WWII Weekend at Reading PA this weekend, June 5,6,7

WWII weekend coming up. Usually a pretty nice show but getting more expensive every year. Close to $30 per person now for a day pass.

I enjoy it. Quite a few warbirds including B-17's and B-24's in any given year. Fighters, trainers, Avenger torpedo plane and they are rebuilding a black widow and its more complete every year. They also have a B-29 this year.

Lots of re-enactors of many nationalities except Italy. Never seen one from Italy.

Lots of gear, trucks, etc. Period music and entertainers. WWII vets but sadly the number is getting smaller and smaller every year as well as the celebrity status. The days of the Enola Gay crew and Doolittles Raiders are gone now I'm afraid. They still get a couple of Tuskeegee airmen.

WELCOME TO THE MID-ATLANTIC AIR MUSEUM'S WORLD WAR II WEEKEND

WWII weekend was pretty great. Weather was warm but not oppressive. Massive crowd this year. I usually buy a program when I go in but wanted to travel light today so I figured I'd buy it on the way out. Four were laying on the table at the exit and I was told that's all they have left for the entire weekend. I did not get to watch all the planes fly as I had to get my young guest home a bit earlier than we liked. But we saw most of them. B-17, B-24, B-25 and B-29 Bombers. P-40, P-47, P-51, Corsair, Wildcat, Dauntless, Avenger and numerous transport and liason aircraft all flew. They have a P-61 also but it is not flight worthy as of yet. I managed to find an original strap for my Garand scabbard but the color does not match, much lighter. Also got to meet a German fighter pilot who was on the Eastern front with 5 confirmed kills. Had a very nice painting he autographed, shooting down a Yak. They dropped a parachute team out using WWII style parachutes. It was windy so they flew over three times before figuring out where and when to drop. 11 made it on the airfield, the 12th was rather weird as he came almost straight down and landed somewhere on the other side of the event. The Germans were waiting for them on the field but fortunately they had some regular infantry to reinforced them with half tracks, jeeps and armored cars.

Sounds like more of us should have been there...

I am more than a bit jelious. All I did was cut grass.

I have been planning to get there for the past 15 or so years, but something always prevents it. Finally got there this year. WOW!!!
Had a ball! There were a few one-offs there, the only ones flying: SB2C Helldiver, P-51C, B-29, and B-24. Unfortunately I think it will be a few years before that P-61 gets off the ground......they were doing a special fund-raiser to buy the second prop!
I got real lucky at the sales tables, got two G43 mags! And there was actually one lonely Italian re-enactor strolling around. I don't think anyone, Allied or Axis, wanted to accept him.

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Originally Posted by jonnyc

got two G43 mags

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That would have been a H*ll of a find, bet it cost pretty long in bucks though.

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Originally Posted by jonnyc

that P-61

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I'd have loved to just walk around one...

It sure is purty. Looks very sleek and deadly.

The mags "only" cost $170 for the pair, but one was a cut-down 5 rounder. But since my range only allows 5 at a time, it's perfect for me. The other was an almost new just-post-war Danish-made example. Both functioned 100% at the range yesterday.

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Originally Posted by jonnyc

The mags "only" cost $170 for the pair

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Not bad really, I might have guess a bit higher and expect the vendor to stand his ground. Hard to find those. A friend of mine has the rifle, don't know if he has any spares. I was surprised to find he had the rifle...his dad was fallschirmjäger WW2...ended up a POW and survived in a camp here in Canada. He still lives here...

I did not see the Italian re-enactor and I was looking for one. Told my young friend that is one that I've never seen there before. I'd like to go as a Swiss sometime but I need a lot more uniform articles.

A first for me this year was a Nationalist Chinese re-enactor. I usually don't take photos of them unless they are doing something but I asked if he would pose for me and he did. He had a VZ-24 however, not a Chinese Mauser or Hanyang. Technically correct but he knew it wasn't Chinese service.

In reality, I'd probably rather go as one of the Brits, they were wearing tan shorts and desert shirts, pretty similar to what I was wearing that day.

The Japanese contingent is always interesting. I don't think I've ever seen an actual Japanese ancestry person there. Usually tall Caucasian kids. They looked pretty good though.

I don't believe I've ever seen a Frenchman their either, except perhaps the townspeople in the French village.