The Bigger Picture: WWII-Era Bomber Flies Over the Rotunda

September 15, 2020 By Sanjay Suchak, sanjay@virginia.edu Sanjay Suchak, sanjay@virginia.edu

Planes are often visible from the Lawn, but rarely are they World War II-era bombers.

On Monday, University of Virginia photographer Sanjay Suchak captured this shot from the Rotunda as a B-17 bomber flew overhead. The plane, maintained by the Commemorative Air Force, performed a flyover over the Lawn before heading to an airport near Richmond, where it will take part in a series of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Michael Garrett, a volunteer with the Commemorative Air Force who is directing tours and events with the plane, is a UVA alumnus, graduating with an aerospace and astronautical engineering degree in 1979. The Commemorative Air Force restores and maintains aircraft from World War II and subsequent wars as educational and teaching tools.

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Sanjay Suchak

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