B17 Cockpit

[craig_pickrall]

LIFE Magazine

AUG 24, 1942

 

 

[craig_pickrall]

[craig_pickrall]

[Gregory]

Very nice example of democratic system and normal state. As the forum can see American wartime Office of War Information (OWI) was relatively liberal. Such a pictorial would be impossible in the Soviet Union not only during WWII but through half a century later on.

 

 

Regards

 

Greg

[Peace]

Also check here;

 

http://www.b17.org/flight/interior

 

and here;

 

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/...birds/b17-4.htm

 

and here some interesting Adobe files;

 

http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/B17STUFF.html

 

Here a very interesting site on the location of the surviving B-17's

 

http://members.cox.net/b17brian/b17/Evergreen/index.htm

 

I think the B-17 is one of the most facinating planes of the war. I used to fantasise, that if I were Bill Gates, I would find and buy a B-17 wreck, and make it fully operational. But that will probably remain a dream...

[craig_pickrall]

Gregory, that is an interesting observation. I guess living here we take that sort of thing for granted. I am sure it is different living in a country that was controlled by the Communists.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

I think the B-17 is one of the most facinating planes of the war. I used to fantasise, that if I were Bill Gates, I would find and buy a B-17 wreck, and make it fully operational. But that will probably remain a dream...

 

I was fortunate enough to sit in the bombardier's station of the B-17 "Thunderbird" in Galveston during engine start up. I will never forget hearing each of the engines choke and sputter to life, smelling the exhaust, and feeling the torque and vibration of all four props turning. I am not ashamed to say that it brought tears to my eyes.....that experience takes a close second to the birth of my daughter - very moving.

 

Her tail can be seen just behind me standing by the P-47 TB "Little Demon"

[Gregory]

Gregory, that is an interesting observation. I guess living here we take that sort of thing for granted. I am sure it is different living in a country that was controlled by the Communists.

Oh yes! All my life I was an observer of this political-historical cabaret. Sorry for OT, but when I wrote in the Polish press in 1988 a series of the articles about air war in the Suez Crisis I got congratulations because I wrote about poor ejection seats of the MiG-15s and -17s that killed Egyptian pilots instead of rescue them.

 

But let's return to the B-17s. They are beautiful planes. Last year we had at Warsaw a visit of one airworthy B-17 on the occassion of the Warsaw Uprising anniversary (August 1st) and as a tribute to the USAAF's airmen who dropped supplies for the Polish Home Army over burning Warsaw during Operation Frantic.

 

[General Apathy]

 

B-17 contributors and lovers. Some years ago I had the real pleasure of working on a film production of ' Mission Berlin' for one of the history channels in America, I think it is still shown now and again.

 

The aircraft used was the ' Mary Alice ' based at Duxford, England which after filming was taken into the new USAAF hanger that was being built at that time.

All the interior of the aircraft is pretty much complete, it had not been stripped out for post war flying.

 

Here are a couple of shots of the group I belonged to playing the parts of crew members, we also supplied all our own equipment that way we knew the items would fit, and it was also too difficult to pull all this genuine stuff in, in the sizes required, from a costume company.

 

At the time of filming a veteran of the 92nd bomb group turned up with his wife and we managed to arrange for him to sit in the bombardiers seat, which he had not done for fifty years. The tears rolled down his face and he said that he had, had a dream that one day this would happen. Whilst he was in there being filmed they decided to keep the footage and add into another future planned documentary, I spoke to his English wife who had been one of Winston Churchill's secretary's.

 

So I enjoyed my time in the cockpit.

 

Regards ( Lewis )

[craig_pickrall]

See this thread too:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...?showtopic=2147