My "mission" back in time.

[Murph351]

I got a chance this past weekend to take a flight "back in time" on a B17 Flying Fortress!
What an amazing time.
The "Liberty Bell" a beautifully restored B17 flying museum, took 8 passengers at a time up for a 40 minute ride.
Once we were airborne we had the run of the plane.
You could man the guns, check the bombs and even use the bomb site, I blew the hell out of Northridge
And the biggest bonus was the number of WWII AAF vets I met and talked to before, during and after the flight.
Their stories brought a whole other dimension to the experience.
I left with a lot of respect for the guys that flew these planes.
http://libertyfoundation.org/

 

[Murph351]

More pics

 

[Murph351]

and last pics

One of our pilots

 

[zaika]

that is simply fantastic! beautiful photos, too.

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
This is the coolest thing!! I would totally want to ride in the Ball Turret. You think they'd allow that?

EDIT.

$430.
I was just ribbing the boyfriend because he's too chicken to go, but now I figure it's just as well...
Still, totally worth it. It would have to be the point of my vacation, though.

 

[Diamondback]

Lulu, don't know about this group, but "for safety reasons" Collings Foundation won't let anyone in the ball or tail turrets of their B-17 while airborne, and IIRC won't even allow you aft to the waist guns.

I can see a reason, as sometimes the ball-turret sticks, and the combination of ball-turret stuck plus "belly landing" basically means "Sorry, nice knowing you, but..." *squish*

I'd assume these folks would stick to at least the "no ball" part of that.

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

Lulu, don't know about this group, but "for safety reasons" Collings Foundation won't let anyone in the ball or tail turrets of their B-17 while airborne, and IIRC won't even allow you aft to the waist guns.

I can see a reason, as sometimes the ball-turret sticks, and the combination of ball-turret stuck plus "belly landing" basically means "Sorry, nice knowing you, but..." *squish*

I'd assume these folks would stick to at least the "no ball" part of that.

Yeah, I figured, but it would be cool just to sit in it, even if it was on the ground.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Oh man, I envy you!

You missed the perfect shot through the Nav Dome though! The pilots would have loved this one!

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Lulu, don't know about this group, but "for safety reasons" Collings Foundation won't let anyone in the ball or tail turrets of their B-17 while airborne, and IIRC won't even allow you aft to the waist guns.

I can see a reason, as sometimes the ball-turret sticks, and the combination of ball-turret stuck plus "belly landing" basically means "Sorry, nice knowing you, but..." *squish*

I'd assume these folks would stick to at least the "no ball" part of that.

That was an episode of Spielberg's 'Amazing Stories' once (coincidentally called "The Mission"), with the Belly gunner stuck in the Ball with a Daimler Benz DB 601 engine stuck in the works! I won't tell the ending, but it certainly was....an Amazing Story! lol

-dixon cannon

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

That was an episode of Spielberg's 'Amazing Stories' once, with the Belly gunner stuck in Ball with a Daimler Benz DB 601 engine stuck in the works! I won't tell the ending, but it certainly was....an Amazing Story! lol

-dixon cannon

Yes!!! I love that episode! I think that it's behind my fascination with the BT...
I'm so glad that someone else remembers it.

 

[Diamondback]

fftopic: Always figured that if I'd had to ride ball (unlikely, as I'm built rather heavy and the preferred ball-gunner was a midget contortionist) I'd want a sledgehammer and some heavy-duty cutters in there with me just in case. Hey, if the bird's gonna have to belly-land and the turret's gonna be wrecked anyway, might as well be wrecked by me cutting myself out, right?

Back ontopic: anyway, very nice pics, Murph. Color me jealous as well...

 

[Dixon Cannon]

I'm sure you've heard this one before....

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
by Randall Jarrell


From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from the dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

-dixon cannon

 

[AmateisGal]

Oh wow, how cool is that??? And your pictures couldn't have come at a more perfect time. The novel I'm currently working on features a character who was the pilot of a B-17 bomber in WW2. Thanks for sharing!

 

[scotrace]

You are one lucky man - a once in a lifetime chance! My gosh, those guys had to have serious cojones going up there time after time. Just the picture of the view out of the front bubble makes me dizzy.

 

[Hondo]

Murph351, Beautiful and Great looking pictures!
and answers by Dixon regarding Ball Turret.
I wouldn't want to in there (turret) up there!
Read the stories, see the films, you get the idea.
Remember once in a life time (maybe even twice)
And all funds, fees for rides go to preserve aircraft,
keep’em flying, well worth the cost AND tax deductible
Thanks for sharing

 

[Twitch]

Murph, I went a few years ago on another Fortress. Great ain't it? Superb pix!

 

[Pip]

Wow!

That looks incredible, seriously considering saving up and coming over to the USA just to do that!

Fantastic photos, thanks for sharing.

Phil.

 

[archbury918]

As a re-enactor, I've had the good fortune of taking several trips on the EAA's 'Aluminum Overcast'.
The feeling of those four Wright Cyclones revving rpms to take off shakes you all the way thru.

What I'm most amazed by, are the cramped stations in the aircraft. Add the sheepskin clothing, to combat the minus 30 degree conditions at altitude, and parachutes, its very difficult to move about.
When you include the necessary oxygen, veterans tell me movement is near impossible.

Oh, and btw, research has shown that the position of the 'ball turret gunner' had the highest survial rate of all crew staions.

Mike

 

[DutchIndo]

Geez ! Lucky Duck ! The closest I got to a B-17 was the DC-3. I was way to scared to enjoy it though !

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Here's two more from my trip. I tried to cover each position from the crewmember's POV. I covered every position except the 'off limits' ball.

This is top turret and tail end Charlie.

-dixon cannon