My Dad's B-17,another WW II posting w/photo

redtom · Dec 8, 2011

The previous posts about B-17's with photos of restored ones and the story of 666 got me thinking about my dad. It took me a while to figure out how to post the photo. Its a long story but the Germans were meticulous record keepers and a nephew of one of his crewmen found this photo in a German archive. My dad, the pilot was shot down on second mission and takem POW. This is the tail of his plane which seperated after explosion once the crew bailed out. One crewman. a Jew, was murdered on the ground by the Germans. His nephew had the means to travel to Germany to collect facts of the killing and has compiled quite a collection of facts. My dad is still alive and 90 yrs old.

DCM · Dec 8, 2011

Wow,your Dad is living history. Neat pic.

TWheat · Dec 8, 2011

Great first hand history. My thanks to your Dad for his service.

BigMarv1085 · Dec 8, 2011

We painted one for a museum ealier this year. We have a P51 mustang in right now. Hopefully I will be flying out on my shift. The mustang looks like a toy up against one of the 777 aircraft.

glennster · Dec 8, 2011

neat pic!!! my father fought in france and germany in ww2, army, and his cousin was in the air corps, a tail gunner on a b-17.

JerryS · Dec 8, 2011

Way cool!!!

snoop-nc · Dec 8, 2011

I talked with a WWII vet earlier this week. It was quite an honor as he got out of the service the same year I was born...1945. He seemed v-e-r-y alert and mentally quick.

Thank your Dad for his service and devotion.

Rick...from NC

GeneMO · Dec 8, 2011

The flying Fort has always been my favorite multi-engine plane from WWII.. That being said, I believe the B-24 was not given equal treatment in the press. The B-24 was in many respects a better plane. The B-24 had a weakness. The way the bomb bay doors retracted up into the fusalage made for a large, weak spot and if hit right above the bomb bay the plane would fold up like a deck of cards.

You are so lucky to still have your dad. Tell him that we all owe his generation a debt of gratitude. Our country is lost without folks of his caliber to inject some common sense into the mess we have now.

Enjoy your dad every day.

Gene

Old Bob · Dec 8, 2011

Give my thanks to your Dad for his service to our country. We owe them the utmost respect for the sacrifices they gave for us.

Kestrel in CT · Dec 8, 2011

Amazing story...

Here's my mom as a WASP pilot with her AT 6 trainer in Sweetwater, TX.

She's just turned 95 and would probably love to be 90 again !

oldtanker · Dec 8, 2011

These photos are great! My dad served too, in the south Pacific, infantry.

Lot of the adults I knew when I was a kid were WWII and Korea Vets.

Thanks to them all!

Rick

RayP(MI) · Dec 8, 2011

Thanks to BOTH of them, true heros (heroine) in my book.

VicS · Dec 8, 2011

Neat picture. We owe them a great debt. My dad was a bombardier on a B24 I have a picture of where they crash landed in the Mohave desert, training to go overseas. Everybody was ok. They got shot full of holes in Europe. Dad was discharges from a hospital in Texas. Went right home and started a family (me) and farming. In the 90's went to the Va, the doctor ask him why he hadn't signed up for a pension 45 years ago. He replied there were a lot of other guys a lot worse than I was. He had dents and scars over 90 percent of his body! worked every day he was able. has since passed. My hero.

Goose · Dec 8, 2011

Coupla years ago, I was inspecting a house in Lincoln, NE. It was an exterior only inspection, but according to company policy I rang the doorbell to announce my presence and to explain what I was doing, even though I didn't need to enter the house.

I heard a shuffling inside. Pretty soon the door opened and an gentleman appearing to be about 90 was walking with a walker. He was a retired AF Colonel, and had been a fighter pilot in WWII. Me being an "Airdale" in the Marine Corps, we just naturally got the hangar doors open for a while.

This old guy may have been walking with a walker, but he was sharp as a tack mentally. He said he'd lost a lot of Marine buddies in the war. He also said what hurt him the most was the number of bomber crews that were lost before the Allies had a fighter plane with long enough range to escort bombers all the way to the target.

We must have BS'd for close to a half hour. I like to think our conversation brightened the old guy's day.

leej · Dec 8, 2011

My brother was a waist gunner on a B 17.At 2o,ooo
feet a Mesersmitt took the tail off.Took two steps and was out , but a prisoner for a year,& month. His pilot and co pilot went down with the plane. Both survived but were placed in another
prison camp. Found out they survived several years after the war, at a reunion for the B-17 fliers. He is now 85 and in only fair health. ggp

Lou from Wi. · Dec 8, 2011

All I can say is "BLESS HIS HEART"" Thanks for the photo. Warmest regards LOU.

redtom · Dec 8, 2011

Not a really dramatic photo but no others of the plane exist. He can recall every detail of the day, 9-28-44. Group was escorted by P-51's which ran low on fuel and peeled off. P-38's were to meet up but were two minutes late, results were 60 % loss. Their top turret took a 20mm from Fw 190 with man losing his eye. two engines feathered he salvoed his bombs (on target anyways) and the 3rd engine ran wild. He banked for home with one good engine but then flames on the other wing. Everyone out, with the one fatality on the ground. He did hurt his groin. If you know how the chute harness is, he didn't have the crotch straps fastened cuz they made him sweat. When he jumped the armpit straps slid up and he almost slid out of his chute!

37chief · Dec 8, 2011

That's a great story about your dad, and his plane. I have always liked the B-17. I took my grand son to see a B-17 at our local airport last summer. It was a chalange for me just to get from one end to the other. Stan

Anonymous-0 · Dec 8, 2011

dad had a cousin that was a mechanic in england that patched them up , cannibalised parts,and kept them flyin , while in england he was found to have enlisted underage ,, he somehow waggled his way into flite school and became a pilot,,and was part of the berlin airlift /..the b-17 is the 4020,DC Case,88 oliver,wd allis ,and or super m of the skies

Anonymous-0 · Dec 8, 2011

My dad survived being blown out of the tail turret and suffered a broken back but said about the worst thing that can happen is the parachute's on fire. He said a lot of guys made it out of the plane but there's not much you can do if your chute's on fire. Thankfully your dad's and mine chute's weren't on fire.

NEKS · Dec 8, 2011

My uncle was a tailgunner on a B-17. They were shot down and crush landed in Austria in April of 1944. He died a few day later at a farmhouse there. The rest of the crew lived. I was only four month old when this took place. A cousin went to Austria about 5 years ago to the farm where he died and found parts of the plane there.

James Howell · Dec 9, 2011

Interesting photo with the German soldier at the tail of the plane.

Very good story; thanks for sharing your dad's story with us.

I posted a photo of my dad's B17 crew and their plane in a previous post.

My uncle was also a B17 pilot during WW2.

His family moved from Germany after WW1.

He started flying at 13 and later became a pilot in the Army Air Corps.

At one time both he and my father were stationed at the same base in Italy.

Uncle John was shot down 3 times over enemy territory.

Being able to speak both French and German he was able to escape back to the Allied line with no problem.

He said the difficult part was convincing Allied soldiers he was a U.S. officer and not a German infiltrator.

He also flew the B29 bomber in Korea.

My cousin still has his flight log and leather flight jacket from WW2.

The Dukester · Dec 9, 2011

Neat pictures! My uncle was a B-24 and B-32 Tech. Instructor and Flight Engineer in WWII and I was a B-47 Crew Chief during the middle 1950's.

My Dad's B-17,another WW II posting w/photo

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