CAF Rocky Mountain Wing

CAF Rocky Mountain Wing See www.rmwcaf.org for our WWII warbird rides online Tour Schedule for a location near you. Otherwis You can also fly in these aircraft as a paying pasenger.

We operate one of the few remaining flyable TBM Avengers as part of the CAF's fleet of "flying museum" aircraft. We also fly a Piper J-3 Cub, also known in the military as a "Grasshopper". The Wing grew in membership with this addition of another flying aircraft. This type aircraft had the military designation of L-4 in the Army Air Corps and NE-1 in the Navy. The TBM Avenger and J-3 Cub are available for air shows and fly-overs at local civic events. Member meetings are held the last Saturday of each month

This official U.S. Navy color photograph was taken on September 26, 1942, as the new aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-16) ...
09/26/2026

This official U.S. Navy color photograph was taken on September 26, 1942, as the new aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-16) slid down the ways at Bethlehem Steel’s Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. Color photography was far less common during World War II than black-and-white, but the Navy did use color film, leaving us occasional images like this that can make an 84-year-old scene feel surprisingly modern.

The carrier had originally been laid down as Cabot, but after the previous USS Lexington (CV-2) was lost at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, the Navy renamed the ship Lexington on June 16 so the famous name would continue in the fleet. She was launched on September 26 and commissioned on February 17, 1943.

One detail that makes the launch photograph especially interesting is what is missing: Lexington’s island superstructure had not yet been installed. Launching put the hull into the water, but months of fitting out still remained before she would be ready for combat.

When Lexington finally went to war, Avengers were part of her striking power from the beginning. Her first air group included 18 TBF-1 Avengers alongside F6F Hellcats and SBD Dauntless dive bombers. Do you know any of the Avenger Squadrons that would go on to serve on the Lexington?

En route to Elko, Nevada, over the weekend, we flew over the historic Wendover Airfield. Have you ever been there?📸 Tro...
09/24/2026

En route to Elko, Nevada, over the weekend, we flew over the historic Wendover Airfield. Have you ever been there?

📸 Troy Hunsucker

On 23 September 1953, a routine day at sea aboard HMCS Magnificent turned into a near disaster for the carrier’s air gro...
09/23/2026

On 23 September 1953, a routine day at sea aboard HMCS Magnificent turned into a near disaster for the carrier’s air group. As dozens of aircraft were operating far from shore, deteriorating weather closed in and visibility dropped to near zero. One by one, pilots returning to the carrier found themselves unable to see the ship, low on fuel, and with few options left. This included TBM Avengers of 881 Squadron, among them our own TBM 309 during its Royal Canadian Navy service.

With no clear horizon and no safe diversion airfields nearby, the situation quickly became desperate. The carrier itself was effectively invisible in the fog, and the pilots were forced to rely entirely on instructions from the ship below. Using calm, precise radio guidance, the ship’s controllers began talking aircraft down individually, bringing them through cloud and onto the deck without visual reference. It was an extraordinary test of trust between aircrew and ship.

Against the odds, aircraft after aircraft successfully recovered aboard, often landing with only minutes of fuel remaining. What could have been a catastrophic loss of planes and crews instead became a remarkable demonstration of discipline, training, and what one pilot later described as “blind faith” in the voices guiding them home.

For Avenger crews operating from Magnificent, the episode underscored the harsh reality of carrier aviation in the North Atlantic: when the weather closed in, survival depended not on what you could see, but on trust in your ship and your team. The incident became known in the RCN as the "Magnificent Miracle."

09/22/2026

We've got a new limited series for you that we're calling . Dylan Dorvee took a ride with us in the gunner's turret and videoed the whole thing, so we're going to show you what that's like through each stage of the flight. This week... how do you get into the turret in the first place?

At the Commemorative Air Force - Utah Wing's Planes & Horsepower, we took some measurements for a vehicle to put in the ...
09/19/2026

At the Commemorative Air Force - Utah Wing's Planes & Horsepower, we took some measurements for a vehicle to put in the bomb bay, but it didn't quite fit. 🤣

What would YOU put in the bomb bay?

📸 John Mummery

Well, somebody on the USS Bogue (CVE-9) had a bad day on 18 September 1944, we're just not sure who. This photo shows T...
09/18/2026

Well, somebody on the USS Bogue (CVE-9) had a bad day on 18 September 1944, we're just not sure who.

This photo shows TBM Avengers of VC-42 aboard Bogue, with aircraft #21 rather spectacularly tangled up with other Avengers spotted on the forward flight deck.

The photograph and date are well documented. What happened isn't. We haven't been able to find an accident report telling us whether this was a landing accident, a taxiing mishap, an arresting-gear problem, or something else entirely.

So we're throwing this one out to the hive mind. Does anyone know the story behind this photo?

When this photograph was taken aboard on September 16, 1944, Torpedo Squadron 51 was supporting the invasion of Peleliu,...
09/16/2026

When this photograph was taken aboard on September 16, 1944, Torpedo Squadron 51 was supporting the invasion of Peleliu, which had begun the previous morning. Its Avengers were flying bombing missions against Japanese positions from USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) which also provided combat air and antisubmarine patrols protecting the invasion operation.

One familiar VT-51 pilot was conspicuously absent. Just two weeks earlier, Lt. (j.g.) George H. W. Bush had been shot down over Chichi Jima. While his squadron mates fought over the Palaus, Bush was still aboard USS Finback, the submarine that had rescued him. He would not return to San Jacinto until November.

The danger facing the men he left behind was very real. On September 15, the first day of the Peleliu landings, Lt. (j.g.) Francis M. Waters and his two crewmen had taken off from San Jacinto in their TBM-1C to bomb Peleliu. Their Avenger was seen burning over the target before crashing near the island. All three were lost.

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780 Heritage Way
Grand Junction, CO
81506

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