TSWM Taking Flight 2016 February - Tri

The Tri-State Warbird Museum...a historic aviation museum dedicated to remembering those who fought
for our freedom, and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
February 2016 Volume 10 Number 1
The Tri-State Warbird Museum
Tri-State Warbird Museum
The C-45 “Hokie Pokie” and Maj.Stan Cohen (ret.)
4021 Borman Drive
In case you haven’t seen it yet the
Batavia, Ohio 45103
Tri-State Warbird Museum has a
wonderful new addition to its growing collection of flying aircraft.
Painted in a distinctive grey, orange and yellow Naval Air Station
Guantanamo Bay paint scheme
this beautiful twin engine warbird is
a 1952 Beechcraft TC-45G
“Expeditor”, serial number 5111529. The purchase was made
possible through a generous donation from our very own Honored
Veteran Maj. Stanley Cohen (ret.).
513.735.4500
513.735.4333 fax
www.tri-statewarbirdmuseum.org
tristatewarbirdmuseum@fuse.net
Hours:
Wednesday 4pm-7pm
Saturday 10am-3pm
Admission $12
Discounts available for veterans and students
Maj. Cohen is a World War II veteran who was an Army Air Corps
Annual and lifetime individ- aviator piloting Curtiss P-40N’s in
ual and family memberships the China-Burma-India Theater.
are available
After the war Stan returned home
Donations are needed and to Virginia where he attended the
engineering college at Virginia
are most appreciated Thank you!
Tech and became a highly successful Professional Engineer regWalk of Veterans Bricks
istered in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia,
Indiana, Michigan, Kansas, Texas
Stan Cohen and the Tri-State Warbird Museum’s C-45 Expediand California. Stan continues to
tor “Hokie Pokie” pictured together during the TSWM 2015
...C-45 “Hokie Pokie” Page 2
work as a Consultant in Engineer- Gala and on the cover of the Virginia Tech “CorpsReview” Fall
and Stan Cohen
ing. Stan has remained a proud
2015 Alumni Magazine
alumnus
and
supporter
of
Virginia
Amelia Library
Page 3
Tech and has organized many VA Tech football game fly-overs with Tri-State Warbird MuseTSWM Display
um aircraft including the P-51 Mustang fighter “Cincinnati Miss”, B-25 Mitchell bomber “Axis
Nightmare” and the TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.
TSWM Happenings...Save the
Date!
Page 4
Photography and article reproduction restricted without permission.
©2016 Tri-State Warbird Museum
We were thrilled when Stan approached the museum about donating an aircraft. He initially
suggested a Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (DC-3). After some consideration the venerable C-47 was considered just too large. Liking the idea of a twin engine cargo or executive
...continued on page 2...
As a 501(c)3 organization the Tri-State Warbird Museum is supported primarily through membership dues and the
contributions of individuals and businesses that share in the desire to preserve our country’s rich aviation legacy.
Page 2
...continued from page 1...
type airplane, the conclusion was that the Beechcraft C-45 “Expeditor” was a good fit and TSWM president Paul
Redlich began looking for a suitable candidate. After several months the search was narrowed to a C-45 for sale in
Canada. The plane looked pretty good on the pre-purchase inspection but it would need much work to fit into the
high level of maintenance and cosmetics of the Tri-State Warbird Museum fleet. In reviewing the paperwork however there was a stunning surprise history. After it’s military career in the Air Training Command spanning eight years
from 1952 to 1960, this airplane began a civilian life when it was dropped from USAF inventory and sold as surplus
to Bubby’s Bowling Lanes in Odessa, Texas for $4,190. In the early 1960’s our C-45 then headed from Texas to
Virginia to become the corporate aircraft for Virginia
Tech! What a small world. After leaving Virginia Tech
this C-45 then played a variety of aviation roles including crop sprayer, cargo hauler and jump plane.
Eventually it ended up in the hands of a private collector in Georgia who performed a much needed restoration and applied the current GTMO Bay paint
scheme. It was then sold to an operator in Canada
and now it’s special home is the Tri-State Warbird
Museum. With the link to Stan’s beloved college there
was no choice but to purchase this special airplane.
As a tribute to Virginia Tech, our C-45 now sports the
very appropriate nose art “Hokie Pokie” after the Virginia Tech “Hokies” football team and their favorite
song.
The C-45 “Expeditor” is based on the Beechcraft Corporation popular commercial airplane the Model 18 “Twin Beech” originally designed in 1936. The airplane is a twin
engine taildragger with a wingspan over 47 feet and a very distinctive twin tail. The design proved to be a commercial and military success with over 9000 variants produced between 1937 and 1969 including approximately 4500
for military use during and after WWII. Military roles included light bomber, executive transport, aircrew training
(including bombardier, navigation, and gunnery) and photo reconnaissance. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985
-AN1 “Wasp Jr” engines each with 450 horsepower the C-45 has a top speed of 225MPH and a range of over 1200
miles. Our C-45 is configured with seats for the pilot, co-pilot and four passengers.
After a very extensive maintenance and cosmetic restoration the Tri-State Warbird Museum, Stan and the “Hokie
Pokie” will be honoring our veterans with local fly-bys and over the Virginia Tech Hokies football games! Come and
visit and see how good the “Hokie Pokie” looks. And thank Stan if he’s here!
Page 3
Herbert “Herb” Heilbrun (1920-) grew up in North Avondale with the dream of one day being
able to fly. After joining the United States Army Air Force he flew out of Italy as the pilot of a B17G Flying Fortress. It was only many decades after returning to the United States that he met
John. The two struck up a friendship based on the remarkable coincidences of their lives and
decided to perform one last service by educating children about the injustice of racism. Although
he has since “retired” from talking to school groups, Herb still attends the yearly airshow at
Lunken Airport where you can find him signing copies of their book.
John Leahr (1920-2015) also grew up in North Avondale with the same dream of learning to fly
as Herb. However, it would be harder for John. John was black and racism put huge barriers
between him and his goal. However, luck was on his side and he was able to qualify for a newly
formed group called the Tuskegee Airmen. After flying a P-51C in Italy, John returned home
where he once again faced discrimination. It would be another 50 years before he met Herb.
John passed away on March 27, 2015.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American airmen that took part in what was
considered a great “experiment” for the times. During the 1940’s blacks were thought to be
inferior to whites, and therefore unfit for military combat. Through their heroic service in Europe
they proved the stereotypes wrong – and in the process took a major step forward in terms of
racial equality.
Thomas C. “Tom” Griffin (1916-2013) flew as the navigator on the B-25B Whirling Dervish –
the #9 aircraft in the Doolittle Raid. After successfully evading capture by the Japanese and
escaping China, he went on to serve in the North African Campaign. However, his time in combat there was short, as he was shot down and captured in 1943. He was held for the rest of the
war in a German prisoner of war camp. Tom passed away on February, 26 2013.
Tri-State Warbird Museum volunteer Noah
Stegman Rechtin created this display for
the Amelia Library highlighting the accomplishments of Honored Veterans Herb Heilbrun, John Leahr and Tom Griffin.
In early-1942 16 B-25B’s were launched off of the USS Hornet to bomb mainland Japan. The
Doolittle Raid, as it was known, did not do much material damage, but it was a large morale
boost because it was the first time America had struck back since Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately,
because the task force carrying the raiders thought that it had been detected, they were forced
to launch too far out. As a result, the planes did not have the fuel necessary to reach their intended bases in China and 15 of the 16 crews had to either bail out of their planes or crash land
(1 plane made an emergency landing in Russia where it was interned). Of the 80 men that took
part in the raid, 69 were able to survive and return to the United States before the end of the
war.
Starting in 2015, the Tri-State Warbird Museum has held an annual ceremony to honor the
Doolittle Raiders. In addition, Tom has graciously left his collection of commemorative awards to
the museum, and they are now on display in our hangar
Please renew your
membership!
Did you know?...Lifetime
memberships might be the
bargain you are looking
for!
Individual $350
Individual Veteran $300
Family $500
...ten years of renewing
your Annual Membership
and you’ll think...I should
have gotten a Lifetime
Membership! :)
Thank you for your support!
This fantastic picture was taken by Liz Keating at the Gala
Hours:
Wednesday
4pm-7pm
Saturday
10am-3pm
Admission $12
Discounted admission for veterans
and students $7
Admission for World War II veterans
is complimentary
Group tours are a great way to spend
some time learning about World War
II aviation history
Memberships:
Annual individual and family
Tri-State Warbird Museum
4021 Borman Drive
Batavia, OH 45103
Donations are needed and are most
appreciated - Thank you!
513.735.4500
513.735.4333 fax
Bricks can be engraved into the Walk
of Veterans—a great way to honor
someone
Save June
10, 2016
for the TriState
Warbird
Museum
annual
fundraising
Gala !
www.tri-statewarbirdmuseum.org
Lifetime individual and family