B-17 Liberty Bell in Des Moines this weekend.

[Messy1]

I am usually complaining that nothing pertaining to aviation hardly ever happens here in Des Moines, let alone in Iowa, but this weekend, that is not the case. The B-17 Liberty Bell will be in town this weekend at the Des Moines airport. I will try to get some pics of the plane. We have had WW2 birds on tour land at the Ankeny airport before, and they have allowed people to walk right up to the plane and even look inside, I am hoping Des Moines Airport will allow the same. I''ll post them if I get any.

 

[Messy1]

I'll be posting some pics today when I can get them resized. I also have a short video of the plane starting up, and taxing out and back in. It was a cool experience. My dad and I went out to the airport, and we talked with three WW2 veterans. One was on the ground grew and worked on B-17's, he asked us if there was anything we wanted to know. The other two gentleman were both gunners in B-17's. One of the gentleman was a tail gunner and had to bail out when his plane's left wing was blown off just past the engines. The other gentleman was a waist gunner and was a very nice fellow. He talked with me and my dad for 15-20 minutes.

 

[Messy1]

Here's a few photos.

In the last photo in this post, the short/stocky guy is my father. The gentleman behind him is one of the two WW2 gunners we met yesterday. This man is the one who had to bail out of his plane when the wing was blown off. He was a very nice guy, talked with us a little bit.

 

[Messy1]

4th photo down is me.
The 5th photo is the WW2 tailgunner who was forced to bail out.
Last photo is my father Steve who worked on the flight deck of the USS Ranger in Vietnam.

 

[Messy1]

These photos are of a couple tanks, artillery cannon, and a A7 that sits outside of Camp Dodge Guard Base north of Des Moines, Iowa. It is on a nice scenic stop that overlooks the whole base. Anyone id these vehicles?
Before 9-11, civilians were able to drive around and through the base, my dad and I used to drive around and look at the tanks, trucks, and artillery. Now everything is blocked off and no one is allowed entrance other than military personal.

 

[Messy1]

It was extremely cool to talk with the 3 WW2 vets. Felt very humbled in their presence.

 

[Catch22]

Great photos, thanks!

 

[Micdrow]

Great shots Messy, many thanks.

 

[pbfoot]

nice work

 

[Messy1]

I got a shot there for Evan too. He informed me that radials do not leak, they mark their territory, wanted to show him that I learned my lesson, and please noticed the marked territory on the ground by my feet.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff Bryon!

 

[ToughOmbre]

Thanks for sharing those pics Messy.

TO

 

[snafud1]

Yeah, definitely good pics. Thanks for sharing.