flyingbanana Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Thanks- Good pics, and nice to see these after the sad ones of Liberty Belle earlier this year. Quote
davidgh Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Liked the sat-nav quietly trying to blend in to the cockpit Quote
dombanks Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 i did wonder if the guy sat in the machine gun thing on the bottom when it was landing/taking off as its pretty close to the ground. its nice to see pics like these and to see people able to be inside it Quote
peterg Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 QUOTE The B-17 fought in WWII from the very beginning not quite... the first operation using B17s in WW2 was with the RAF on 8th July 1941 a little bit after the 'beginning' but I guess the USA don't count the bit before Pearl Harbour Quote
Davep1 Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Stunning detail - reminds me in a sad way, of a visit a few months ago to the site of a wrecked B24 liberator at Gairloch. Now a war grave - its an incredibly poignant place - the wreckage is spread over several 100 yds - much of the bodywork clearly visible in the loch. Certainly worth the mile cross country walk to find it - and to remember the crew who perished. See Quote
RedditchJay Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 fantastic pics.............. stunning........ Quote
AidanPlace Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 His pictures of the Bovington tank museum are pretty special too Quote
Captain Colonial Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 The B-17 fought in WWII from the very beginning not quite... the first operation using B17s in WW2 was with the RAF on 8th July 1941 a little bit after the 'beginning' but I guess the USA don't count the bit before Pearl Harbour The attack on Pearl Harbor was 7th December 1941, five months after that. So not the beginning, but before the USA had entered the war. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted November 21, 2011 Author Posted November 21, 2011 Stunning detail - reminds me in a sad way, of a visit a few months ago to the site of a wrecked B24 liberator at Gairloch. Now a war grave - its an incredibly poignant place - the wreckage is spread over several 100 yds - much of the bodywork clearly visible in the loch. Certainly worth the mile cross country walk to find it - and to remember the crew who perished. See I know the place well. I visited there in about 1988 when my children were 14 and 11 and even they felt the atmosphere of the place. It seems that even the birds are quiet. I did take a couple of pictures of things like u/c struts and an engine sitting in the water, but the overwhelming feeling is one of special sadness for the crew who died on their way home through no enemy action but a simple accident. We walked to the summit of Slioch (a mountain on the banks of Loch Maree some miles away to the east) a day or two earlier without realising that it was this peak that the aircraft struck in the fog that night. Thanks for the link; it is very moving. Quote
flyingbanana Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Dom- No, the ball turrent gunner got in/out during flight- The access hatch aligns with the inside when the guns are pointing down. You could land/takeoff with a man in, but bit risky. Liberators had a retractable turret, and I think you could dump the turrent on a B17 to stop the back being broken in case of wheels-up landing. Quote
gixermark Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 they were all brave men that flew in them... But the guy perched at the back facing the enemy trying to shoot them before he got it... very brave.. no wonder many ex service folk stuggle with life 'civy' street, that sort of thing is just in a different league to what 99.9% of us do or have done Quote
pistonbroke Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 As spotty yoofs of 969 sqaudron ATC (we lived by Burtonwood Airbase ) and saw plenty B17's up close but had never seen the innards before with such fine detail . Gives a real sense of purpose and a taste of what life must must have been like for the crew on those missions . The Yanks never did anything by halves Great post Clive Quote
mikef Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Does anyone recall the TV drama about a B17 with the gunner trapped in the lower ball turret and the undercarriage unable to be lowered after a load of flak damage. Thus they have to come in for a belly landing with the gunner still in the turret. I remember seeing it but for the life of me cannot remember how it ended other than the gunner did survive. Quote
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