Red Baron Squadron

The Red Baron Squadron performs at an airshow in Duluth, MN, flying 4 WWII era Stearman bi-planes. While the Red Barons are owned by Schwans Foods of Marshall, MN, and fly to promote the Red Baron brand of pizza, they also raise money for children's charities. The Stearman bi-planes were built between 1938 and 1942, when they were used as a primary trainer for both the Navy and Army Air Force. The Red Baron Squadron has upgraded their Stearmans with Wasp-Junior engines that put out 450 horsepower, almost double the power of early Stearmans, and an inverted oil system that allows them to fly upside-down.

The Red Baron Squadron suffered a catastrophic accident in early 1998 in Kissimmee, FL, resulting in the deaths of two pilots that had a combined total of 14,000 hours in the air. While this was a tragic set-back, the Red Baron Squadron resumed flying a full airshow schedule the following year performing in front of millions of spectators.

Sadly, Schwans announced that the Red Baron Squadron would be retired at the end of the 2007 season after having flown flight displays for 28 years. They will be missed.