THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 30, 1994 TAG: 9408300405
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
Achtung, Bubba - the Confederate Air Force and its rare German Heinkel HE-111 bomber have taken up positions for the week in South Hampton Roads.
The World War II, twin-engine, medium bomber - which flew in Monday morning - is the only non-American aircraft on display at Hampton Roads Airport.
The display, which goes through Monday, is sponsored by the Old Dominion Squadron of the Confederate Air Force, second cousin to the Swiss Navy.
``Some good ol' boys started this around the late '60s, early '70s,'' said Stephen McClellan of Virginia Beach, a squadron leader.
He is a colonel. Everybody is a colonel in the CAF. You join, you get the rank - simple as that.
Your leader is Jethro Culpepper.
``A fictitious character,'' McClellan said. ``We just wanted a name that sounded Southern.''
The non-profit organization started below the Mason-Dixon line, but don't wave the Stars and Bars in its behalf. Its 6,000 to 8,000 members come from all over the country plus England, Canada and Australia.
The Confederate Air Force is the proud owner of more than 200 World War II planes, both Allies' and Axis'. About 135 can fly.
``Our mission,'' McClellan said, sounding serious now, ``is to bring these planes to the public so they can see, hear and touch them - so that succeeding generations can see what young people did in World War II.
``We want the public to be aware that 18- and 20-year-olds were flying these planes.''
Today's young people are of the jet age. Many of them, it is fairly safe to assume, may never have seen a propeller, close-up.
There are plenty on hand at the Hampton Roads Airport: a Lockheed C-60 Lodestar, a transport used for paratroopers and gliders; a BT-13, a basic trainer; an SN-J, a single-engine Navy trainer; a UC-78 Bobcat, a utility aircraft made of fabric and wood; and a B-25 Mitchell bomber.
The Heinkel will be an attention-getter. The first thing that catches your eye is the swastika painted on its tail - still a shivery sight - and a reminder of what might have been if Hermann Goering's conquering dreams had come true.
The commander of the Luftwaffe, the Nazi air force, ``told Hitler he could beat England to its knees in 30 days,'' said Sam Korth, who helped fly the plane in from Mesa, Ariz., where it is headquartered. ``He was dependent on this plane.
``Most of them were destroyed - shot down or shot up while on the ground. It was an absolutely lousy performer - cumbersome and burdensome.''
It did well when it was tested during the Spanish Civil War by Gen. Francisco Franco's Nationalists.
But the opposition in Spain was insignificant compared to the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.
``The Heinkel proved to be inadequately armed and lacking speed and ceiling,'' said Rick Senffner, public information officer for the Arizona Wing of the Confederate Air Force. ``Despite close fighter support, losses were so high that the aircraft was withdrawn from daylight bombing.''
The Heinkel on display in Chesapeake- the Confederate Air Force also has a non-flyable one in Kansas - was Franco's personal aircraft.
It was also flown during the filming of ``Battle of Britain.''
The Hampton Roads Airport could be headquarters for a Confederate Air Force museum if the Virginia Wing has its way.
``We'd like to house our collection there or on city-owned property in Virginia Beach, between Oceana and Virginia Route 44,'' said George McClellan, Steven's brother and a member of the organization.
If you want the group's history, you are usually pointed in his direction.
``The name started as a joke. A crop duster in Texas bought a P-51 but found it costly to maintain. He had to have someone to play with, so he bought a second plane,'' George McClellan said.
``That was an F&F Bearcat. Someone scribbled out `Bearcat' and wrote in `Confederate Air Force.' ''
That was about 35 years ago, when World War II aircraft could be bought for next to nothing. A new P-38 that cost about $55,000 to build, for instance, could be had for $400 to $500, including gas.
The Confederate Air Force, not wanting to see history go up in flames, has been a saving grace, buying as many of the 1939-45 aircraft as possible.
Its volunteer members restore them and bring them up to Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Each CAF unit finds its own crews, trains them, keeps them trained and, as often as possible, puts their possessions on display.
``We're all volunteers. We donate our time and money - usually more money than we're able to,'' George McClellan said.
New members are constantly sought, an effort that accelerated after someone asked a Confederate Air Force member: ``Which is older, the pilots or the planes?'' MEMO: Hampton Roads Airport is in Chesapeake on U.S. 58, just south of the
intersection of Interstates 64, 264 and 664. Admission is $3 for adults;
children 12 and younger are free. The display is open daily through
Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
No, this isn't London during the Blitz. The German Heinkel bomber
landed peacefully at Hampton Roads Airport on Monday to join other
World War II warplanes on display.
by CNB