Posted on 05/20/2008 7:43:57 AM PDT by NCDragon
Engines on the B-17 bomber roared to life. Wind gusted through open cracks around the gun turrets of the World War II plane as it took off from Boeing Field.
Stacks of vintage black radios vibrated against the green aluminum walls. From the bombardier station in the plane's glass nose, Seattle's streets and landmarks appeared like a map as the plane skimmed along at 150 mph.
Seattle is the 15th of about 60 stops that the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is making to showcase the B-17 on its Salute to the Veterans tour. The tour is more about honoring war veterans and sharing history than maintaining a hobby, say the pilots and engineers who work on the historic aircraft.
"We wouldn't give up the time we give just for aviation," said pilot George Daubner.
He said his father, who was a fighter-plane crew chief in WWII, was a reason he decided to fly the bomber on tour.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Thanks for posting this.
My Dad was a tail gunner in a B-17 out of North Africa (’43-’44).
A couple years before he passed away we were able to go to an air show that featured an operational B-17. He had a great time, talking with the folks who restored and flew the plane. They enjoyed meeting the vets like Dad who actually flew in the planes.
I have a lot of respect for all of them. May God bless and keep them, every one.
We took a ride on the "Fuddy Duddy" a couple of years ago. What a sweet old plane, and a beautiful flight. I was struck by nostalgia..those black radios were the venerable old ARC-5's we hobbyists used to gobble up as WWII Surplus! A 6146 RF Output, IIRC.
I had not thought about the ARC-5's for decades and finally saw them in their native environment!
Is that you, Harvey?
Accompanying him were a number of WWII vets that were crew back in the day.
He is burly fellow, had to help some of the vets up and in.
But once they got in he said it was like a miracle, they were 19 and 20 again, tossed the canes and moving around like nothing was ailing them.
Fantastic.
One of the most beautiful airplanes ever built.
And some of the bravest human beings who have ever defended this country crewed them.
>> Is that you, Harvey?
Sorry, no. Although, coincidentally, Dad and Mom *were* two of the many Texans who moved to CO after the war to go to school and raise their kids. Not Rocky Ford, though.
Actually, they used 1625 finals, a variant of the 807.
/johnny
THE great Old Bird of WWII. Best book out is “Flying Fortress” by Edward Jablonski.
I was working in Macon, GA in th ‘90s when the B-17 “Sentimental Journey” made a one-day stop at the local airport. I cut work and went out to take a tour through it. My God, the diameter was so small it was like walking through a large culvert. This one had a tail gunner position and they had put some of those fake bullet hole decals on it - really fooled you until you took a close look.
The next morning I was at work talking to a room full of people when I heard this distinctive, but familiar drone. I yelled, “THAT’S A B-17!” and ran outside. It was at about 500 feet and climbing and I jumped up and down like a kid (I was in my late 50s) and waved. Seconds later the pilot wagged his wings and I damned near wet myself. I got funny looks when I went back inside but I didn’t care.
Venerable tool used by the Greatest Generation.
I bought my dad and me a ride on the “Aluminum Overcast” out of Lawrenceville Airport here in Georgia a few years back. Best money I spent in a long time.
A fortress they were. One plane daddy flew was new, but only flown once. After he and his crew returned uninjured, the plane so damaged it was sent to the scrap yard!
A fortress they were. One plane daddy flew was new, but only flown once. After he and his crew returned uninjured, the plane so damaged it was sent to the scrap yard!
A fortress they were. One plane daddy flew was new, but only flown once. After he and his crew returned uninjured, the plane so damaged it was sent to the scrap yard!
You realize I am going to stay awake all night till I remember where I got that 6146! I traded it to another kid for a Speed Bug key...
yipes! so sorry folks
Cool....my husband bought a ride on one of these a couple of years ago....his ONLY Uncle was a bombadier in one in WWII, and died along with several others after the plane was hit, but landed in Switzerland. (We found pictures of his Uncle’s funeral in Switzerland a few years ago via the internet that no one in the family had seen.)
Cool....my husband bought a ride on one of these a couple of years ago....his ONLY Uncle was a bombadier in one in WWII, and died along with several others after the plane was hit, but landed in Switzerland. (We found pictures of his Uncle’s funeral in Switzerland a few years ago via the internet that no one in the family had seen.)
There are some great old birds still out there. I took this pic at the Fort Smith airshow a couple of years ago.
sorry....FR is SLOW and having problems....isn’t it...???
“Hard to imagine men working inside that thing, much less a 9 month pregnant woman waddling thru!”
Yeah, you might have had to get in thru the bomb bay.
:)
WWII navigator Bob Culp, who flew about 30 missions ....I'm sure that Mr. Culp knows if if flew 28, 29, 30, or 31 missions. If he so chose, I'm sure that he could list them for the reporter, too.
At least my uncle, who flew as a bombadier in B-17's, could.
My dad was a radio opperator on a B-17. Till the last year of his life he could print clearer and faster than I could write. The stories were awsome too. May GOD bless them all.
“My Dad was a tail gunner in a B-17 out of North Africa (’43-’44).”
Several years ago when I was still working as an A&P mechanic our shop provided support at John Tune airport for Aluminum Overcast when it was touring Nashville. I got to crawl inside and look around. I’m 6’4” and when I looked back at the tail gunners position and that little bicycle seat it made my skin crawl and I got claustrophobia big time. No way Jose’. The movies always make it look like there’s lots of room in a B-17.
>> when I looked back at the tail gunners position and that little bicycle seat it made my skin crawl and I got claustrophobia big time.
Dad told me about it, but I wasn’t ready for what I saw when I looked back there myself, the day the B-17 came to town. How he sat there for hours — cold, scared, yet focused and determined — I can’t even imagine.
All his life Dad spoke with love and pride about finally becoming a father, after years of trying. All those hours on oxygen, apparently, depressed many fliers’ sperm counts. But it couldn’t depress the will to bring children into the world after working so hard and risking so much to make it a safe place for them.
Among the many, many gifts my Dad and Mom gave to me was the certain knowledge that I was much more than wanted — I was struggled for and prayed for and hoped for, and the day my brother and I were conceived were days of rejoicing.
It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. Thank God for Dad — it’s a pair of shoes I’ll never come close to filling.
Thanks for sharing your anecdote.
Those big radial engines ARE a distinctive sound. I still run outside when I hear one.
Most often in Florida, anyway, it is a Lockheed Lodestar. But it's also been a B-17, B-24, B-25, and only once, a PBY-5A.
Amazing how such small guys left such big shoes to fill. God Bless them for all they did.
My uncle flew with the Mighty 8th out of England and Africa too. Sgt. E.O. Hamel, a waist gunner on the plane “Baldy and His Brood”.
It’s looks like there’s some hiccups in the system. You’re not the only one whose posts were repeated.
>> My uncle flew with the Mighty 8th out of England and Africa too.
Dad was with the 15th AF (341st bomb sq). They flew their B-17 from Florida via Trinidad, Guyana, and Brazil, to join their squadron in North Africa in May-June 1943. They operated out of Tunisia and later went to Foggia.
Here’s a web site you might be interested in:
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17_squad.html
Check out the 15th AF (Italy) section. There were several bomb groups that started with the 8th in England and then went to North Africa.
God bless your uncle. Waist gunner sounds like a dangerous place to be in a B-17 (cold, too). Thanks for the post.
My Brother is 86 and in good health, he married and had 3 kids and lived the good life. BTW, he was a member of the 303rd Bomb Group (Hells Angels) and flew out of Molesworth England
http://www.ewtvets.org/Brown_Steigler.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/35/a2674235.shtml
Ping to #37
Very! - Some links take almost a minute to load (on a 6Mb connection!)
Maybe not all Luftwaffe pilots were demonic madmen? I have to believe it; its too strange to be false ;o)
Ever hear of high speed film?
They’re going to be at Livermore, Calif. this weekend.
Even though he did a lot of the big raids, including Ploesti, the cold is one of the few things that I ever heard him talk about.
I can hear one of 'em flying over now - wonderful sound.
Golly gee, did I forget the /s ?
Sorry, I’ve just seen so many inane comments lately that I’m getting punchy.
:-)
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