Announcing the 12 Planes of Christmas for 2026
Twelve aircraft. Twelve stories. One month to help keep history flying.
Dallas (October 1, 2026) - The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is proud to announce the aircraft selected for the 2026 12 Planes of Christmas, the organization’s annual year-end fundraising campaign that supports the preservation, restoration, and operation of its historic aircraft. Now entering its eleventh year, 12 Planes of Christmas has raised more than $3 million for CAF aircraft projects nationwide. In 2025 alone, supporters contributed an impressive $741,000, providing critical funding for aircraft restoration and preservation.
Beginning December 1, the CAF will spend the month introducing supporters to 12 aircraft and the dedicated volunteers who preserve them. Each has a different story, a different need, and a different role in helping the CAF fulfill its mission to Educate, Inspire, and Honor. This year’s lineup ranges from a diminutive Piper Cub Coupe to some of the most recognizable combat aircraft of the 20th century.
Meet This Year's 12 Planes
This year’s lineup stretches from a diminutive Piper Cub Coupe to some of the most recognizable combat aircraft of the 20th century.
FG-1D Corsair
Airbase Georgia | Peachtree City, Georgia
With its distinctive inverted gull wings and powerful radial engine, the Corsair is one of the most recognizable American fighters of World War II. Airbase Georgia’s FG-1D represents an important chapter in naval aviation history and the CAF’s continuing commitment to preserving legendary combat aircraft in flying condition.
J-4 Cub Coupe Sky Baby
Maxine Flournoy 3rd Coast Squadron | Aransas Pass, Texas
Not every important aircraft wore guns or carried bombs. The little J-4 Cub Coupe represents the civilian side of America’s aviation story and an era when light aircraft helped introduce thousands of people to flying. Sky Baby may be one of the smallest members of this year’s lineup, but it carries a big piece of aviation history.
Kate 310
TORA Sponsor Group | Midland, Texas
Known to audiences across the country as part of the CAF’s TORA TORA TORA living-history performance, KATE 310 helps bring the story of Pearl Harbor to life for new generations. The aircraft serves as a flying classroom, helping audiences better understand the events that brought the United States into World War II.
H-13 Sioux Bayou Belle
Bayou State Escadrille | Hammond, LA
The unmistakable silhouette of the H-13 Sioux became synonymous with battlefield evacuation during the Korean War era. Bayou Belle represents the helicopters and crews whose ability to reach wounded service members quickly helped transform military medicine and demonstrated the growing importance of rotary-wing aviation.
BT-13
Capital Wing| Culpeper, VA
Before American military pilots could take the controls of fighters and bombers, many learned the fundamentals in trainers like the Vultee BT-13. Nicknamed the “Vibrator,” the BT-13 was an important step in the massive training effort required to prepare American aircrews for World War II.
C-47 Skytrain Old Number 30
Airbase Arizona| Mesa, AZ
Few aircraft types contributed to Allied operations as broadly as the Douglas C-47. Used to transport troops, cargo, paratroopers, and the wounded, the C-47 served around the world during World War II and continued serving for decades afterward. Old Number 30 keeps the story of this legendary military transport alive.
N3N
High Sierra Squadron| Reno, NV
Bright yellow biplane trainers became a familiar sight as America prepared thousands of young aviators for wartime service. The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N introduced U.S. Navy and Coast Guard pilots to military flying, making aircraft like this one an important first chapter in countless aviation careers.
SB2C Helldiver
Helldiver Squadron| Houston, TX
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was the U.S. Navy’s principal carrier-based dive bomber during the latter years of World War II. Today, the CAF’s Helldiver provides an extraordinarily rare opportunity to see and hear this important type of combat aircraft and understand the role naval aviation played in the Pacific.
PT-23
New England Wing| Nashua, NH
The Fairchild PT-23 was one of the primary trainers used to prepare American pilots during World War II. Simple, rugged, and purpose-built for instruction, aircraft like the PT-23 helped transform new aviation cadets into the pilots who would eventually crew America’s fighters, bombers, transports, and other military aircraft.
F8F Bearcat
Southern California Wing| Camarillo, CA
Designed at the end of World War II, the Grumman F8F Bearcat represented the extraordinary performance possible from the final generation of piston-engine naval fighters. Fast, powerful, and compact, the Bearcat provides a fascinating bridge between the propeller-driven fighters of World War II and the jet age that followed.
AC-47 Spooky 086
Gulf Coast Wing| Conroe, TX
The AC-47 gunship gave the venerable C-47 airframe a dramatically different mission during the Vietnam War. Known by the call sign “Spooky,” AC-47s provided sustained fire support to troops on the ground. Spooky 086 helps the CAF tell a story that extends its educational mission beyond World War II and into a later generation of American military aviation.
C-53 Skytrooper D-Day Doll
Inland Empire Wing| Riverside, CA
The C-53 Skytrooper was developed specifically to transport paratroopers and gliders, making it part of the enormous airborne operations that characterized some of World War II’s most consequential campaigns. Today, D-Day Doll helps connect audiences with the aircraft, crews, and airborne troops who carried out those missions.
Their Next Chapter Starts This December
These aircraft represent different eras, missions, and corners of the country, but they share something important: keeping them preserved, maintained, and flying takes people.
Behind every aircraft are CAF volunteers investing thousands of hours in maintenance, restoration, research, fundraising, and education. And behind those volunteers are donors who understand that preserving an aircraft means preserving the stories of the people who designed it, built it, maintained it, flew it, and depended upon it.
“Preserving these aircraft is an enormous responsibility, and it takes far more than simply keeping them in a hangar. They require skilled volunteers, specialized parts, constant maintenance, and significant financial resources to remain operational. The 12 Planes of Christmas gives people an opportunity to make a direct investment in that work. Every aircraft we return to the air or keep flying gives us another opportunity to share the stories of the people who built, maintained, and flew them. That is ultimately what this campaign is about: making sure these aircraft, and the history they carry, are still here to educate and inspire the next generation.”
David Oliver
President/CEO, Commemorative Air Force
Throughout December, the CAF will take you behind the scenes with each of the 2026 12 Planes of Christmas. We’ll introduce you to the aircraft, the volunteers caring for them, the work ahead, and exactly what your support can help accomplish.
Every CAF Aircraft Can Be Part of 12 Planes of ChristmasWhile 12 aircraft are selected each year to receive special recognition throughout the campaign, every CAF Unit is invited to participate in 12 Planes of Christmas. CAF Units with aircraft that are not among this year’s featured 12 can create their own 12 Planes of Christmas donation page and share it with their members, supporters, and local community throughout December. Donations made through a Unit’s page directly support that aircraft’s preservation and maintenance needs. Want to participate? Contact Leah Block at lblock@cafhq.org for information on setting up a campaign page and getting started. |
