Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Nashua Airport Manager Chris Lynch greets Jacques Robitaille, the leader of the Commemorative Air Force's Nashua visit this week, after Robitaille and the rest of the crew arrived Monday in the vintage B-29 bomber named "Fifi." It is one of four vintage planes that will take part in the series of public events that begin Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA – “Fifi,” one of only two World War II-era B-29 bombers that still fly, was the first of four vintage aircraft to touch down at Nashua Airport in succession Monday morning in advance of a public, five-day AirPower History Tour program that begins Wednesday.

The event, run by the Dallas-based organization Commemorative Air Force (CAF), “will bring the signs, sounds, and stories of World War II aviation” to the Nashua Airport, according to the group’s announcement confirming the program’s schedule, which appears below.

The history tour’s stop in Nashua, under the direction of tour leader Jacques Robitaille, has previously drawn large crowds of visitors made up of aviation enthusiasts, historians, military veterans and folks of all ages who haven’t had the opportunity to view the historic aircraft up close, inside and out.

This week’s visit comes three years after the tour’s last stop in Nashua in 2018. At the time, CAF officials touted the organization’s collection of World War II aircraft as providing “history lessons to audiences across North America.”

Standing near “Fifi” on the airport runway, shaded from the hot sun by one of the aircraft’s broad wings, Robitaille said Fifi is a four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber known as a B-29 Superfortress that the U.S. Air Force flew primarily during World War II and the Korean War.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP The pilot of a T-6 Texan World War II-era aircraft that's part of the Dallas-based Commemorative Air Force's collection of vintage planes lands the plane at the Nashua Airport Monday morning. The Texan is one of four vintage planes to be featured at the series of public events that begin Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

“This is the largest, most technically-advanced aircraft (flown in) World War II,” Robitaille said, adding that it is a replica of the B-29 that delivered the atomic bombs to Japan in August 1945.

“The bombs,” he added, “that brought the war to a close.”

Joining “Fifi” this visit are a T-6 Texan, a P-51 Mustang Gunfighter, and a PT-13 Stearman recognizable for its open cockpit.

The schedule for this week’s events follows. The tour is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each of the five days.

* Wednesday and Thursday

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP "Fifi," one of just two B-29 bombers in the world still flying, puts up a bit of smoke during touchdown at the Nashua Airport Monday. Fifi and three other vintage planes will be featured at a series of public events from Wednesday through Sunday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

B-29 cockpit tours available all day.

T-6 and PT-13 available for rides all day.

* Friday

B-29 flies at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

B-29 cockpit tours available after noon.

Photo by DAVID HEATH "Fifi," one of just two B-29 bombers in the world that still fly, touches down at the Nashua Airport Monday morning, one of four vintage planes that will be featured at the Commemorative Air Force's public AirPower History Tour that will take place at the airport Wednesday through Sunday. (Photo by DAVID HEATH)

T-6 and PT-13 available for rides all day.

P-51 arrives at noon, rides available after 1 p.m.

* Saturday and Sunday

B-29 flies at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

B-29 cockpit tours available after noon.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS A World War II-era P-51 Mustang Gunfighter was one of four vintage aircraft to land Monday at Nashua Airport, in advance of the public series of events that begin Wednesday. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

P-51, PT-13, and T-6 available for rides all day.

For complete information on the Commemorative Air Force and details about its Nashua visit, go to

www.airpowersquadron.org and click on “Nashua, New Hampshire” under the “Tour Schedule” column at left.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Crew members aboard "Fifi," one of just two B-29 bombers in the world still flying, take a look around Nashua Airport after the plane, and three other vintage aircraft, landed at the airport Monday ahead of the upcoming public events starting Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Onlookers take photos of "Fifi," one of just two B-29 bombers in the world still flying, as it taxies past them after landing at the Nashua Airport Monday. Fifi and three other vintage planes will be featured at a series of public events from Wednesday through Sunday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)