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

[lesofprimus]

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...

 

[pbfoot]

Good pics no crowds how you manage that

 

[evangilder]

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

 

[lesofprimus]

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

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Nice!

 

[R-2800]

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

 

[syscom3]

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

 

[lesofprimus]

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..

 

[evangilder]

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.

 

[lesofprimus]

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...

 

[lesofprimus]

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

 

[lesofprimus]

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...

 

[evangilder]

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.

 

[Gnomey]

Excellent shots Dan! 8)

 

[lesofprimus]

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...

 

[Wildcat]

Very cool Dan!

 

[lesofprimus]

Thanks....

 

[comiso90]

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

 

[comiso90]

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...

 

[lesofprimus]

Nice clip...