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Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Devin Moore and Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Alec Beliveau in the cockpit of the C-47 Skytrain.
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Cadet Airman Ryan Brown (left) and Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Alan Hinkson man the Liberator's waist guns.
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(From left) Cadet Lt. Col. Matthew McCandless, Cadet Airman Ryan Brown, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Alec Beliveau, Cadet Master Sgt. Christain Tynan, Cadet Senior Master Sgts. Alan Hinkson and Devin Moore and Cadet Master Sgt. Matthew McCarthy-Calabrese beside the Consolidated B-24J Liberator.
Photos by 2nd Lt. James Keaney
2nd Lt. James Keaney
Public Affairs Officer
143rd Composite Squadron
Connecticut Wing
CONNECTICUT – Cadets from the 143rd Composite Squadron got an unforgettable lesson on World War II vintage aircraft when the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour made a stop at Waterbury-Oxford Airport.
Thanks to the nonprofit education foundation, the cadets were able to tour:
- A B-17 Flying Fortress known as “Nine-O-Nine” in honor of a 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron plane of the same name that completed 140 missions without an abort or loss of a crewman.
- The world’s only fully restored, flying Consolidated B-24J Liberator, “Witchcraft,” named after a 467th Bomb Group plane that flew 130 combat missions, also without loss of life.
Also on display was the world’s only dual-control P-51C Mustang.
The cadets had the opportunity to talk to several veterans if World War II bomber crews and learn what it was like to fly such historic aircraft under fire. They also toured a privately owned C-47 Skytrain parked at the airport, where it's being restored.
