Thanks for making this thread. My eldest Aunt's husband was a Bombadier on a B-25 over the European campaign. He has some great stories. I will see if I can get him to let me take some photos to scan in.
I can share this story- my local dentist who has recently retired, was a P-51 pilot in the Pacific. He started out as an engineer with Pratt- but later switched and became a pilot. I asked him about various fighter planes. He said the P-40 looked great, but wasn't much of an airplane. The P-47 was very reliable and powerful, good for patrols around the islands once an airfield was built- with the air cooled radial, it could really take a lot of hits and still fly. He said they would fly with a few jugs/pistons shot off the motor. Then he smiled, and said "The P-51 was so nice, that was the Cadillac !" And his eyes lit up- even at age 70+ at the time telling me this story. He told me this story after cleaning my teeth, the last visit I had with him, before he closed the office and retired. He was down to only 2 days a week for business as a dentist- semi retired. Anyway, he said he was escorting B-29's over Japan- he said after a while, the Japanese didn't send up any fighters anymore- because the Mustangs would just shoot them all right down. (most likely saving what fuel and planes and pilots to use as kamikazes, in case there was a final attack on the mainland- of course the atom bombs ended all that) He said the most frightening thing was flak- it was out there and you had to fly through it, and you couldn't do a damn thing about it. His plane got hit by a close flak burst, piece of shrapnel holed a wing tank, he lost 60 gallons of fuel. So he got behind a B-29 on the return trip- and leaned the motor down- and used the draft of the big bomber to help pull him along and save fuel. I guess they had controls inside the P-51 to lean out the mixture to the motor. As he landed Okinawa, the prop stopped turning just as he was landing, and he glided it in ok. He barely made it- the engine ran out of gas on the landing. He said he had 1/2 a kill, he shot at an enemy plane and got it smoking, then another P-51 pilot finished it off. No doubt I could have gotten a few more good stories but I had to leave for a lunch meeting with another car buff I was hanging out with at the time. Now I wish I stayed there another half hour and listened. Before I left, he got a very solemn look on his face, and said "we left a lot of good, young boys over there"- meaning the ones that didn't make it back, and were killed in action.
Barbie III has been flying out of Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ for the last year or so. She's a might purty aero plane and it's awesome to watch her taxi in after a flight. Been lucky enough to have her fly over the shop more than few times and I still run out to see her when she does. The B17 "Sentimental Journey" is at the same field and is now back at the CAF hangar after touring for the summer. Sometimes I spend too much time outside the shop doors lookin' up. Those radial engines sound almost as good as a well runnin' 4-banger or flat V8!
Awesome topic guys. Thanks for sharing. Just recently a local roadworker got killed overher by an unexploded WWII-bomb which he apparently struck with his sanddigger during roadconstruction. Sad story. When I was on vacation in '98 in Mesa, Az I noticed the top of an airplane we spotted from the road. I had to climb on top of the pickup we were driving to be able to take a pic of it. I know it's in Mesa somewhere, but can't remember which road we were on an what airfield this was. I think to recall it was a little north of Mesa. Perhaps A-Zonie knows where this could have been.
That's Falcon Field in Mesa and that's 'Sentimental Journey' (B17) on the right with what looks like a view of a DC3 (C-47) on the left. The Commemorative Air Force Museum has a terrific collection of old aircraft. Enjoy sitting in the parking lot overlooking the hangar apron in my '30 A coupe watchin' airplanes and people. Life is good!
Two of my uncles were flyers during the war. One was a B-17 pilot, flew out of England. In the 50's he would come riding in on a big Harley. Over the years he's had dozens of em. One time he bought a BMW he was telling me how smooth it was. Shaft drive & all. The next time I saw him he was back on another Harley. I asked him what happened to the BMW, "you told me how much you liked it". He said " I did, but it just wasn't a Harley". He has an AMA 3,000,000 mile pin that I'm 'gonna try to talk him out of, but I'd never wear it. That's something you gotta earn. The other one was a navigator on a B-24. His plane was shot down on one of the raids on the refinerys at Pluesty. sp? He was badly wounded, & was smuggled out by the underground. It took months, & he almost died, but recovered. Both neat guys, as was my Dad, who was wounded, in the battle of the Bulge, & my Father-in-law, who same ashore on D-Day at Normandy. My hat's off to everone who answered that call. Thay are now dying off, & when they are gone. This country will lost something VERY SPECIAL!!!
My dad was the flight engineer on a C-87, which is a B-24 converted to a transport plane, that flew over the 'hump' (Himalayas) between India and China during WWII. He was a powerplant specialist rebuilding and changing out engines when on the ground, but flew along as 'insurance' that he would do a good job. He took the transport assignment thinking there was less chance of the aircraft going down than in europe, but the crash rate was almost identical, except instead of being shot at they had to fight wind shear off the Himalayas. About 25% of the planes were lost- fortunately his always made it back. He won the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross for the number of missions completed.
Ploesti! Any man that made it through that SNAFU mission has balls of steel and an angel on his shoulder. Awsome to hear that you guys know so many WWII pilots and crew.
The Jalopy Journal
