# My Pics of Collings Foundation B-25, B-17 and B-24



## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

From the Wings of Freedom 2007 Tour, in Mobile Alabama, 3/5/07... 10 bucks gets u a walk inside the 17 and 24, as well as all the pics u want on the tarmac...

I'll start out with the B-25.... First thing up is a quick vid clip around her nose...


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## pbfoot (Mar 5, 2007)

Good pics no crowds how you manage that


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## evangilder (Mar 5, 2007)

Glad you got out to see those, Dan. Nice shots!


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## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

Now for the B-17..... 2 vid clips, one around her nose, the other around her stinger...


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## FLYBOYJ (Mar 5, 2007)

Nice!


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## R-2800 (Mar 5, 2007)

Cool!! awesome pics I got to see the 17 and 24 when they came into Trenton. They really keep those planes spit shine!!


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## syscom3 (Mar 5, 2007)

Les, did you pay some money for a ride on them?


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## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

There were only a few people there pB... They just flew in, so tomorrow should see the better crowds...

Thanks for the props on my pics... Just a 6 megapixels digital... I didnt do anything fancy, and I reduced the pics to 800x600...

I met 3 guys, 2 who flew the 17, and one who flew the 25... I'll talk about them later on....

Now for the B-24 Lib..


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## evangilder (Mar 5, 2007)

Nicely done, Dan. Good clear shots! It really is something to get in those things and feel the history. They'll be here in May, and I look forward to seeing them once again.


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## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

Nah sys, I didint drop the $425 for a ride... Been on a 17 twice back in the day... Eric told me about them comin into town, so I sacrificed the $10 bucks for our beloved site here...


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## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

Yea Eric, aint nothing like crawlin around inside one... I had fun doin it, and it brought back some cool memories...


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## lesofprimus (Mar 5, 2007)

So there I am, waiting just before 2PM for the 3 girls to show up, I notice 2 older gentlemen hanging out... One fella had a leather jacket on with a B-24 painted on the back, so I assumed he was a former crewmember...

I asked if he flew on the B-24, and he nodded, smiled, and said "10 1/2 missions.."

I said, "10 and a half???"

He said, "Hehe, we made it to Ploesti, but not back...

He was a nose gunner on a ship named DUAL SACK, and flak got them... No 1 engine 1st on fire, then extinguished... Engine 3 just goes BOOM!!! and big fire... The wing starts to disintegrate and the plane rolls.... He told me he never moved so fast as when the Captain called Bail Out...

He was part of the second attack on Ploesti.... He knew that the guys in the first attack got hammered, and he expected his plane to get hit... Said he still remembers the sound of the flak banging off the fuselage... 

I asked him about enemy fighters, and he said he saw 2 fw 190's, and they went by so fast, the Captain was yellin Shoot, shoot, and he couldnt even get his gun around fast enough to track em.... That was it... Flak was a bigger threat for them... He also said that in 1943, there were no escorts, the P-47's were going after locomotives with a passion...

I asked him if he ever saw any of the others in his flight go down, and he said he saw his buddys plane, DOWNTOWN, take a hit and ripped the entire tail section off at the waist gunners posistion... The forward part fluttered down like a leaf... He recalled his buddys name and said he always wore this beat up old St' Louis ballcap...

The guy was great and was always smiling...


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## evangilder (Mar 5, 2007)

Great stuff, Dan. Nothing like hearing the experiences of these old guys. It really is amazing to get inside one these old birds and trying to imagine 10 guys crewing it. Mind you, it was probably a little easier for most guys to move around in there than you, Dan. *I* do a lot of ducking in there. So I imagine it's pretty cramped for you.


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## Gnomey (Mar 6, 2007)

Excellent shots Dan! 8)


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## lesofprimus (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks guys... Yes, it was extremely cramped Ill tell ya... Being 6'6" definatly didnt help.... No wonder most of the crewmen inside these birds were short.... Look at the pic with the 2 kids on the waist guns... Kids.... Not alot of room there...


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## Wildcat (Mar 6, 2007)

Very cool Dan!


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## lesofprimus (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks....


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## comiso90 (Mar 8, 2007)

Great photos. I saw that B-24 in San Diego last year. I took some video footage too... the engines sound very cool


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## comiso90 (Mar 8, 2007)

I happened to be at the airport with professional video equipment. Imagine my suprise when I saw a B-24 warming up (the same one in Les's photos) Security wasn't too happy when i broke out the camera and started filming...


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## lesofprimus (Mar 9, 2007)

Nice clip...


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## v2 (Mar 9, 2007)

8)


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## Gnomey (Mar 9, 2007)

Good clip.


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## Wildcat (Mar 9, 2007)

Cool!


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## comiso90 (Mar 9, 2007)

I like the shot where you see the two engines and the cockpit. I probably have a minute of just that. I could watch it on loop for hours!


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## Micdrow (Mar 12, 2007)

Very cool pictures. I wish they would show up to the EAA, Been years since I have seen them there.


Micdrow


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## AAA_leadsled (Mar 21, 2007)

Excellent Pics!

I see that the B24 is now Witchcraft instead of Dragon and his Tail.

I was lucky enough to see 909 and D&T about 7 years in a row at one of our local annual shows. Of course my pics aren't as nice as yours!

Excellent Job! Thanks for sharing!


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## lesofprimus (Mar 21, 2007)

Hey man, my pleasure... Glad u liked...


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## Aggie08 (Mar 22, 2007)

I went to the same deal in Dallas. It's awesome! Great pics and videos. I'll just add yours to my collection to get everything I missed!


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## Ronnies111 (Mar 27, 2008)

i've got an image of a B-25 with a girl on it with her dress flying in the air. Does anyone have a good image of this picture so I can re-produce it on a friends plane?
if so would you pleaqse email it to me @ [email protected]


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## seesul (Mar 27, 2008)

Hi Dan,

really great pics, never seen this thread before! Wish I could take such a kind of pics during Flying Legends in Duxford this year...but I expect a plenty of people all around....


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## Njaco (Mar 27, 2008)

Same sentiments here! How I missed this thread....? Great shots! Gonna check my pics and see if the 25 I've seen before.


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## DBII (Mar 27, 2008)

They landed in Houston today and will be at two locations. I will be heading out to see them over the weekend. Nice shots Dan.

DBII


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## syscom3 (Mar 27, 2008)

I flew on 9-0-0 and the B24 when it was known as "Golden Gal"


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## lesofprimus (Mar 27, 2008)

Thread reborn... I so wish I could get to Duxford this year Roman... What a time we would have...


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## seesul (Mar 28, 2008)

lesofprimus said:


> Thread reborn... I so wish I could get to Duxford this year Roman... What a time we would have...



Yep, that we would, maybe one day...


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## evangilder (Mar 28, 2008)

It would be really cool to have a WWII aircraft meet at Duxford, or Chino or Thunder over Michigan, OshKosh... I have met up with some of you guys at shows (syscom at Chino, flyboyj at Point Mugu). 

If any of you guys make it out to Riverside this Saturday for the show there, I'll be on the hill near the ATC tower.

Back on topic... The CF birds will be in Camarillo in May. I can hardly wait.


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## Konigstiger205 (Mar 28, 2008)

Great pictures!


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## A4K (Mar 28, 2008)

Fantastic shots Dan! caught onto this one late, but glad I found it!


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## Evil_Merlin (Mar 28, 2008)

We are hoping the Collings Foundation will bring the B-17 and B-25 back to our Airport this year like they did last year. This time though our Squadron is having a World War II Hangar Dance. Should be a good thing.


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## DBII (Mar 31, 2008)

I drove over to see CF's birds Sunday with my father. We had the normal weather, overcast and rain. So I do not have many pictures. We were there for three hours and only saw the B25 fly. 

Right before we left, they rolled out a beautiful TP-51C. I have never seen the plane before. I will try and post for shots by the weekend. The plane was originally built with dual controls. For anyone with a little extra cash, you an get 30 minutes of stick time for only $2,200.00 US. You can get the one hour flight for an additional $800.00. We watched a hot lady strap into the back seat for her flight. Sorry guys, I failed to get any shots of lady, the plane was getting in the way. We were told that they would do a photo pass after take off. It was not so much a photo pass as it was a high speed pass. The P-51 came in so fast I could not focus the camera on it. I went to the website but there is not information about the plane. Does anyone know the history of the TP-51C?

DBII


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## Heinz (Apr 1, 2008)

great shots les! Dunno how I missed this thread to start with :S


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## lesofprimus (Apr 1, 2008)

Just goes to show that u guys arenet as observant as u'd like to think u are.....

Glad u guys like the pics... I purposely went outta my way to get to this so I could grace upon u guys the beauty of these birds...


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## A4K (Apr 1, 2008)

It must have been terrible Dan....the burden of having to appease us buggers..!

(You're on 'camera detail' next time they turn up too, BTW)


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## lesofprimus (Apr 1, 2008)

Man, I had to skip out on work to get to this small little field in Mobile, which I couldnt find at first.... I ended up talkin to a couple Vets there, so it really made the afternoon of hooky worthwhile...


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## CRASHGATE3 (Apr 1, 2008)

Hi Les.....
Great pix thanx for sharing..
If any of you guys want to go to Duxford any time let me know...I'll try to be there
Trouble is legends is on the same weekend as Fairford this year and I've already got tickets..


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## Dale01 (Apr 7, 2008)

Great shots Les.

Dale


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