Organizers are calling this Friday’s flyover of the nation’s capital “one of the most diverse arrays of World War II aircraft ever assembled,” with 56 aircraft in 15 historically sequenced formations flying 1,000 feet above the National Mall to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The formations will represent the war’s major battles, from Pearl Harbor on through to the final air assault on Japan. The flight will conclude with a missing-man formation. The flyover is being held to honor the large number of veterans expected to gather at the WWII Memorial for a ceremony on Friday morning. For those not in the capital city, the event will be broadcast live on the Internet, with the ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m. and the flyover at 12:10.
For visitors to Washington, the flyover can be viewed from anywhere along the Mall, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. The National Air & Space Museum has posted a set of “spotter cards” to help observers identify the aircraft. On Saturday, 22 of the airplanes will gather outside NASM’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. The display will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The weather outlook so far looks promising, but in case of rain, the flyover would be rescheduled for Saturday. Washington’sReagan National Airport will be closed to commercial traffic from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Friday to accommodate the flyover.
