Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/02/17

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Subject: [Leica] IMG: Inside a B-17 (attention WWII buffs)
From: douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)
Date: Sun Feb 17 03:26:07 2008
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20080216130406.00bcae50@mail.2alpha.com>

Very nice, Peter,
a mine of information for aircraft modelers wanting to get that last 
tiny bit of detail into their planes - looks like it really wasn't much 
fun to fly in one, and how on earth did anyone get into (or out of, is 
probably more to the point) a ball-turret?
For anyone interested in more B-17s:
http://members.cox.net/b17brian/b17/
Quite a few are still flying
Cheers and thanks for posting
Douglas


Peter Klein wrote:
> 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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In reply to: Message from pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein) ([Leica] IMG: Inside a B-17 (attention WWII buffs))