B-17 Models Photo Gallery
October 14, 2010 Leave a Comment
B-17 Flying Fortress Pilot recognized as a World War II Hero
May 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
A special ceremony was held last Friday, May 11, 2012 in honor of the B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, Elmer B. Wulf, a World War II Army Air Force pilot. U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert presented the Distinguished Flying Cross medal to Elmer’s wife, Jane Wulf.
On February 14, 1945, Elmer Wulf, the pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber came under a heavy German fire, lost it’s three of four engines. Maneuvering through the heavy attack, Elmer put the lives of his 10 crew members before his own and ordered each to jump out of the plane just before Elmer made an emergency crash.
Elmer Wulf's sons David (left) and Mark, and their mother Jane, widow of pilot Elmer Wulf, listen to the Distinguished Flying Cross proclamation that accompanies the medal, as Rep. Judy Biggert reads it.
“The Distinguished Flying Cross is a recognition of heroism at its finest,” said Biggert, who worked with the Wulf family to recommend Elmer for the award, which was eventually approved by the Department of the Air Force. “It’s awarded to those who demonstrate extraordinary courage in aerial combat. There’s no doubt on that dangerous bombing mission Elmer’s bravery knew no bounds.” Biggert explained in behalf of Elmer’s honor he deserved.
“While we can never repay our veterans for the countless sacrifices they have made, we can take every opportunity to honor them and keep their memories alive,” Biggert said. “Elmer was a hero, not only to those aboard his B-17 Flying Fortress, but to every American who values the freedom that he worked so hard to protect.” The recognition for Elmer’s bravery was 67 years in the making. For Elmer’s family, his heroism needs to be remembered.
“It means so much to me and my family for Elmer’s life and achievements to be presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross,” Jane Wulf said. “I know my husband would have been honored to receive this distinguished recognition.”
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy, strategic bomber aircraft was developed in the 1930 for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
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Source: http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/
Learn to Crew a B-17 Flying Fortress
April 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Have you ever dreamed of flying a B-17 Flying Fortress? The famous warplane is a favourite among airplane enthusiasts for all the feats it had accomplished during World War II. Decades may have passed since World War II, but you can still have a chance to experience to fly on a B-17. The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field is offering a two-day ground course that includes a flight on a B-17 Flying Fortress.
Participants of the course will learn everything about the ins and outs of maintaining B-17 Flying Fortress. It includes detailed lectures on the design, construction, operation and performance of the aircraft. Participants will also climb aboard the B-17 lead by the museum’s restoration team. The last part of the course is a flight on a B-17 Flying Fortress from the Experimental Aircraft Association. The course will run on May 19 and 20.
If you are interested in beaing a crew for a B-17 Flying Fortres just contact Boeing’s Museum of Flight Public Programs Department.
More information is available on blog.thenewstribune.com
If you cannot sign-up for the class, just take home a B-17 model airplane from Warplanes, a leading manufacturer of museum-quality model airplanes.
WWII B-17 displayed in Auburn
September 8, 2011 Leave a Comment
A World War II B-17 bomber is on display at the DeKalb County Airport, Auburn.
“The B-17 represents everything that is good about America,” said Dan Bowlin, a pilot with the Experimental Aircraft Association, based out of Oshkosh, Wis. “This is the airplane that helped win World War II, along with the B-24.”
EAA tour coordinator, Tim Fox, said putting the bombers on display allows the public to connect with the veterans.
“Dad was a pilot, or dad was a gunner, or was a navigator,” said Fox. “And they just want to go on a ride in the airplane and try to understand what happened, and what that time was like.”
On Monday, nearly 50 people came out to see the B-17, including World War II veteran, Harold Meiser of Rochester. Meiser spent six months as a prisoner, and was released at the end of the war.
“The plane speaks for itself,” said Meiser, who was captured by the Germans in November of 1944. “Four of us got out. Four or five didn’t get out, and I evaded them for five days on the ground. The others were all injured, and they couldn’t walk.”
B-17s were flown by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), throughout the American participation in the Second World War. They were used by the US Eighth Air Force, based in the UK, to bombard German targets in Europe during daylight hours, a method which resulted initially in very heavy losses of aircraft and crew. As B-17 refinements progressed, along with better pilot training and tactics, it would become a formidable adversary in the Allied war against Germany.
Source: wane.com, aviation-history
B-17 “Aluminum Overcast” heads to Washington County
July 22, 2011 Leave a Comment
It’s a big, loud, one-of-a-kind piece of American history, and it’s headed to Washington County!
A restored World War II B-17 bomber will descend on the county airport Aug. 9-10 as part of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2011 “Salute to Veterans” tour.
Called the “Aluminum Overcast,” the bomber was built in 1945 but was delivered to the Army Air Corps too late to see service in the war. The aircraft is a Boeing B-17, also nickmamed the “Flying Fortress,” and was one of 12,731 such planes built to fly long-range missions on the European front during WWII.
Favored by pilots for its ability to withstand heavy combat damage, the bomber featured 13.50-caliber machine guns, with chin, top, ball and tail turrets and also waist and cheek guns.
It was displayed at an EAA museum in Oshkosh, Wis., for 10 years before making its national tour debut in 1994. This year, the Aluminum Overcast will visit 70 tour stops.
“The national tour EAA undertakes each year has become the nation’s most popular way to learn about this unique aircraft in an up-close way,” said Rod Hightower, EAA president. “EAA is dedicated to preserving the spirit of aviation through these B-17 tours. We take great pride in saluting all our nation’s veterans as the airplane makes its way throughout our country, showcasing a living link to history for all generations to enjoy.”
Source: post-gazette.com
Tales of a WWII B-17 tail gunner
July 15, 2011 Leave a Comment
Ed Youngers, a war veteran from had Calamus, Iowa had one of the worst jobs in World War II — a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber. He was one of hundreds of visitors who took a step back in time Friday to wander around, tour and even fly in the B-17 now sitting at the Davenport Municipal Airport.
Youngers flew 10 missions in a plane like this, was shot down once and spent three-and-a-half days in a life raft in the North Sea before “spending some time in one of Hitler’s motels.”
“The tail of the planes then only had a canvas covering, and flying out of England in the fog, the guns were almost frozen by the time we got to Germany,” he recalled. “When the plane went down, a wing was on fire and four of the 10 crewmen bailed out because “usually a wing on fire means an explosion.”
However, Youngers, now 91, didn’t know what was going on because there wasn’t an intercom. He tunnelled up to the front and heard the pilots say they were going to ditch the plane.
“It’s a good thing I came back to the tail because the German planes followed us all the way down,” he said. He and the five other crew members who stayed on the plane survived.
This B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed “Aluminum Overcast,” is owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association of Oshkosh, Wis.It was built in 1945 at the end of the war and never saw combat. The plane display continues today and Sunday at the Davenport Municipal Airport, 9230 N. Harrison St.
Source: Quad-City Times
B-17 burns after emergency landing
June 14, 2011 Leave a Comment
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration officials are investigating the cause of a fire that forced a World War II B-17 bomber to make an emergency landing in a field just outside Oswego village limits Monday morning, June 13.
None of the seven passengers on board the vintage plane were seriously injured, police said.
The fire originated out of the left-wing engine closest to the pilot, according to NTSB Air Safety Investigator Tim Sorensen. The B-17 has four engines.
The B-17 bomber landed near Route 71 and Minkler Road around 9:48 a.m. The plane came down about a quarter mile off Route 71.
Only one person sustained a minor head injury exiting the plane and was transported to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, Kendall County deputy Craig French said. A condition report was not available. None of the passengers have been identified.
The B-17 , built in 1945, took off from Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove at 9:30 a.m. Monday and landed in a field about 5 miles southeast of the airport just a few minutes later, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.
French said the plane was on its way to Indianapolis. According to Sorensen, all of the people on board were crew members or people affiliated with the Liberty Foundation. It was not a revenue-based flight, according to Sorensen.
B-17 crew members smelled smoke during the flight. While they were investigating the cause of the smoke, a second T-6 Texan single-engine plane flying nearby saw that the plane was on fire and alerted the Aurora Airport tower in Sugar Grove. Airport authorities notified the B-17 pilot.
Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkel said shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported a fire on board.
“He attempted to make a return to the airport, but couldn’t make it so he put it down in a cornfield,” Kunkel said.
The pilot then had to make an emergency landing. After all of the passengers were out of the plane, the fire spread to the rest of the plane after landing.
The field was near Hunt Club Elementary School and a subdivision was about a half mile away.
Black smoke billowed out of the plane as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze that consumed the vintage plane. By noon, some smoke was still visible, but the fire had mostly been extinguished.
The plane was on fire and fire crews from Oswego, Sugar Grove and other departments were on the scene, but were having difficulty getting to the crash because of “extremely wet fields,” Kunkel said.
On Monday afternoon, mangled cords dangled out of the cockpit as about a dozen NTSB and Kendall County Sheriff’s office deputies investigated the plane.
The middle of the B-17 bomber was completely burned out, but the nose, engines and tail of the plane remained in the corn field. The field, filled with six-inch corn plants, was dry by afternoon, except for the plane’s landing tracks and the muddy tire marks beneath the plane. Plane parts were scattered underneath the plane’s frame.
Sorensen said NTSB officials have not had the opportunity to look at pilot or maintenance records yet.
-heraldnews.suntimes.com
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