Heavy Hitters

[DBII]

Chuckie in 2005.

 

[Wurger]

 

[DBII]

Looks like that is about all the B17s that I prepped for postings. I have a few misc shots I will add later. I have photos of one taken apart for restoration from 2006 that I will post later. More modern birds to come.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots!

 

[DBII]

Back in the late 80s there were several planes that I would never get to see. My brother in-law was in town on leave and we dragged him to Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas at the time. We were on the causeway heading back home after our all day visit. I told my father the a plane was heading in the opposite direction. No one else could see it. A minute later I said it was a warbird heading to the museum. They still could not see it. They thought I was joking around. They finally saw it. I then said it looked like a Lancaster and they told me to shut up. It got a little closer and I said it was a Lancaster. By now the were getting annoyed. Then my father said it was a Lancaster. He pulled over to the edge of the road. There was no shoulder on the causeway. We stopped by the sign that said no stopping on the bridge and no fishing. We jumped out of the truck and grabbed our cameras.

 

[DBII]

So my father drove like a crazy person. The only time I seen him drive this way. However, there are stories about him when he was younger and their motorcycle days. Illegal u turn as soon as we cleared the causeway. We made it back just before they locked the door. Since we were spending the day there once a month for a few years by then, the let us and a few others hang around.

 

[DBII]

The best part was we were invited to go aboard. To bad some of the photos were damaged in a flood. First photo is facing the tail turret. The others are facing the nose. The last shows some water damage image.

 

[DBII]

Two weeks later the Lancaster was at Wings Over Houston. We would see her again in 2006 when we went on the trip we had talked about for 30 years. First to Dayton then I drove my father to Thunder over Michagan. We took a side trip north to the Air force base to see even more planes. He called my step mother and told her we missed the exit to the air force base and ended up in Canada. They would not let us leave until she sent a copy of our birth certificates. She only believed it for about a minute.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[DBII]

Something a little more current. These are from our Dayton trip in 2006. Also some water damage. Not easy to get a clear shot.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots!

 

[Wurger]

 

[DBII]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

 

[DBII]

More of the CAF's B24 from 2009 and an unknown B17G. The plane was at Conroe Airport before Texas Raiders moved in. If you look at the nose, you can see a female warrant officer and AH64 pilot. She was looking through the bombsite when I first saw her. I was too distracted and could not take the picture. At the time, there was a national guard air cav squadron at the airport. Since we were both cav types, I had a nice talk with her. She was the top pilot on their gunnery exercise. The unit was having a family day and she was bored and walked over to see the B17. I was invited to the party and we had a nice time. Too bad I was 15 years older. Nothing like a Cav party.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[The Stannum Liberator]

Let's not forget the biggest heavy hitter of the war, with by far the largest payload even though it wasn't used.
Max Payload of 37,000 lbs, almost double a b-29.

The Douglas B19

 

[DBII]

The photos brings back so many memories of airshows with my father. It is hard to think that several of the B17s posted have crashed. Thunder over Michigan 2005 was a trip of a lifetime and can never be repeated. So many flying B17s at the same time.