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Posted on 01/05/2015 9:19:00 AM PST by SMARTY
I just ran into this. It's to amazing. The Link is:
http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/eaa-warbirds-of-america-warbird-and-ex-military-aircraft/articles/2014-09-a-flying-fortress-miracle
—bflr—
Gotta read this later!
And THAT my friend supports their being called flying fortresses!
Not the same plane.
Incredible!!!
Nothing short of a miracle that those guys survived that! Was almost a miracle when ANY of the crews came back from their missions alive or not wounded. Those bomber missions had VERY high casualties!
lesser men (myself included) would have soiled themselves
Me too! Thanks
I just did a walk through of a B-17 at the Chino, CA AP Planes of Fame. They have been raising money for years to get that B-17 restored. The museum volunteer assigned to that exhibit told the story of this thread. In addition there is a 90 year old Vet whom was a Belly gunner on a B-17 during the war whom answers questions and helps drum up donations. So sorry that I have forgotten his name.
You are correct. This aircraft was assigned to the 97th Bomb Group. They were originally an 8th Air Force group but were transferred to the 12th Air Force and flew out of Algeria, which is where they were stationed when they flew this mission. Escorts could not have been P-51s.
When its not your time, its not your time.
Of course, whether or not it’s your time often has to do a lot with how hard you work at staying alive.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t change the point.
Wow, what a story!
There was a B17 here sometime back and me and the spouse lucked out and got the two last slots. We had gone just to look. Pricey but worth it. 30 minutes or so was plenty.
The next day I went just to watch it a little. The sky was overcast and nothing started up until 11 and then after a few minutes of idling, it shut down. Some kind of pump failed and no spare was on hand. All rides cancelled. There was one guy who had finally got a slot after trying for a long time. I felt bad for him.
Here is what I saw on my ride. I had a lot more but the vibration made a lot unusable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF0ZGSPM-bQ&list=UUrYk0B6anHuptBE53RrFLTA
Right. My dad was Army Airforce. He was in S. England up to the invasion then in France, Belgium and Germany.
He said when the Flying Fortresses started up, it was impossible to hear anything ... EVERYTHING shook and vibrated and didn’t stop until they were gone!
Agreed.
This story dovetails nicely with our viewing of 'Unbroken' over the New Year weekend. A truly great generation...
walk-though?
Can you walk through it? I thought those hatches might be a bit small.
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