A Flight To Remember

July 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

George Cahill, 87, of Mt. Lebanon, a survivor crewman boarded one of the few remaining B-17s on Monday, July 2 at Allegheny Country Airport in West Mifflin to begin several days of tours and history lessons with the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Liberty Foundation a year after one of the aircraft was badly damaged.

“You never forget that sound,” he said, later finding his way forward to the glass nose of the aircraft where he’d served as an enlisted bombardier and tail gunner with the 390th Bomber Group. “I may never get another chance to get in here.” the enormous B-17 Flying Fortresses are a disappearing breed.

The “Memphis Belle” — a B-17G built in 1945 and restored to resemble the combat-hardened B-17F bomber it was named for — will be parked at the airport next to a restored P-40E fighter on Saturday and Sunday as part of a nationwide living-history tour. The original Memphis Belle was the first B-17 bomber to fly 25 combat missions in the war. It returned to the United States and toured to promote war bonds. The Liberty Foundation flies the aircraft from airport to airport, meets with veterans to stir their nostalgia and help them tell their stories, and sells seats on flights to pay for the planes’ operation and maintenance.

“A fair number of veterans come out,” said David Lyon, one of the foundation’s pilots. “A lot of times, they see this airplane and it brings out a lot of stories they’d never told their families.” Cahill had stories. Once, he said, ice formed a cone 2 feet thick on the front of the bomber and crusted enough of the wings that the pilot could not climb higher. Another time, his navigator turned to talk to him just as a shot traveled cleanly through the deck, between his legs, through his tiny table and map, and out through the wall.

Free ground tours of the B-17 and the P-40 will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the West Mifflin airport; Memphis Belle flights can be booked for $450 per person ($410 for foundation members) at libertyfoundation.org. Flights aboard the P-40 are $1,150.

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Source: www.triblive.com

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Europe’s Last B-17 Set to Fly This July

June 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This coming July 8, Sunday, the 306th Bombardment Group will commemorate Europe’s last remaining airworthy Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. They B-17 bomber aircraft will fly overhead during the Memorial Day ceremony that will be held at the Madingley American Cemetery near the city of Cambridge, England in honor of the World War II fallen.

The event is organized by supporters of the 306th Bombardment Group Museum and the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The historic heavy bomber is set to make a flypast over the museum to rededicate the recently re-sited memorial stone to all the crews who operated from the airfield during the Second World War.

After 70 years, the bomber aircraft will be returning to Bedford after the Untied States Army Air Forces deployed the 306th Bombardment Group from Wendover Air Force base in Utah to Thurleigh Airfield. Area fundraising manager at EAAA, Paul Airton, said “Originally it was intended to have military vehicles gathering at the 306th Bombardment Group Museum, celebrating 10 years of the museum, and five years of EAAA providing the air ambulance in Bedfordshire.”

Airton added “The opportunity to relocate the memorial stone and subsequent flypast by the iconic B-17 could not be missed. I am sure this will be a very special day for all.”

More than 40 military and classic vehicles, including a recently restored American Halftrack, are already booked to attend. The event will be running between 10am and 4pm of Sunday, with aircraft flypasts subject to weather and serviceability. Admission is £5 in advance or £8 on the day.

Avail your own B-17 Flying Fortress model airplane now and relieve your memories back in the World War II era. Visit ShowcaseModels.com to see the largest collection of airplanes model and buy wooden airplanes model.

Source: http://www.harrold.info

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B-17 Flying Fortress Relives World War II Memories

May 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Relics and memorabilia of the World War II era were placed on an exhibit in Andover Historical Society’s Open House at Hampshire, United Kingdom last May 12, 2012. Visitors enjoyed a display of classic aircraft, war birds, corporate jets and helicopters. The exhibit was spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Authority. There were even free plane rides for kids in a private aircraft and a chance to meet the Tuskegee Airmen.

Moreover, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s B-17 Flying Fortress “Alumni Overcast” was available for ground tours and flights. The proceeds for this event will go to the Vintage Aircraft Association Chapter 29 which provides an annual scholarship to a young person between 15 and 21 years of age for flight training toward a pilot certificate.

This one time exhibition will feature a small collection of World War II era objects and archival materials that demonstrate Andover’s involvement on the home front and abroad. Most striking, a gas mask and canvas carrying bag along with many photos reveal the reality of war time era.

The B-17 bomber flew around the Bay Area skies with two veterans aboard. Fremont born-and-bred Art Kimber flew 39 combat missions, between January 1945 and May 1945, over northern Italy with the 89th Bombardment Squadron, 340th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force as a B-25 pilot/co-pilot. His squadron’s job was to disrupt the supply lines between Italy and Germany and came to be known as “The Dental Squadron” because of their “bridge work.” Initially based on Corsica, Kimber’s squadron moved its base to Rimini as the battle-lines moved northwards.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930 for the United States Army Air Corps. The B-17 is known as a  heavy and strategic bomber that was primarily employed in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against the German industrial and military targets.

To relive your own memories of the World War II with the B-17 Flying Fortress model airplanes, visit Showcase Models and see the many high-quality made aviation collectibles! Get your own now!


Source: http://www.tricityvoice.com


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