From the Author
GHOSTS II is a recreation of the original GHOSTS, A Time Remembered which was published in 1979. This edition updates the original text and presents a new selection of 64 photographs. These images, a collection of personal favorites, chronicle a small part of my 25 years in the air with the Confederate Air Force.
All of the aircraft in this book were CAF aircraft when they were photographed. Several of them are the only airworthy examples of their type in existence. A few have vanished forever.
In 2002, the Confederate Air Force will change its name and a unique aviation tradition will become history. GHOSTS II is intended to be a collection of memories of a time gone by and a salute to a group of aviators who flew with a very special style.
Philip Makanna
July, 2001
From the Inside Flap
GHOSTS II
A Time Remembered
In the late 1950's a group of World War II veterans in south Texas began to buy surplus airplanes - a P-40 Warhawk, a P-51 Mustang, a P-38 Lightning, a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-29 Superfortress, Messerschmitts, Zeros and other planes. Originally under the leadership of Colonel Lloyd P. Nolen and the mythical Colonel Jethro P. Culpepper, the pilots and aircrew restored these vintage warbirds and now fly them all over the United States recreating the major aerial battles of the Second World War.
Today, in 2001, more than 9000 members are known as the Confederate Air Force. From Headquarters in Midland, Texas, the CAF maintains and flies 148 combat aircraft. In January of 2002, the Confederate Air Force will officially change its name. This book is published in memory of the courage and spirit of those who created the original Confederate Air Force.
