Yesterday I got to be up close and personal with a B - 17, the WW2 bomber that was dubbed the Flying Fortress. Bristling with twin 50 caliber guns and equipped with the super secret Norden bombsight, these planes carried bombs deep into Germany.
I read a book on this plane many years ago and am still amazed at how tough this bird was. There are many stories of the planes being shot up, even one with the vertical tail section missing, and still making it back to England with it's crew. Many did crash too and I was told yesterday the the 8th Air Corps suffered more casualties than the Army troops on the ground.
I got to see several take offs and landings, as they were giving people rides at $450 a pop. To rich for my blood, but I did get a look inside the plane. That's a story all in its self...this old man trying to climb through very tight places with a camera around my neck.
This plane came off the assembly line just after the war in Europe ended, so never saw combat action. Somehow it was saved from the scrape heap, where most WW 2 planes ended up. It's one of only ten B - 17s still flying.