the crews of both CAF aircraft, C-47 “That's All Brother” and C-53 “D-Day Doll”, asked the French Wing if they make arrangements for their participation in the Le Bourget International airshow. Our Wing Leader was up to the challenge and with the collaboration of the Flight Display bureau and its director Christian Mégret, set everything in place for the event. Each aircraft had to be available for display in the air and then on the ground, and our members spared nothing to move the aircraft back and forth from the static exhibition area to the flight ramp, organize onboard tours, man the tent and sell goodies for the FW and our CAF guests. The aircraft returned to the US the following day. More than 316,000 visitors attended the 2019 edition, and we're hoping this will inspire CAF Headquarters to send a new aircraft for the CAF European Airpower History Tour... We're currently working on it.

Le Bourget 2019 international airshow, Paris, France.

CAF French Wing tent, Le Bourget airshow, C-47 “That's All Brother”

C-53 “D-Day Doll”, CAF Inland Empire Wing, with the Eiffel tower in the background during the 2019 Le Bourget airshow (photo Jean-Pierre Touzeau)

A cette occasion, les Satin Doll Sisters sortent un clip promotionnel dans lequel le French Wing a modestement participé et où vous pourrez brièvement retrouver notre AirBase du Plessis façon 1944.

On peut d'ors et déjà réserver le spectacle 40's Memories sur le site web des Satins www.satindollsisters.fr, en réglant par PayPal ou CB, prix : de 34€ à 45€ euro tarif enfant (-12 ans) 22€. album sera en vente sur le site à partir du 1er mars, rubrique "Boutique", à 15€ dont 2€ seront reversés à l'ANFEM et à la FOSA

Rappelons que dans le cadre de ses programmes d'éducation, la Commemorative Air Force présente une exposition itinérante, CAF Rise Above, WASP qui rend hommage à ses femmes et véhicule leur esprit aux jeunes. https://riseabovewasp.org/

Le tournage a été réalisé avec les moyens techniques du French Wing et le montage par notre membre Christian Chevalier.

Les 7 & 8 juin 2019, c’est un événement d’ampleur et d’importance historique exceptionnelle auquel le CAF French Wing va être associé.. Le C-47 Skytrain « That’s All Brother » et le C-53 Skytrooper « D-day Doll » de la CAF vont traverser l’Atlantique avec d’autres appareils pour rejoindre, tout d’abord Duxford et enfin Caen-Carpiquet pour commémorer le 75th Anniversaire du Débarquement en Normandie avec l’organisation Daks over Normandy qui devrait regrouper une trentaine d’avions de types DC-3/C-47/C-53 ainsi que plusieurs chasseurs de la 2eme Guerre Mondiale comme le Spitfire et le P-51 Mustang.

Au programme des vols commémoratifs avec des largages de parachutistes sur les Drop Zones de l’époque où “That’s All Brother” devrait retrouver sa place d’avion Leader,  quand à l’Aube du 6 juin 1944, il mena la vague d’assaut principale de la mission “Albany”.

L’Aéroport de Caen-Carpiquet sera ouvert deux jours au public de 10h00 à 17h00, les vendredi 7 et samedi 8 juin 2019, où les visiteurs pourront approcher avions et équipages et voir voler cette armada extraordinaire.

Vous pouvez, d’ors et déjà, vous procurer les billets ici à www.daksovernormandy.com/tickets

Vous pourrez aussi les acheter sur place mais les tarifs en ligne sont plus bas