Tora Tora Tora Airshows

Maverick and Iceman had a BLAST with us in the field today at the Dayton Airshow!! Fantastic people! Fantastic weekend!

Tora Tora Tora is getting ready to take to the air later today at the CenterPoint Energy Dayton Airshow! Come watch us!! It’ll be a blast!!

https://daytonairshow.com

You’ll never guess who parked next to us! . . The Blue Angels!! 😃

2024 CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show – June 22-23 2024 Day Hour Minute Second BUY TICKETS NOW! TicketsFeatured PerformersAttractions Ground Displays CenterPoint Energy Kids Hangar Helicopter Rides STEM DayPlan Your Trip Schedule Frequently Asked Questions Air Show Map Restrictions Services for the Disabled CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show Parade Parki...

Limited Edition Tora decanter now available! Get yours today!

In the field at Terre Haute with Tora Pyro! AirshowStuff

In the Pyro Field! Tora Tora Tora - Terre Haute Airshow 2024 Channel members get early access to some videos while they are in the queue to be published. Sign up to become a member here - https://www.youtube.com/channe...

Thank you Visibility Unlimited Media for the great video filmed at SUN 'n FUN!

Tora! Tora! Tora! Sun and Fun 2024 This is as close as you can get to being on a WWII Airfield while it is under attack from the Japanese Air Force.

We rocked the house at SunNFun this week!!!

The Great Texas Air Show is coming up fast. Please join us for this FREE event April 6-7, 2024 featuring Tora Tora Tora!

Kicking off the 2024 Airshow Season! Stay tuned for more!

On December 7, 1941, the tranquility of a Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was shattered when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet. In a meticulously coordinated assault, Japanese bombers and fighter planes descended upon the naval base, catching the American forces off guard. The devastating attack resulted in the destruction of numerous battleships, aircraft, and infrastructure, leading to the loss of over 2,400 American lives and propelling the United States into World War II. The events of that fateful day at Pearl Harbor remain etched in history as a pivotal moment, shaping the course of the war and the world.

Our airshow team is dedicated to preserving the memory of the attack, supporting veterans, and educating the public about the historical significance of Pearl Harbor. Our Airshow serves as a living history lesson replicating the events at Pearl Harbor. Help us honor the sacrifices made and keep the legacy alive. https://toraheritage.square.site/

Today we would like to recognize and thank the members of the Tora Airshow Team that served in the military.

PILOTS:
Mike Burke Marine Corps
Eddie Burke Navy
Joe Algranti Air Force
Gene Armstrong Army
Skip Baily Marine Corps
Jesse Bootenhoff Army
Bob Bubton Air Force
Buddy Cooksey Navy
Archie Donahue Marine Corps
Joe Engle Air Force
Bill Fier Air Force
Gene Fisher Air Force
Dave Griggs Navy
Tom Gregory Army
Fred Haise Navy
Dave Hatten Air Force
Jay Horecky Army
Jim Ianson Air Force
Ron Iberg Air Force
Buddie Irwin Air Force
Dick Laidley Air Force
Ken Laird Marine Corps
Gus Limbach Air Force
Bubba Lowe Marine Corps
Ted Mendenall Navy
Sam Poss Air Force
Bill Powers Air Force
Skip Rawson Air Force
Tommy Reedy Air Force
Sandy Sansing Air Force
Sebring Simpson Air Force
CA Skiles Air Force
Deke Slayton Air Force
PD Straw Air Force
Bob Watts Navy
Merkel Willams Air Force
Ron Wright Army
Van Skiles Air Force
Pat McClure Navy

PYRO:
Ben West Army & Air Force
Jim Cool Navy
John Blevins Navy
Willie Hooper Army
Ken Pood Army

Come see us this weekend in Monroe NC!
https://www.eventsprout.com/event/warbirds-over-monroe-air-show-2023

Happy USMC Birthday to Veteran Mike Burke!

“I served in the Marine Corp from May 1969 to May 1975.

My training included boot camp at MCRD, San Diego, CA, infantry training Camp Pendleton & Amtrack training Camp Pendleton. I served time in Marine Corp Base Camp LeJeune, NC, Camp Pendleton, CA, 29 Palms MCB Mojave Desert, & finishing up in Galveston Texas Marine Corp Reserve Center.

I joined the CAF in 1970 and always had a love for military and aviation history. My first job as a member of Tora was to be a tail gunner on the original Kate Torpedo Bomber!

When Zero AI-115 came available. I solely sponsored 115 for the next 40 plus years!!
I served as safety officer and back up lead under a phenomenal mentor Charles Hutchins. My last 5 years as an active pilot in Tora, I served as Tora Lead. I am still a CAF T6 check pilot and a formation instructor and check pilot today.

Tora Tora Tora is a living history lesson and one that should never be forgotten. As a Marine Corp Veteran, I am proud of the military legacy this airshow teams works so hard to preserve.”

Thank you Mike, for keeping this important military history lesson alive!
https://toraheritage.square.site/

To kick off Wings Over Houston we are raffling a Tora Airshow Team commemorative bourbon bottle. For every $20 donation, you will be entered to win. (Example: $100 = 5 entries).
We will announce the winner Monday, October 16th. Click here to enter. https://toraheritage.square.site/

Every donation helps keep em' flying!

A that's also a of one of the Tora Zeros pulling in on the six of another CAF aircraft at an airshow in 2017... can you identify which aircraft is our target here?

📸 Kevin Hong, Sector K Media, LLC

Here's a from the late 70s/early 80s. Who knows the story about this paint scheme?

📸 Jimmie Wells

It's , let's see your best pics of Tora Tora Tora! We'll start you off with this beauty from Zak Stowe... recognize the building in the background?

Have a bandit day!

📸 Jeffrey Phillips

Just four days after the stunning losses at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Japanese again suffered significant aircraft losses over Iwo Jima. While they were attempting to strike Iwo Jima, F6F Hellcats of US Navy Task Group 58.1 were intercepted by Japanese aircraft, but the Hellcats shot down 29 Japanese aircraft for the loss of just six Hellcats. Later in the day, Iwo Jima-based Japanese aircraft flew three ineffective raids against the task group, losing another 37 planes.

Man, if you and three of your buddies are going to pick a fight with a carrier full of P-47s, you best make sure you hit them on the first try! 😳

While the TBM is the largest single-engine carrier aircraft of WWII, the P-47 Thunderbolt actually gave it a run for its money. That's right, P-47s were launched from carriers as a delivery method, and in this case, a combat operation as well!

In the photo, P-47D Thunderbolts of the 318th Fighter Group being ferried to Saipan on the es**rt carrier USS Manila Bay were launched to fend off an aerial attack by four D3A Aichi “Val” dive bombers during refueling operations east of Saipan in 1944 (note bomb splashes). Talk about the Vals picking a bad target, right?

Here's a to a line-up of Tora Zeroes taken by photographer Kevin Hong a few years back... does anyone recognize the airport?

The first Zeros were delivered to the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai (12th Combined Naval Air Corps) in 1940 and would go into operation the following month. Do you know what date the Zero made its very first flight?

📷 Gary Daniels

This photo shows ships of the Japanese fleet under attack by U.S. Navy aircraft from Task Force 58 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on in 1944. The two-day battle is sometimes referred to as "the other D-Day of June 1944" due to the decisiveness of the American victory.

The battle was the last of five major "carrier vs. carrier" engagements between the American and Japanese navies and was the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history, involving 24 aircraft carriers, deploying roughly 1,350 carrier-based aircraft. Japanese losses were so significant that the IJN completely lost its ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions after June 20.

American aircraft shot down so many Japanese planes that the air battle got a special nickname... do you know what it was?

Japanese prisoners of war under guard on Midway, following their rescue from an open lifeboat by USS Ballard (AVD-10) on 19 June 1942. They were survivors of the sunken aircraft carrier Hiryu.

After being held for a few days on Midway, they were sent on to Pearl Harbor on 23 June aboard USS Sirius (AK-15), arriving there on 1 July.

📸 Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

On June 16, 1943, 24 Vals and 70 Zeros attacked American shipping in Ironbottom Sound off Guadalcanal. Though they damaged two ships and shot down six US fighters, almost all the Japanese aircraft were lost.

"Ironbottom Sound" was the name given by Allied sailors to the stretch of water at the southern end of "The Slot" between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island due to the dozens of ships and planes sunk there from 1942 to 1943. Do you know what it was called before the war?



📸 Parker Rathbun

Here's a to 1974 where the Tora pilots posed for the camera before a show in Olathe, KS. The pilot at left is NASA astronaut Joe Engle... do you know any of the other pilots?