CAF Warbird Tube

Commemorative Air Force

5.0 (5)
Aviation
Biweekly

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is proud to produce CAF Warbird Tube. A weekly video podcast that features the people, places, and planes that shaped American history. Each week we host a different guest and different topic to explore as part of the CAF's mission to Educate, Inspire, and Honor. You can learn more about the Commemorative Air Force at www.CommemorativeAirForce.org.

Oct 26

TIDAL WAVE: In the Cockpit for WWII’s Great Raid on Ploesti with Adam Makos

It’s a story of courage, survival, and unlikely alliances forged in one of World War II’s most legendary air campaigns. On August 1, 1943, American B-24 Liberators flew one of the most daring and decorated missions in U.S. airpower history: Operation Tidal Wave, the low-level attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. But what happened to the crews who were shot down and left for dead? In this episode of CAF Warbird Tube, bestselling author Adam Makos discusses his new book, Tidal Wave, which follows the rookie 389th Bomb Group, whose crews produced the most stunning success of the raid, and its untold aftermath. Makos straps you into the B-24 "Chattanooga Choo Choo" with Lt. Ernie Poulson, a 22-year-old Utah outdoorsman whose bomber crash-landed on the estate of Romanian Princess Catherine Caradja. The Americans had just bombed her country, yet the princess made an extraordinary decision to risk everything by helping them. To watch this episode as a video, go to https://youtu.be/Ou0I72xCKgo. Aired On: October 21, 2026Guest: Author, Adam MakosHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob Score Jr.Produced By: Commemorative Air ForceSend us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Oct 19

From B-17s to Space Shuttles: A Father-Daughter Story

How can a shared love for the sky connect two lives lived largely apart? In this episode of Air Born: Two Generations in Flight, we sit down to explore the deeply personal story behind the book Air Born, examining the complex connection between a daughter, her father, and the parallel passion for flight that runs through their veins. In the book, she connects her experiences as a Space Shuttle astronaut with the wartime service of her father, B-17 pilot Ben Smotherman. Shot down over Holland in 1943 and held as a prisoner of war for 21 months, Smotherman's experiences left a lasting legacy that Davis came to understand more deeply while researching his Wartime Log. Davis shares the remarkable parallels she discovered between her father's combat missions and her own journeys into space. You can watch this episode at https://youtu.be/KmxlazSoSJI. Aired on: October 14, 2026Guest: Dr. Jan DavisHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob Score Jr.Produced by: Commemorative Air ForceSend us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Oct 14

The U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1938

Graduating just three years before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1938 was scattered across every theater of World War II. From the Pacific carrier battles to submarine patrols and naval aviation, discover the remarkable untold stories, sacrifice, and leadership of these Annapolis graduates thrust directly into the greatest conflict in history. We sit down with author and historian Justin Laborde, Ph.D., to discuss Scattered Far and Wide: The Naval Academy Class of ’38 at War. Drawing on five years of research and firsthand accounts, Laborde follows the young officers of the Class of 1938 from the opening days of World War II through pivotal Pacific battles, prisoner-of-war camps, carrier operations, and submarine patrols. The story is also personal, Laborde’s grandfather was a member of the class, inspiring his journey to uncover the wartime experiences of the men who graduated from Annapolis on the eve of war. To watch this as a video go to https://youtu.be/WLN8DSjUwMM. Aired On: October 7, 2026Guest: Justin Laborde, Ph.D.Host: Steve BussProducer: Bob ScoreProduced by: Commemorative Air Force Send us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Oct 5

The Legendary Lindbergh Legacy with Erik Lindbergh

What is it really like to carry forward one of the most iconic names in aviation history? In this episode, we sit down with Erik Lindbergh, grandson of pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, to explore his family’s incredible legacy, personal stories, and the future of flight. Erik shares a unique perspective on aviation's past, present, and future. Watch this episode at https://youtu.be/xZJ4hzP8uQo. Aired on: September 30, 2026Guest: Erik LindberghHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob ScoreProduced by: Commemorative Air Force Send us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Sep 28

Baa Baa Black Sheep: The True Story Hollywood Got Wrong

Few fighter squadrons of World War II have achieved the legendary status of the Black Sheep. In just four short months in late 1943, the Marines of VMF-214, led by Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, established, for themselves and the Vought Corsair, a reputation that would live on long after the war. That reputation was so formidable it led to the short-lived and controversial TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep in 1976. But where does the true history end and Hollywood begin? In this episode of Warbird Tube, we welcome aviation historian and author Stephen Chapis to explore how their wartime story became part of popular culture through the 1970s television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. A series that the real Black Sheep veterans despised. Stephen’s book, Poor Little Lambs: The Baa Baa Black Sheep Story, is the result of years of research, interviews, rare photographs, and firsthand accounts examining the making of the series and the remarkable collection of warbirds that brought the Black Sheep back to life on television. Watch this episode on YouTube at https://youtu.be/LrsdpOntz_o. Aired on: September 23, 2026 Guest: Stephen Chapis Host: Steve Buss Producer: Bob Score Produced by: Commemorative Air Force Send us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Sep 14

Battle of Britain: Inside the Fight for the Skies

Join CAF Warbird Tube for a compelling examination of one of history’s most consequential air campaigns, the Battle of Britain. Military aviation historian and author Andy Saunders explores the air war of 1940 from both sides of the English Channel, examining the aircraft, pilots, tactics, and rapidly changing conditions that shaped the battle. At the center of the discussion is the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmidt Bf 109E. Although the formidable “Emil” possessed impressive firepower and performance, it faced one limitation that would prove critical over Britain: its restricted range. The author of more than 20 books on air warfare, Saunders draws upon decades of experience as a historian, researcher, editor, and museum curator to bring the human experience behind the history into focus. What did pilots endure during the summer of 1940? How did tactics evolve as each side learned from the other? And what do firsthand accounts reveal about a battle that has since become the stuff of legend? To watch this as a video, go to https://youtu.be/jcMhm9jZ7RI. Aired on: Sept. 9, 2026 Guest: Andy SaundersHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob Score Jr.Produced by: Commemorative Air ForceSend us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Sep 8

Restoring the American Heritage Museum’s PBY-5A Catalina That Sank 3 U-Boats

During World War II, the PBY Catalina became one of the Allies’ most important long-range patrol aircraft—hunting enemy submarines, protecting convoys, and rescuing downed airmen. But few surviving Catalinas have a story as remarkable as PBY-5A BuNo. 2459. Accepted by the U.S. Navy just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, BuNo. 2459 was among the first PBY-5A amphibians ever built. It was soon deployed to Iceland for combat operations over the North Atlantic, where it became the first PBY credited with sinking a German U-boat. By the end of the war, the aircraft had accounted for three U-boats destroyed. In this episode of CAF Warbird Tube, Rob Collings, President of the American Heritage Museum, shares the extraordinary history of BuNo. 2459 and the years-long effort to return it to its authentic 1942 wartime configuration. From reconstructing its nose turret and locating exceptionally rare original equipment to recreating its historic combat markings, the award-winning restoration required painstaking research, craftsmanship, and dedication. Discover the story behind this remarkable aircraft, and what it takes to preserve a warbird that didn’t merely witness history. It helped make it. You can watch this video at https://youtu.be/SL1dPz35wKg. Aired on: September 2, 2026Guest: Rob CollingsHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob Score Jr.Produced by: Commemorative Air ForceSend us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.
Aug 31

The Texas Town That Trained Britain’s WWII Pilots

During World War II, thousands of young British airmen crossed the Atlantic to learn to fly in the United States. The first and largest of their American training schools was in an unlikely place: Terrell, Texas. Beginning in 1941, before the United States had even entered the war, Royal Air Force cadets arrived in North Texas to train under wide-open skies, far from the bad weather and dangers of wartime Britain. Between 1941 and 1945, more than 2,200 British and American cadets trained at the No. 1 British Flying Training School, forging a remarkable connection between a Texas community and the young men preparing for war. Today, the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum preserves this little-known chapter of aviation history. And one important piece of that story has come home for good. “Ole 42,” a Boeing Stearman that was based at the school, has been donated to the museum by retired U.S. Navy aviator Phil Webb after years of touring. In this episode of CAF Warbird Tube, Denis Rottler, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, and Carl Best, Board Member and caretaker of Ole 42, take us inside the museum, introduce us to the Stearman, and share the remarkable story of the British airmen who came thousands of miles to Texas to earn their wings. To watch this video, go to https://youtu.be/q4FXttg6G4U. Aired On: August 26, 2026Guests: Denis Rottler, Carl BestHost: Steve BussProducer: Bob Score Jr.Produced by: Commemorative Air ForceSend us Fan Mail Thanks for watching CAF Warbird Tube — where history takes flight. You can join us live for upcoming broadcasts by registering at www.WarbirdTube.com. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is dedicated to Educating, Inspiring, and Honoring through flight and living history experiences. Programs like this help preserve and share the stories of aviation history — and we couldn’t do it without your support. To learn more or get involved, visit www.CommemorativeAirForce.org. Thanks for helping us keep history flying.

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The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is proud to produce CAF Warbird Tube. A weekly video podcast that features the people, places, and planes that shaped American history. Each week we host a different guest and different topic to explore as part of the CAF's mission to Educate, Inspire, and Honor. You can learn more about the Commemorative Air Force at www.CommemorativeAirForce.org.

Creator

Commemorative Air Force
Years Active

2023 - 2026
Episodes

95
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 CAF Warbird Tube
Show Website

CAF Warbird Tube