Military

Seventy years ago this week American aviators were at war in Europe. In airplanes known as the B-17 Flying Fortress they were flying bombing missions over Germany. One of those planes, nicknamed “The Memphis Belle” flew its 25th combat mission on May 17th, 1943, and then came home to the US with its crew. One of the Memphis Belle’s first stops was Wright Field in Dayton, where today she’s being restored at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

About 13,000 civilian employees at Wright Patterson Air Force Base will be forced to take 11 days of unpaid leave beginning in July.

Col. Cassie Barlow, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, made that announcement yesterday.

Each of the 13,000 civilian employees will be on one day of furlough per week beginning July 8 until they reach 11 total days. The unpaid leave is the result of automatic defense budget cuts.

Barlow says the development is "good news" because the Department of Defense's 800,000 civilian employees had originally faced 22 days of furlough.

The Dayton Air Show that has to make do without military participation because of federal budget cuts has added a Tuskegee Airmen exhibit and a restored World War II fighter plane.

The Dayton Air Show says a traveling custom-trailer theater with a panoramic screen will be at the June 22-23 show at Dayton International Airport. It will tell the story of the black airmen who overcame many obstacles to become the heroic "Red Tail Squadron" of World War II. They flew in P-51 Mustang planes, and the air show says one will fly at the show.