black mamba

I've been up in both of these planes. It wasn't long after I was up in the B-17 ( Nine 0 Nine ) that it crashed and was totally destroyed, killing 7 people and wounding 6 others.

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Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Beautiful set Tom, an irreplaceable loss both the people and the B-17

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Well done, Tom!

black mamba

You're right on both counts, Jack. I believe the FAA decided that the principal cause of the crash was pilot error. The #4 engine was acting a little funny and they were returning to the airfield. Th pilot landed a little short of where he should have, hit some antena gear which was part of the airfield equipment, and ended up hitting some fuel tanks or trucks, leading to a horrendous fire.

black mamba

Thanks, Mike. I felt a little erie when I learned about the crash. It wasn't that long after I had been up in it that the accident happened.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Outstanding.

black mamba

Thank you. I appreciate the visit.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Nice photos!

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Fantastic set!! Tom

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Excellent set of old work horses.

black mamba

Thanks.

It's good to hear from you.

black mamba

Thanks, Frank.

I hope your doing well.

black mamba

Thank you very much.

I'm an aviation hound of the first order. Over the years, I've accumulated a large library relative to the subject, particularly activity in WW II. You reach a point where you figure that you have pretty well run out of fresh perspectives about the air war in Europe. Well, I had a great surprise recently.

I bought a book named " Mission ". It is written by Robert Matzan. It is a narrative about the life of Jimmy Stewart, the Hollywood actor. The portion of the book dedicated to his career as an Air Force officer during WW II was very enlightening, to say the least. He not only trained pilots to fly the B-17 and B-24, but he personally piloted a B-24 in many missions over Germany. His experiences as a Group Commander provided me with an insight and perspective to that conflict that truly fleshed out my understanding of that whole period of the bomber operations over Europe during the war. Fascinating reading.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice shots of then old warbirds, Tom!

black mamba

Thank a lot, John.