(O/T?) Bombs Away!

[Mike Zenor]

How do you spice up a mulletmobile car show? With some vintage WW2 Bombers!

Me and the fambly plus Tin Soldier went to the annual Summer Sizzle car & airplane show yesterday at Palwaukee Airport, just south of Wheeling, IL. Here are a few pics...

First up, a B-24...

[Mike Zenor]

Next, a B-25 Mitchell...

[Mike Zenor]

Then the Mighty B-17 Flying Fortress...

[CLSSY56]

B-25s are cool.... USAAF's little hot rod. It'd put ya back in your seat at take-off http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif still makes me grin and it's been close to 10 years since I have flown in one.

[SamIyam]

The Dragon and his tail has been here in Livermore... always thought it was cool nose art, but a bit big. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Had to explain to my boy Nate what it said...

Sam.

[Mike Zenor]

Screw you, Nazis!

[Mike Zenor]

Inside entry to the belly turret on the B-17

[Mike Zenor]

Here sat a guy who had cast iron huevos...

[oldchevyseller]

a guy had a belly turret set up at our pioneer power show years ago and i thought it was a 3/4 scale , man you had to be small to be in one of those ,i climbed in and the space was beyond tight , and you cant get much braver than being a turret guner

[Mike Zenor]

For extra points, the airport has a restaurant/bar modeled after a bombed-out French chateau. Cheers!

[Mike Zenor]

Sam - I had my boy Chester with me. He asked why all the planes had pictures of naked ladies on 'em. I explained, "why not?"

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Deyomatic]

What is written on the B-17, in the third pic down?

[chromedRAT]

that B24 flew in, right? that means there's like 3 flying now! used to just be the all american!

[Mike Zenor]

Deyomatic - the right side of the B-17 had the names of all of its various crew members. The left side had the cartoon nose art and the name "Nine-o-Nine." According to the plaque it never saw action in WW2 (it was built in June '45), so the swastika kill marks are just for show. It was part of the nuke testing program in the late 40s, decomissioned in '52.

[Mike Zenor]

Rat - yeah, all three were airworthy. They were circling the skies in the Chicago 'burbs last night and again this morning. They were offering rides for $400.

[wingnutz]

We have a couple of B-17's at our local airport this past week "Fuddy Duddy" and "Memphis Bell" and the "Memphis Bell" went to take off and had engine trouble on the far port engine! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Needless to say they aborted the takeoff and are working on it as I speak!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

These things are so awesome to experience up close and personal!!!

Mark

[47lincsled]

Thanks for the great pics,love that vintage billet,down it the DFW area they have a great musem with restored flying planes it's called the Cavenough Air musem worth the time and money,had a great visit down there in june.

[Uncle Pancakes]

That 17 and the24 do tours around the states, they were just here in Nor-Cal not long ago. A really cool older guy from my wifes work got to fly in both of them and was blown away by the experiance (his wife bought him the rides for his birthday, now thats a cool wife!). I thought there was only that 1 B24 flying, good to hear there are more. When I was a kid one of my dads best friends restored warbirds and we used to go out to Chino airport and check out what he was working on, I got to sit in, and operate a ball turret on a 17, I was a skinny little 15 year old and it was TIGHT and must have been scary as hell when flying in one! Thanks for the pics!!!

[RileyRacing]

Cool pix Mike. The Wayne County airshow was this weekend too, so we got to see alot of "Yankee Lady" the local B17! I ain't complaining. There's nothing like the sound of multiple radials to get the blood flowing... we're fortunate to live close to the Yankee Air Museum, so we get to see that stuff alot. In fact, I ran outside earlier (before the Blue Angels started) when I heard a radial, and commented to my wife, "oh, it's only the B25." http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I wonder which other B17 was there, cause I heard "Aluminum Overcast" had a landing gear failure, and "Nine Oh Nine" was there... hmmm....

Jay

[Peter Pan of Chicago]

Great pics, Mike! I thought about those planes all day at work. I wish I could of made it.

Thanks for the cool pics.

Joel http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[jimbob]

It scary how little room there is in those big bombers. Here's the tail gunners seat in the Lancaster where I work..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/hri-benchracing/hotrods/104_0418.jpg

And with me for scale, I'm 6"....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/hri-benchracing/hotrods/104_0422.jpg

Cheers and beers
Jimbob

[296 V8]

The nine o nine and the dragon come to town here every year. Im always tempted to go for a ride but its kinda spendy. They always fly over my house a few times over the weekend.

[Uncle Pancakes]

Jimbob: You have a Lanc at your work??? More pics please!! Especially of the cockpit area. My dad was flight engineer/co pilot on a Lanc in RAF 617 squadron, he has told me about what a death trap that seat your sitting in was. Poor bastards were supposed to rotate the turret sideways and fall out of it backwards, not an easy thing to do with the g forces of a spinning out of control plane fighting against you. He was shot down over Berlin on Christmas 1943 only 3 of them made it from his plane, sadly the rear gunner was not one of them as he was trapped in that damn turret.

[Django]

"All American" and "Dragon and his tail" are the same plane. No one ever looks at the other side... why would you? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Diamond Lil is still flying, right? What is the third 24 flying?

[continentaljohn]

Hey Mike sorry I missed you at the show, boys didn't want to let me in but did! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Had the C-dan there, you must have been sipping Martines with the gals from Vox.. Cool shit there love the old Bi-planes...

[chromedRAT]

i don't think the all american/dragon and his tail were the same plane when i saw it as a kid, i only remember all american, and only have photos of such. i thought those were two different planes, so i guess there's only 2. still better than ONE!

[Django]

That art has only been on there for 5 or 6 years. The other side still says All American.

http://www.flightonline.mcmail.com/collins.htm

"-24J N224J, serial no. 44-4405 "All American," operated by the Collings Foundation, now repainted and renamed "The Dragon and His Tail." "

http://tbirds.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ww2b03_l.JPG

http://tbirds.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ww2b06_l.JPG

http://tbirds.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ww2b11_l.JPG

More Photos (http://tbirds.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ww2b_e.html)

Even more photos (http://www.mozeyoninn.com/Aircraft/OldAC/B24/B24.htm)

I could look this stuff up all day. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[The37Kid]

Great to know so many HAMB members are into WWII plains! My Dad was a Chief Armored at Great Ashfield in England 1943-45. Last year I went for a flight in Aluminum Overcast, spendy, but worth every penny. The current issue of Warbirds International has a feature on the landing gear foldup in Van Nuys.

[The37Kid]

View from above.

[The37Kid]

Another view.

[The37Kid]

Bombardiers view of the target.

[chromedRAT]

so will they be able to fix the aluminum overcast???? i seem to remember a real 17 exploding during memphis belle filming. what a shame to lose such a plane!

[The37Kid]

Aluminum Overcast will need four new engines and props, Ball turret repair and some new belly skin, along with the landing gear repair. I'm sure there is a rebuild fund at EAA.

[Django]

That SUCKS!

[modernbeat]

Funny you mention this today Mike. I was just perusing pics of the "Five Grand"...

The 5,000th B-17 built after Pearl Harbor carried the signatures of all the people who built her.

[raven]

The B-24 and the B-117 was here a couple of weeks ago and I took a long lunch to tour it with my 6 year old and wife.
I got a spark plug from the B-24 and a 20mm dummy round.
Real cool.
They said it was the last flying B-24.
r

[willowbilly3]

Doesn't the Confederate Air Force have a flying B-24? Maybe it was a 29.
About 15 years ago I made the trek up Baldy Mountain near Wasilla Alaska to a wrecked B-29 on 4 wheelers, twice. I used to have a bunch of ID tags and stuff off it. I also had the "PUSH TO REVERSE PROPS" button from the engineers panel but I gave it to an old buddy who used to fly un numbered planes into South America for the CIA.