[Leica] IMG: Inside a B-17 (attention WWII buffs)

[bill at grimwood.net (Bill Grimwood)]

Peter I certainly enjoyed the B-17 photographs.  I had two uncles that were 
pilots in WWII, one a B-17 and the other a B-24.  They never talked much 
about the war but both finished their number of missions and got sent back 
to the States before the end of the war.  I was lucky to have them.

Another neighbor was a B-17 pilot who worked in Huntsville for NASA.  He 
said occasionally on his job he would have trouble from one of the von Braun 
team and when that happened he would just wear his old flight jacket to work 
for a few days.  Across the bottom of the jacket was painted Peenemunde. 
After wearing it they didn't bother him anymore.  I have been trying to get 
his widow to donate that jacket to the Alabama Space & Rocket center and 
museum but so far she has not done it.

Thanks again I enjoyed them.

It was exciting growning up in Huntsville with NASA.


Bill Grimwood


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Klein" <pklein@2alpha.net>
To: <lug@leica-users.org>; <leica@freelists.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 5:46 PM
Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] [Leica] IMG: Inside a B-17 (attention WWII buffs)


> While on vacation in southern California, I visited the Palm Springs Air 
> museum.  They had a still-flyable B-17 on exhibit, and I took a tour of 
> it.  I was able to crawl around inside and get some decent shots.  Since I 
> know there are a lot of WWII buffs on the list, I thought I'd share.
>
> I must say that experiencing this airplane from the inside left me very 
> moved, and with an even greater appreciation for "the greatest 
> generation."  It really brought home what flying must have been like at 
> that time.  No pressurization, no cabin heating.  Much of the control is 
> via cables attached to various levers that the pilots pull. Your body is 
> physically part of the aircraft. At around 30,000 feet, air is 
> unbreathable, and it's about 40 degrees below zero (F or C, take your 
> pick). You wear an oxygen mask, plug your electrically-heated long 
> underwear to a power jack at your station, and hope the other side doesn't 
> shoot out your #2 engine, which has the generator.  You're flying at 
> 200-300 mph, the fighters opposing you are faster, and your guns are all 
> manually aimed.
>
> The B-17 from outside:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002646-prf_001.jpg.html
>
> Bombardier's station, equipped with the famous Norden bombsight. The 
> latter was a state-of-the art optical device, equipped with gyroscopes and 
> a mechanical analog computer.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002649-prf.jpg.html
>
> Cockpit:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002651-prf.jpg.html
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002654-prf.jpg.html
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002657-prf.jpg.html
>
> Bomb bay (I could just about squeeze through here sideways):
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002661-prf.jpg.html
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002662-prf.jpg.html
>
> Radio operator's station:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002663-prf.jpg.html
>
> I actually knew these radio receivers.  We used to convert them into cheap 
> ham radios in the 60s:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002664-prf.jpg.html
>
> Transmitters.  You can see some of the airplane's control cables threaded 
> through the ribs of the airframe on the upper right.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002665-prf.jpg.html
>
> Side machine gun:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002668-prf.jpg.html
>
> Middle of the aircraft, looking towards the front.  You can see two side 
> machine guns and the top of the ball turret gunner's station that 
> protruded from the underbelly of the aircraft.  My guide is gesturing to 
> another guest in the background.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002674-prf.jpg.html
>
> Tail gunner's station.
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002678-prf.jpg.html
> Of course, it made me think of "Tail Gunner Joe." So in the spirit of 
> extreme irony. . .
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002679-prf.jpg.html
>
> Photo taken lying on my back on the tarmac, looking up into the open bomb 
> bay:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002681-prf.jpg.html
>
> More outside views of the plane:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002686-prf.jpg.html
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002692-prf.jpg.html
>
> My guide (he was from Brooklyn, yuh know whaddeyemean?)  Great guy!
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002687-prf.jpg.html
>
> This propeller was on a different aircraft, but I like it:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002694-prf.jpg.html
>
> Cautionary sign inside the museum:
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/palmsprings/L1002696-prf.jpg.html
>
> These are records, not art. It was a very high contrast situation, and 
> some blown highlights were unavoidable to keep detail in the interior. M8, 
> mostly with 28/3.5 V/C Skopar, a few with the 35/2 Summicron v.4.
>
> --Peter
>
>
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