Sentimental Journey (aircraft)
Encyclopedia
Falcon Field (Arizona)
Falcon Field is a public airport located five miles northeast of the central business district of Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011, it is categorized as a reliever airport.Although most U.S...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
by the Commemorative Air Force
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force , formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is a Texas-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at airshows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada...
. The aircraft is regularly flown to airshows around the country.
Nose art features Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. The aircraft's name takes after a song
Sentimental Journey (song)
"Sentimental Journey" is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.-History:...
made very popular by Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
in 1945.
Over the years, this aircraft has served performed many different missions from military reconnaissance through drone "mother ship" during nuclear testing before being retired to storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona in 1959. Aero Union Corporation of Chico, California acquired and converted the aircraft into a firefighter, which it remained until donated to the CAF in 1978.