WWII planes to paint D.C. skies for VE Day on May 8

Bart Jansen | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption WWII planes take to the skies for V-E Day spectacular The Arsenal of Democracy: WWII Victory Capitol Flyover prepares for commemorative flights which will fly over Washington, D.C. and National Mall on the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 2015.

WASHINGTON – Dozens of planes from World War II will fly over the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on May 8 to honor veterans and spur interest in aviation.

The event called "Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover" will feature rare aircraft – flying where they are typically prohibited – in a series of formations commemorating battles during the war.

"The viewing is going to be phenomenal," Pete Bunce, CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said Tuesday. "A very short time over the land area, but they will come right down the Mall."

While similar flights occurred decades ago, flying fighters and bombers just 1,000 feet off the ground in the highly secure airspace above the White House and the Capitol is unprecedented since the 2001 terrorists hijackings, organizers said.

But the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service and the National Parks Service joined in granting approval for up to 70 planes to participate.

WWII bombers at Arsenal of Democracy flyover practice At Manassas Regional Airport, WWII bombers practiced their flyover for the Arsenal of Democracy at the National Mall on Friday

The event is scheduled on the 70th anniversary of victory in Europe because the weather is typically nicer than the heat of August for commemoration of the victory over Japan, Bunce said. But the parade of planes from about noon to 1 p.m. will include formations from throughout World War II.

The planes will fly down the Potomac River, turning left at the Lincoln Memorial to follow Independence Avenue along the Mall and then banking right from the House office buildings, away from the Capitol toward the river before returning to airports in Culpepper and Manassas, Va.

"Seeing these historic aircraft soar over our nation's capital will create a memory that will last a lifetime," said Jack Dailey, director of the National Air and Space Museum.

Stephan Brown, CEO of Commemorative Air Force, which has volunteers who fly 162 vintage planes, said plans call for the formations to include:

• B-25 Mitchell bombers, which were adapted for the aircraft carrier Hornet for the Doolittle Raid over Japan. Dick Cole, who will turn 100 on Sept. 7 and who was co-pilot of the first bomber flying off the Hornet, is expected to attend.

• Consolidated PBY Catalina, Grumman F4F Wildcat and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber from the Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal.

• Curtiss P-40 Warhawk from Pearl Harbor.

• Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra provided to the Soviet Union under lend-lease.

• Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the type of bomber featured in the movie Unbroken.

• North American P-51 Mustang fighter escort and two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.

• Republic P-47 Thunderbolt from the Battle of the Bulge.

• Vought F4U Corsair from Iwo Jima.

• Boeing B-29 Superfortress nicknamed Fifi, the only known model still flying, which was the type of plane that dropped atomic bombs on Japan.

• A TBM Avenger leading a "missing man" formation and flown by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo. The Avenger is the type of plane flown during the war byGeorge H.W. Bush, who is the event's honorary chairman.

"Our goal is to get as many aircraft as we can in the air," Brown said.

Sponsorship for fuel and hotel rooms for volunteer pilots, which organizers are still soliciting, will dictate whether there are 30 or 60 aircraft, Brown said.

Retired Col. Charles McGee of Bethesda, Md., who flew 82 tactical missions and 54 strategic missions in a variety of planes during the war in the Mediterranean, said the event will educate younger people about aviation and the war.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for many people who are not familiar with what took place during World War II," McGee said at the National Air and Space Museum, standing near a P-51D Mustang like the ones he used to fly.

Smithsonian Air & Space magazine's May edition has a program for the event and is posting silhouettes of the planes at airspacemag.com/spotter.

The National Air and Space Museum also expects to make commentary about the flyover available online, although details are still being negotiated, chief curator Peter Jakab said.

World War II planes occasionally flew over the Mall in the years after the war and as late as an air show in 1972. But safety and security rules now prohibit all but these specially approved flights.

"For this day and age, it's unprecedented, both for the size and the number of aircraft participating, and because of the route of flying," said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. "The ideal place to watch will be on the Mall itself."

If May 8 is rainy, Bunce said, a decision will be made that morning about whether to cancel the flights because pilots must have visibility to at least 2,000 feet high and 5 miles away.

After the flyover, some of the planes will be on display May 9 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.