PORT ANGELES — During World War II, an estimated 100,000 Allied bomber crewmen died in the skies over Europe — a number almost equal to the combined populations of Clallam and Jefferson counties.
When the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour touches down Friday at William R. Fairchild International Airport, people will be able to tour two of the aircraft those brave men flew.
The tour features the only fully restored and flying B-24 and one of only nine airworthy B-17s.
The two four-engine long-range strategic bombers were the backbone of American airpower during World War II in both the European and Pacific theaters.
Arrival set for Friday
The B-17 and B-24 are scheduled to arrive from Bremerton about 3 p.m. Friday.
They will be available for tours and flights at Fairchild’s east general aviation ramp beginning 6:30 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Port Angeles visit is the third in three years for the B-17. It was joined by the B-24 in 2003.
A blown engine in Olympia made the B-24 a last-minute cancellation in 2004.
Cost to tour both aircraft will be 8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger.
Thirty-minute flights also are available for a tax-deductible $400-per-person donation to the Collings Foundation.
The money from the tours and flights helps pay for maintenance of the aging aircraft, which can run as high as $3,100 per flight hour per aircraft.