So me and my trusty companion-in crime hop in the car and toodle (make that zoom) on down to Moffett. It takes us a while to find where we should go - like many military installations, it it labeled for pros, not civvies like us - but before long we are at the airfield. In fact, we are on the tarmac.
The Collins Foundation had brought in three old WWII bombers. This one is the B-25 Mitchell.
The B-25 is the type of plane Jimmy Doolittle used to bomb Tokyo in 1942, launching them off aircraft carriers - a feat for which the Mitchell was NOT designed. The movie reference for that mission is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and it is quite a story. Not far away was the B-24 Liberator. There were more Liberators than any other large bomber used in the war (I believe - not bothering to check facts here so let me know if I am wrong). There is no mistaking this airplane for anything other than a bomber. I chose to snap this, which has the names of all those who served and/or worked on the aircraft over it's lifetime. Look - the names continue over the bomb-bay doors...
We were able to get inside these aircraft and look around. There is not a lot of room inside these and Spartan is certainly no exaggeration in describing the accommodation. These were built as tools to do a job. There were a number of educated folks around to answer question, as well as veterans. This gentleman serves as a ball-turret gunner on a Liberator. They gave that job to small guys because you had to curl up in a fetal position in the belly turret - the only one on the underside of the bomber. Popular angle for attacks from enemy fighters, and very exposed to Flack shrapnel. I once heard the average life expectancy of a ball-turret gunner in combat was 30 seconds.
Then there's the B-17. You know, the kind of bomber Memphis Belle was: the Flying Fortress.
This is one of my favorite aircraft. It was originally designed in the early 1930's, and of course underwent a number of additions, modifications, and adaptations through it's service. One of it's outstanding visual characteristics is it's very large rudder and large wing area relative to other proportions when compared to other aircraft. Crew of 10 young men.
Next post: the flight.
Lonesome Town, Pulp Fiction Soundtrack (sorry, don't know artist..)
