BT-13 General McGee’s History
Each year the CAF holds an annual fundraiser to help support and highlight aircraft projects for planes in need of restoration, maintenance or repairs. This year my father’s plane is one of them! Check out the history below and read more about this program here.
The Capital Wing’s BT-13A was manufactured in Downey, CA, and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in November 1942. It was used in basic pilot training at Shaw Field, SC. After the War, this “BT” was transferred to the Civil Air Patrol. In 1970, it was purchased by Frederick Walker, Sr., who flew B-17s in World War II, followed by a career flying missions for the CIA. When Captain Walker passed away in 1999, his family donated his BT-13 to the CAF and it was assigned to the Capital Wing based in Virginia. The “General McGee” is a Vultee BT-13A named in honor and memory of the famed Tuskegee Airman Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, who passed away on January 16, 2022. This BT-13A replicates the trainer most often flown by McGee as a flying cadet in Tuskegee, AL.