Wings of War : WWII Plane Buffs Relive Some History While Attempting to Preserve It

In a drafty airplane hangar at Camarillo Airport, a group of World War II veterans and aviation buffs is keeping alive a piece of the past.

Big Band music plays in the background and war stories abound as the group repairs and polishes a pair of World War II airplanes.

The group is the Southern California Wing of the Confederate Air Force, a national organization dedicated to preserving the warplanes of 1939-1945.

The Southern California Wing has about 120 members of all ages, but a dozen war veterans who attend most of the group’s meetings serve as the core of the organization.

The wing meets three days a week at the airport. It’s a social gathering of sorts and a history lesson for anyone who wants to listen.

Bill Main, 66, likes to talk about his bombing missions in a B-17 over Europe. Bill Hartill, 66, boasts about the times that he flew cargo and supplies into China. Chuck Lefever, 71, reminisces about the artillery missions that he flew for Gen. Omar Bradley.

The wing members say there’s something about the sound of the old war birds that stirs memories like nothing else. Hartill says that’s why he joined the organization.

Several years ago Hartill’s son attended an air show featuring the wing’s C-46--a World War II version of the C-130 transport plane. He rushed home to tell his father about the old aircraft.

Hartill contacted the wing to see the plane for himself. After that he was hooked on the group.

“I flew in a C-46 hauling gasoline to China to support Chiang Kai Shek,” Hartill said. “I was excited to find out that there’s one here.”

The wing participates in about a dozen air shows every year, and on Saturdays they show the planes to curious members of the public.

In addition to the C-46, the wing owns a small Navy training plane called the SNJ-5. Members sometimes bring their privately owned warplanes for the group to tinker with.

The wing is trying to locate and purchase a B-17 or B-25, two of the war’s glamour bombers, for its small collection.

Altogether, the Confederate Air Force, which has about 90 wings and squadrons throughout the country, has restored an estimated 140 planes, including all types of major combat aircraft used during World War II.

The C-46 was sold to the Southern California Wing in 1981 by a crop-dusting company. And the SNJ-5 was donated to the wing by nine wing members.

One of the biggest challenges, wing members say, is finding parts for the airplanes. In some cases, parts must be made from scratch.

Also, the planes are expensive to repair and operate. It costs about $700 an hour to fly the C-46, which is offset by tour donations.

“It’s an expensive hobby,” said Russ Drosendahl, 69, the wing leader.

Occasionally the Confederate Air Force comes under attack by aviation historians who say the war birds should be in a museum because they are too valuable to lose.

And, in fact, the Southern California Wing crashed its SNJ-5 into a Christmas tree farm near the Oxnard Airport. But the group was able to repair it, and wing members defend their use of the old warplanes.

“There’s nothing like the sound of them, the smell of them,” Main said. “The idea is to turn them into flying museums, so the kids today can come and see what they were really used for.”

Frank Doerfler, 62, agreed.

“Twenty-five years from now, all of us are going to be gone,” Doerfler said. “If we can keep these airplanes flying and preserve the history for the younger generations, then we’ve accomplished our mission.”