Thursday, October 17, 2013

B-17G Walk-Around

I was lucky enough to get up close and personal with the Collings Foundation's Boeing B-17G, "Nine O Nine"
This is one of ten B-17s that still fly, out of 12,731 that were built during World War Two.
Note the distinctive chin turret (above) that the G model was known for. This was added because German fighter pilots had learned that the best way to kill a B-17 was a head-on attack aimed at taking out the pilots and bombardier.
Above and below, close-up views of the Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines. These put out 1,200 hp each.
This aircraft could cruise at 182mph and had a range of 2,000 miles, allowing it to take the fight anywhere in Germany.
Now that's a tire (above). Below is the ball turret that protected the belly of the aircraft, and other aircraft when flown in formation.
Starboard waist gun (above), twin tail guns (below). The B-17G sported 13 .50 M2 air-cooled machine guns.
Starting the starboard inboard engine. (Above). Taxiing out (below).
A sight that I'm sure many Germans remember.

7 comments:

  1. Oh man, now I've fallen in love all over again!

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  2. My dad was a bombardier in one of those during WWII. He and his entire crew made all 25 (or were they up to 30 at that point?) missions without losing a crewmember. Pretty unusual.

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  3. The very first time I went to the airshow at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, I saw a B-17 fly-by escorted by four P-51's.

    Man, talk about MUSIC!

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  4. Great pics, thanks for sharing them!

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  5. Movies and tv shows made the cockpit seem large. Not hardly. Very tight quarters. In fact, the whole interior seems like it's 3/4 scale, compared to the screen image. Bit of a shock, after growing up with it on screen. Hollywood screws up almost everything! Sigh...

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