Commemorative Air Force

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF ) is an organization in the United States, which has set itself the goal of at least one copy of each aircraft that is flown in World War II, to preserve them for posterity.

Originally named the group ' Confederate Air Force', but was renamed after a members vote in 2001 in ' Commemorative Air Force'.

The beginnings go back to 1951 when a group of aviation enthusiasts to the flight instructor Lloyd Nolen acquired a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk from excess inventory of the USAF. With the acquisition of the second aircraft in 1957, a North American P -51 Mustang, by the group, the vision of the receipt of all aircraft types of World War II developed.

In particular, as it became clear in the 1960s that neither the USAF nor the Navy had an interest in obtaining those aircraft, but tended to phase-out and scrapping the machine, the CAF was formed on 6 September 1961 as a non-profit organization to better prepare for the aim pursued.

It now houses the museum and the headquarters of CAF in Midland, Texas. More than 11,000 volunteer members serve in regional Wings, partly outside the United States, the B-29 Superfortress and former enemy aircraft as the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero or the German Ju 52 and 140 aircraft of the CAF, including bombers such as the Boeing also a Bf 109