sb
Loc: Florida's East Coast
The Melbourne (Florida) Air Show was fun. I always love to see the P-51 ( my father flew one in WWII ) and the B-17. Maybe next time I will shell out the big bucks and take a flight! This is the "Memphis Belle". Not too many of these great planes left. They turned the tide of WWII in the favor of the allies with their daylight precision raids at a cost of 30,000 air crew.
Very nice shots. I shared a hospital room with a pilot who flew one of those B-17 Bombers in Europe. He is deceased now. He said once you flew all your missions, you could be reassigned. He said many didn't come back, and some Bombers were so torn up on return, that it was a miracle they made it back. Among other stories.
One of my favorite WWII bombers the B-17. Nice set here, you got some great shots. But I believe this one is a Memphis Belle look alike and not the real one. This one was painted for the movie "Memphis Belle". The real (25 missions over Germany) Memphis Belle is currently being restored at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. Still, it's a real beauty none-the-less.
Nice photos. The B17 is an amazing aircraft, to bad there are so few left. I believe I read there are only 16 of them.
CLF
Loc: Raleigh, NC
sb wrote:
The Melbourne (Florida) Air Show was fun. I always love to see the P-51 ( my father flew one in WWII ) and the B-17. Maybe next time I will shell out the big bucks and take a flight! This is the "Memphis Belle". Not too many of these great planes left. They turned the tide of WWII in the favor of the allies with their daylight precision raids at a cost of 30,000 air crew.
Steve, excellent set of photos and your Dad, along with all WWII vets, is the reason we can take these photos. Thank you.
Greg
Great photos!
Do you know which group this aircraft was owned by? There is more than one group flying B-17s in for air shows.
Last October I was in Hot Springs, AR - I swear that I saw this same plane taking off from the airport there.
Last October I was in Hot Springs, AR - I swear that I saw this same plane taking off from the airport there.
A good friend—I’m having lunch with him tomorrow—flew 26 missions over Germany as the pilot of a B-17. His name is Ray Firmani, and he’s now 96. A book about his exploits is just about to be released. According to Ray, the B-17 was a dream to fly.
A fabulous bomber and one of my favorites. Mahalo for sharing.
dmc
Loc: Montgomery, AL
DaveC1 wrote:
Great photos!
Do you know which group this aircraft was owned by? There is more than one group flying B-17s in for air shows.
According to Wikipedia it is currently on loan to The National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York.
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