Sentimental Journey

[timnc]

Beautiful photos of a great old airplane. Odd story: In 1947 I flew in a B-17 from Saun Juan,PR to British Guiana together with my mother & 2 mo. old sister. This had been converted as a "ferry plane" to carry cargo and 3-4 passengers around the Caribbean. We were joining my dad who was assigned to the hospital at a British air field used by USAAF during WWll as part of the lend-lease program. During the flight, I was invited to come forward and had the opportunity to view the Caribbean Sea from the bombardier's seat. Needless to say, that was an experience of a lifetime. Now, fast forward 50 years. My son is going through the USAF test pilot school at Edwards AFB and as part of their aircraft orientation he got to take the controls of a B-17. Sometimes it's a strange and interesting world.

 

[Rick Courtright]

How can you NOT get a lump in your throat when you see one?

Hi,

DB, I think anybody who has a soul has shared that lump in the throat about a number of things in life!

I wish I had more stories, but as with so many ol' WWII vets, they weren't readily forthcoming: a late friend's Dad, who's also gone now, served with the 8th in England. He was on a ground crew, and wouldn't say much about his service there. He did mention once how hard it was to send the guys out, knowing how many would never make it back. And how so many of them who did musta been held up by nothing short of the wings of angels... That was about as much as he'd say. I miss 'em both.

Just an aside, PLEASE get as many stories as you can from the gentleman you've been working with! He's got to speak for untold numbers of his brothers in arms whose stories are forever untold...

Rick C

 

[Ruger Packer]

The pictures posted show a plane with polished gleaming aluminum skin. But every war time picture I have ever seen shows a plane that is olive drab. Were the planes painted before or after they arrived in Europe???? :?

 

[Snake45]

Snake said there's something majestic about seeing a B-17 flying overhead.

- DixieBoy

I did not. Go back and read what I said again. Please don't tell me you're coming down with Liberal Reading Comprehension Disorder! :shock:

 

[Snake45]

The pictures posted show a plane with polished gleaming aluminum skin. But every war time picture I have ever seen shows a plane that is olive drab. Were the planes painted before or after they arrived in Europe???? :?

You must not have seen very many wartime B-17 pictures. There were thousands of unpainted ones in action. We quit painting most* USAAF warplanes about mid-1944, to save time, money, weight, and because it was deemed no longer necessary.

The olive drab B-17s and B-24s were painted that way from the factory. SOME "silver" P-47s, P-51s, P-38s, and B-26s received full or partial camo paint in the field, but most didn't.

*All A-20 Havocs and P-61 Black Widows were delivered painted till the end of the war--those never left the factory in bare metal, for some reason. I think most of the C-46s and C-47s also continued to wear olive drab. And of course with very rare exceptions, all USN/USMC aircraft wore blue camo of one sort or another throughout the war.

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Jim, thanks for the gunnery details! I have been shot at by ONE "Ma-Deuce" (long story of mis-spent youth) and I wouldn't want a whole "box" of em shooting at ME! You tend to concentrate on the tracers and forget what's in between them....if you're lucky!