I flew on a B-17 last Sunday - I won the ride in a raffle!

[TheMastersNemesis]

16. We Live Near A Regional Airport

I have lived very close to a regional airport and have been to several air shows there. B-17's, B-24's, fighters including a Mig 15 fly around quite a bit in the summer. I have been inside both the B-17 and B-24 where I have many pictures. Surprisingly they did not carry as many bombs as you think. I believe that both bombers carried no more than 8 500 lb bombs. That is why we needed such large formations.

I talked to a 90 year old crew chief who was responsible for the 50 caliber guns in is squadron. He complained that he flew missions for years in England without a scratch even though he had been shot down. His problem was that near the end of the war he got wounded by the shrapnel from a V-2 rocket while on leave in London.

The history is that in one black day the 8th Air Force lost 60 planes in one day. That is over 600 crew. I guess they suspended raids until there was a fighter that could go with them all the way to Germany and back. That was the P-51 Mustang which did not reach service until late in the war.

Anyway is it kind of neat to live where I do. I have seen all sorts of aircraft in 36 years. FYI One of the rarest planes is the B-25 twin engine "Doolittle raid" bomber. I understand there may be only one or two left in the air. And I have seen one landing coming over my house.