CAF DFW Wing Brings Historical Artifacts to Sywell Airshow

(Hall Farm, Sywell, Northamptonshire)- June 25, 2024- Two esteemed Texas-based non-profit organizations, the Battleship Texas Foundation and the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), joined forces to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day. The CAF had the opportunity to send aircraft to Normandy for this significant mission.

One aircraft the CAF planned to send on the Normandy trip was the R4D Ready 4 Duty, assigned to the Dallas/Fort Worth Wing (DFW Wing). The plan was to provide physical components from three of the five surviving U.S. Navy ships that were present at D-Day. One of the items including a roller bearing and a steel 1945 silhouette figurine of the ship, which would be flown aboard Ready 4 Duty. To help secure these items, the Battleship Texas Foundation and the Commemorative Air Force had help from four other non-profit organizations. The Texas Navy Association, USS Yorktown Foundation, Patriots Point Museum, USS LST-325 Ship Memorial, Inc. Additionally, the public also got the opportunity to send personal items on Ready 4 Duty for the historic flight. These were known as the "Forever Flight program." Unfortunately, Ready 4 Duty was not able to cross the North Atlantic due to a maintenance issue.

Determined to ensure that the historical artifacts made the trip, the artifacts were re-routed and carried over by DFW Wing members to fulfill the promise of brining symbolic pieces of the U.S. Navy to Normandy.

Joining them at the Sywell Airshow, Duncan and Elizabeth Aran, members of the CAF UK Wing. The Arans were dressed in authentic World War II – era uniforms accurate to the finest detail.

Photo credit to Karolina Marek