Thanks for posting these. My father was a B-17 pilot during WWII who transitioned to B-47s and then B-52s after the war. His initial training, as an Air Cadet, was in Stearman bi-planes,.I've been up in a couple of those old Gooney Birds (C-47s) with him, and I have a couple hundred hours of my own in R-22s (small helicopter). Brings back some memories.
Reg Your dad is my hero, the fortress was my first love, then came Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air Command and the B 47 became the new "sexy" bomber, then the BUFF replaced that ( really just a crew re positioning and a few upgrades ) but tried and true - grand sons are flying what grandpa once piloted and achmed still shits his pants at distant vapor trails in the sky....
He was incredible, but he never talked about the war. I learned most of it through finding an old shaving kit bag with his medals in it (most with oak leaf clusters indicating multiple awards) and running into his crew on-line and then via phone. All of them made it home safely. They had to set down one B-17 they were in after catching too much flack over Germany. They dropped their bombs, but lost a couple of engines on the way back to England. His navigator said that Dad spotted a small metal fighter runway in the Netherlands, and he managed to land safely on that short strip. The Dutch put them in Dutch uniforms and smuggled them back to England. All three raved about what an incredibly good pilot he was.
He few some extra missions after the war in Europe actually ended. Several to bring food to the Belgians, and several more to return some French POWs used as slave labor in Yugoslavia back to France, both of them because he spoke French. (Half of Belgium was French speaking, at least at that time. They were/are called "Walloons".)
My web site sucks, but the header has a photo of a B-17 flying in formation with a BUFF. http://sloggingtowardliberty.blogspot.com
Thanks for posting these. My father was a B-17 pilot during WWII who transitioned to B-47s and then B-52s after the war. His initial training, as an Air Cadet, was in Stearman bi-planes,.I've been up in a couple of those old Gooney Birds (C-47s) with him, and I have a couple hundred hours of my own in R-22s (small helicopter). Brings back some memories.
ReplyDeleteReg Your dad is my hero, the fortress was my first love, then came Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air Command and the B 47 became the new "sexy" bomber, then the BUFF replaced that ( really just a crew re positioning and a few upgrades ) but tried and true - grand sons are flying what grandpa once piloted and achmed still shits his pants at distant vapor trails in the sky....
ReplyDeleteHe was incredible, but he never talked about the war. I learned most of it through finding an old shaving kit bag with his medals in it (most with oak leaf clusters indicating multiple awards) and running into his crew on-line and then via phone. All of them made it home safely. They had to set down one B-17 they were in after catching too much flack over Germany. They dropped their bombs, but lost a couple of engines on the way back to England. His navigator said that Dad spotted a small metal fighter runway in the Netherlands, and he managed to land safely on that short strip. The Dutch put them in Dutch uniforms and smuggled them back to England. All three raved about what an incredibly good pilot he was.
ReplyDeleteHe few some extra missions after the war in Europe actually ended. Several to bring food to the Belgians, and several more to return some French POWs used as slave labor in Yugoslavia back to France, both of them because he spoke French. (Half of Belgium was French speaking, at least at that time. They were/are called "Walloons".)
My web site sucks, but the header has a photo of a B-17 flying in formation with a BUFF.
http://sloggingtowardliberty.blogspot.com