WWII Warbirds! (Pics Inside)

[Razor]

Thanks for posting. I had a couple of great uncles who flew in B-24's and B-17's in WW2. As stated many times before, hands down they are the greatest generation.

[Stinkbug]

I am a big fan of WWII planes...actually planes in general, but the WWII stuff is just a bit cooler to me. I have tons of pics from museums and airshows I have been to.

Those planes look like the Collings Foundation planes. If so, I took a ride in that B-17 about 8 years ago. It was worth double what I paid...I had a perma-grin the rest of the day!

The B-24 was a polished skin back then and I think it was called "A Dragon and his Tail".

Thanks for posting...looks like you all had a good time!

[MOSHWITZ]

cool pics for sure

[skorb]

It sure gave me a new appreciation of what it was like for that "greatest generation".

amen. they were some tough fuckers. and we owe everything to them. I wish more people had a clue about that.

btw, the gun turret on the bottom is called the Ball Turret. it was the most feared and hated crew assignment on the B-17 because it put the gunner in such an exposed and vulnerable position, and if something fucked up mechanically, you couldn't even get out of that little ball and were pretty much dead meat.

[uberthrall]

amen. they were some tough fuckers. and we owe everything to them. I wish more people had a clue about that.

btw, the gun turret on the bottom is called the Ball Turret. it was the most feared and hated crew assignment on the B-17 because it put the gunner in such an exposed and vulnerable position, and if something fucked up mechanically, you couldn't even get out of that little ball and were pretty much dead meat.

Yeah,they put the smaller guys in the ball turret. If the plane had it's
hydraulics shot out,the gunner was cooked. Quite a few got trapped
in there during belly landings.......0% survival rate.

[jonasaberg]

How about those guys who piloted the B-24's? I read somewhere that there was no power steering (I don't know if that's the correct term when it's about planes) so it was all about muscle strength when piloting these. With a full bomb load they ain't light either.

400 for a flight sounds like a lot...but I'd probably do it too. It would be too cool to pass up. Especially if you could ride in the ball turret :P

[pjg]

The EAA has a nice B-17 too that they give rides in for the appropriate amount of cash.

There are some guys near me that were looking for mechanics to help restore a B-17. I talked to them and was going to go check it out but never found the time. When you spend 40 hours a week at an airport it kind of burns you out on planes. About the only thing that will make me look up anymore is the sound of a radial.

[slayer32390]

The plane right before we ran to get in (while the propellers were spinning, the prop wash was incredible )



Looking through the bomb bay towards the back of the plane.



the turret right behind the cockpit.



The view out of the window behind the copilot just after take off.





The engines





The two .50 Cal machine guns in the nose of the plane.



The bomb sight



The view from the bombardier position in the front of the plane.



The cockpit



Looking out the turret behind the cockpit.



Looking backwards out of the waist gunner position.



There was a hole in the top of the plane, so I of course stuck my head and camera out to have a look



The ball turret



Rear left side turret



The incredibly small space to walk on in the bomb bay.



That was the hole in the top of the plane.


It was an amazing experience to fly in this thing worth well over the $400. And yes stinkbug those are the Colling's foundation planes.

[shreddermon]

Very cool pictures, Slayer. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, all three warbirds are from the Collings Foundation. Here's a link for anyone that my want more info...

http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm

[daisp]

Really cool, thanks for the pics!

[TexasRocks]

Awesome pics. Makes me want to go to Wings Over Houston next time it is here.

I have always wanted to get my pilots liscense and fly a plane like the P-51. I can't imagine a more cool plane to fly than the Mustang.

[Stinkbug]

Hehe...I have very similar pics from the ride I took...I guess there are only so many places to take photos. I was in Seattle when I took the ride and it was a nice day. We flew over the islands. It was cool to see all the below below jumping and waving as we flew by. I have a shot of Mt Rainier off the tail.

Wings over Houston has been great the two times I went. Lots of nice planes to see.

[DonP]

Very cool stuff.

Where is the local?

I take the kids to the Dayton Air Force Museum (extremely cool), and I've been to London where they have a memorial wall for the Battle of Britain on the Thames river. I get a lump of pride inside when I visit these places. If it wasn't for our kicking ass in a couple of wars, who knows where we'd be now. Thoughts of Iron Maiden's Ace's High race through my head....

[slayer32390]

Very cool stuff.
Thoughts of Iron Maiden's Ace's High race through my head....

I couldn't help but think of that song when I was standing in the waist gunner turret

[skorb]

Thoughts of Iron Maiden's Ace's High race through my head....

don't forget Tailgunner!