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A few new B-17 pictures


renfield
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post-5349-1328473530.jpg I cropped this from a larger photo. The winter scene has an almost peacefull feel to it. The Triangle L shows these planes are with 381st BG at Ridgewell England.

Steve

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post-5349-1328473130.jpg I think this to be a war time photo. I have the negative of this photo along with 3 others taken at the same time. The paint and the yellow tail number lead me to think it could be from W.W.2.

Steve

 

 

Nice picture. Appears to be a B17F. Throw in the OD/Gray paint and the white star in blue without the bars and it's a wartime picture :)

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post-5349-1328832415.jpgThis is "THE LAST STRAW" I sure wish they had auto focus back then! It has quite a history. This B-17E Landed at Hickam Field during the attack on Pearl Harbor! It flew combat missions in the SWP until Sept. 1943. Notice the twin guns mounted in the nose. Not sure if they are .30s or .50s.
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post-5349-1328832897.jpg This is a snapshot of "Monkey BIZZ-NESS" The name is on the other side of the nose, but the "art" is the same.Also a B-17E it flew in the SWP.It went to Javaon 19 Feb.1942. It crashed in Queensland Australia on 6 July 1942 the pilot was Lt.William Thompson. The plane was later salvaged.
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post-5349-1328833298.jpg Again I wish this picture was in focus! The plane is "The MUSTANG" A B-17F of the 63rd BS 43rd BG in the SWP Oct.1942 to 1943. It returned to the U.S.A. on 2 Dec. 1943 and used for training. Later being sold for scrap.
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post-5349-1328912454.jpg This is a picture of "BLACK JACK" another plane that flew in the South West Pacific. A B-17F. She flew with the 63rd BS 43rd BG. It had a fixed .50 cal. machine gun in the nose that could be fired by a button on the pilots control wheel. The plane went down in Miline Bay in New Guinea and the crew was rescued.
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post-5349-1329434358.jpgThis is "THE CREAMER". She flew with the 95th BG 334th BS 8th AAF out of Horham England. It looks like Woody Woodpecker with some sort of gun. I do not have any other info on this plane. I got some nice crew photos with the group of pictures this came from.

Steve

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bunkerhillburning
post-5349-1328473130.jpg I think this to be a war time photo. I have the negative of this photo along with 3 others taken at the same time. The paint and the yellow tail number lead me to think it could be from W.W.2.

Steve

 

 

Here is one I bought on ebay maybe 12 years ago? Really love the blur of the gun site in the foreground. A real nightmare restoration wise but there is a certain emotive feel to the image that I just love. The photo is 10" x 7 1/4". Think it cost about .03 cents of ebay way back when. Okay - not really, but in those days one could really pick up some of the most jaw dropping photos for peanuts.

post-64023-1329446703.jpg

post-64023-1329447028.jpg

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bunkerhillburning
Here is one I bought on ebay maybe 12 years ago? Really love the blur of the gun site in the foreground. A real nightmare restoration wise but there is a certain emotive feel to the image that I just love. The photo is 10" x 7 1/4". Think it cost about .03 cents of ebay way back when. Okay - not really, but in those days one could really pick up some of the most jaw dropping photos for peanuts.

 

 

Nuts...sorry for the double phoro post but its my first photo posting and wouldn't you know it I screwed it up.

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post-5349-1329507413.jpgHello Bunkerhilllburning, and thank you for adding your very interesting picture. A big welcome to the forum! I have not seen a picture like that, taken from the tail gun position. Very nice. Here is a picture of MADAM SHOO SHOO A badly damaged 8th AAF B-17.She flew with the 91st BG and was damaged on April 8th 1945, landed on the continet and was salvaged.

Steve

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bunkerhillburning
post-5349-1329507413.jpgHello Bunkerhilllburning, and thank you for adding your very interesting picture. A big welcome to the forum! I have not seen a picture like that, taken from the tail gun position. Very nice. Here is a picture of MADAM SHOO SHOO A badly damaged 8th AAF B-17.She flew with the 91st BG and was damaged on April 8th 1945, landed on the continet and was salvaged.

Steve

Hello Steve!

 

A real pleasure to meet a fellow B-17 enthusiast and member of the forum. I once had a fairly good collection but circumstances forced me to sell off most of them years back. I had heard bomber crews were not allowed to have cameras on-board - have you ever heard that?

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Cameras were supposedly a no-no, but clearly with all the photos around, the rule wasn't followed very well :) I've seen a color photo of Madame Shoo Shoo somewhere. Now it's going to bug me til I find it!

 

Just to keep the 17s going. An early bird. MD-105 aka B-17B 38-211 after some modifications to upgrade her and while attached to Wright Field. Something pretty about those early shark fin 17s

 

MD105.jpg

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post-5349-1329595876.jpgI have had this picture for several years. To me it looks like this B-17 has seen some combat! The tail gunners position could have been replaced and there are a lot of specks that could be bullet holes. The square H is the 388th BG 8th AAF stationed in Knettishall England. I am not sure if the tail number would help name this plane or not. I am glad other members are keeping this thread going. I never get tired of looking at these great planes.

Steve

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post-5349-1329596202.jpgThis is another picture I have always liked. I got it in a set of 91st BG photos. No way to ID this plane but a nice picture. Bombay doors open and heading for the target!

Steve

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Time to move this one back up :)

 

A recent pick up. I'm guessing it's a lead crew as there are a couple Captains and I think a Major in the image. 12 men would make up a Pathfinder crew with the addition of a radar Nav and radar Bombardier. I'm trying to make out the serial number on the original photo as well as the name on the Mae West on the guy in the front row. Would be fun to find out who, what, where on this one.

LeadCrew.jpg

 

Part of the 447th BG crew of Lt. Ashley Guynn. Sadly they went down to flak in the spring of 44 with Guynn and a couple others killed and the others POWs. They look tired.

GuynnCrew22-2.jpg

 

A 301st BG B17G hit by flak in February 45. They made it back. Got a copy from the guy who took it, who was a co-pilot of a B17 nearby.

301stBG17G-2.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

post-5349-1333404502.jpg I just got a set of 12 pictures of two B-17D's. I will post more of the pictures when I get the time. They were taken in the US in 1941. A couple of the pictures show the crew tying down the aircraft.

Steve

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Great photos Steve. I believe they are actually B17Bs though. No cowl flaps, and partially modified with flat waist windows but still having the early style radio room dome and belly dome. Some, not all were upgraded further with the later style B17D tub underneath and flat radio room hatch. Those are the birds that appear as B17Ds in "Air Force" starring John Garfield. Actually modified B-17Bs out of Hendricks Field in Florida

 

Looking forward to more of those shots! Kinda partial to the B model. The image I posted last was a B model that was the first to get the full upgrade.

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Steve do you have Steve Birdsall's book "The Pride of Seattle-The History of the First 300 B17Fs"?

 

A lot of the photos you've posted are of PTO birds and their stories are in there if you don't have it.

 

The image of Cap'n and the Kids is interesting as the 371 in the fuselage behind the cockpit suggests the photo was taken after her time with the 43rd and while she was serving as an armed transport. The ball turret has been removed and the bomb bay modified for cargo. Chances are she was with the 433rd Troop Carrier Wing when that photo was taken. She finished up as the transport for General Robert Eichelberger, commander of 8th Army.

 

Keep em coming! :)

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