A World War II-era B-25 bomber with documented combat history over Sicily and Italy has touched down at Greenville Downtown Airport this weekend, headlining the return of Warbird Weekend, a static aviation show running through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event brings historic aircraft, hands-on displays and family-friendly activities to the airfield known as GMU, giving visitors a chance to walk the tarmac alongside machines that once flew combat and training missions decades ago.
The headliner is Rosie's Reply, a B-25D Mitchell bomber operated by the Michigan Flight Museum that flew missions over Sicily, Italy and the Brenner Pass during the war, according to FOX Carolina. The aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces in December 1943 and is the only flying B-25D-35 variant still in existence, as reported by the Post and Courier. It was formerly known as Yankee Warrior before being repainted and renamed to honor the women who built American war machines on the home front.
Standing alongside it is the C-47 Skytrain known as Hairless Joe, which the station notes offers visitors a view of history through the eyes of a World War II paratrooper. The transport plane wears specialized markings of the 1st Air Commando Group from the China-Burma-India theater, a tribute to Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Cole, Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot during the 1942 Tokyo Raid and the last surviving Doolittle Raider, according to Vintage Aviation News. Cole flew C-47 transport missions over the Himalayas during the war, and he personally witnessed the aircraft's dedication in 2018, about a year before his death in 2019 at age 103.
From Trainers to Helicopters on the Tarmac
Rounding out the static lineup is a T-6 Texan, described by the station as a premier advanced trainer used to prepare pilots for combat during World War II, and a UH-1 Huey Iroquois helicopter, the workhorse aircraft most associated with the Vietnam War. Warbird Adventures is also bringing its own T-6 Texan for paid public flight instruction and aerobatic rides, letting passengers take the controls themselves and walk away with a full video recording of the flight, per Visit Greenville SC. The T-6 earned the nickname the Pilot Maker because nearly all Allied pilots trained on one during the war.
Ground displays round out the experience, with the City of Greenville's aircraft rescue and firefighting truck on site alongside a drone display from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office drone department, per the station's report. Airport officials say GMU has connected generations of the community to aviation since opening in 1928, and organizers describe the show as a chance for visitors to experience aviation history while discovering today's aviation careers and opportunities.
A Century-Old Airfield With a Complicated Past
Greenville Downtown Airport's roots stretch back to Armistice Day, November 11, 1928, when it opened after American Legion Post No. 3 led a community fundraising campaign to buy the land. Municipal leaders had initially declined to fund an airmail field, and the region lost an early regional airmail route to neighboring Spartanburg in 1927 as a result, according to the Post and Courier.
South Carolina's Busiest General Aviation Hub
Today GMU is the busiest general aviation facility in South Carolina, home to more than 15 aviation-related businesses that generate over 540 jobs and contribute roughly $68.8 million annually to the Upstate economy, according to the Upstate Business Journal. With roughly 90,000 takeoffs and landings annually, GMU ranks as the state's third-busiest airport overall, trailing only Charleston International Airport and Myrtle Beach International Airport, per GVLtoday. It is also South Carolina's only general aviation airport with a National designation under federal classification systems.
The airport is self-sufficient and does not rely on local taxpayers.
Beyond the Runway: A Growing Community Corridor
GMU's public-facing side extends well beyond this weekend's show. Runway Park is part of the airport's Community Corridor.
