B17 Fortress

[pacocop]

Interesting to come across this thread. My old man flew as a bombardier with the 388th bomb group out of Knettishall, England.

He died January 3 of this year.

Told me as a kid how everyone hated the bombadier as he flew the plane steady and level on the bomb run, while the fighters and flack zeroed in. When he called bombs away and the pilot took the plane and began evasive flying for home everyone breathed again.

Bombs away, Pops. I miss you.

[Bugman]

So many stories that probably never will be or were told by WWII servicemen. I can't even imagine what some of them went through.

[Bascoe]

Pacocop, my Dad also flew out of Knettishal as well. He was a top turret gunner/ air mechanic. I think he was in the 388th but will have to look it up. The reason this thread struck me was I was going through a box of his stuff yesterday and found a dollar bill that was signed by the members of his crew. He flew with Galyons Stallions. Dad passed in 2000. RIP TSgt. Charles Ugaldea

[mesamav]

I recently moved to Mesa Arizona from a small coastal town in Oregon. Got a house that I discovered was in the traffic pattern for Falcon Field. One day I'm lounging in the pool and what flies over? Over the course of several minutes, a B-17, a Stinson Gullwing, an old Stearman biplane trainer, a P-51 and a Corsair.
Needless to say, I was amazed.
As it turns out, those planes are stationed there at Falcon Field. They fly over almost every weekend going to or coming from different airshows and giving rides.
They also have smaller planes. A J-3 cub and even a Champ is there.
I've also seen a B-24 fly in and once, I saw a B-29. I didn't know there was still a flying version of one of those.
Interesting stuff.

[StoneTooling]

A B-17 was at Van Nuys airport here in Los Angeles. It's an extremely busy GA airport with jets and smaller planes.

I was taking off in my little Cessna 172 and making a right crosswind departure when the raddio calls my tail number and tells me to look out for a B-17 in the right downwind to my 2 o'clock. Between that and my landing behind a C130, I couldn't say what my most interested experience in my short time as a licensed pilot.

[Noob_DIYER]

The B17 is the most beautiful bomber ever made.

[Davestone]

Interesting for sure.I went in a B17 once and what struck me most is i thought it would be much bigger, strange.
I also went in a Sherman tank that had a plack on it from Pattons armor unit in a field Germany,it also was tiny.

Was at Frankfurt Rheinn Main airbase...not so little,but small compared to U.S. airports like Dallas.

[Albertus Magnus]

My old friend used to fly for the Army Air Corps back in WWII before there was the "Air Force." He had some wonderful stories about how he flew underneath a bridge, how he fought the Japanese in the Philippines and things like that.

It's great every now and again to see picks and bring the imagine to life.
Thanks for sharing. Those folks back then were brave people indeed.

[Richard Tunison]

A site that tries to list all of the P.O.W's from W.W.11. I found my Dad there.

http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?pag...ory&rec=122583

[TooManyToys]

I've been fascinated by B-17s since childhood. And I've been lucky enough to go into a few, but never in the air (as yet).

For me, walking around one and being inside, I think about the fact they were designed starting in the summer of 1934, and the prototype in the air a year later. That a decade later this was the workhorse of the air war, designed just after Model A V8 cars were just hitting our roads.

My first wife's father was a tailgunner in 17s, and was shot down 3 times, twice escaping capture and returning to England to fly again.

I remember being in the side gunners position, a very tight area, and looking at the aluminum ribs and skin a few inches away thinking that was the protection they had to flak, bullets and 20,000 to 35,000 ft to the ground. Even for a teenager with the 'can't happen to me' attitude, flying in them took a lot of courage.

A great plane crewed by great people. I thank all of your relatives who crewed on these.