Living A Dream – Flying aboard the classic B-17 Flying Fortress!
The B-17G Aluminum Overcast was “born” May 18, 1945 when she was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Story and photos by John Clayton
In early April, a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber called Aluminum Overcast flew in for a three-day event in which the public could tour the aircraft and, for several hundred dollars, get to take a flight aboard this now classic aircraft.
The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association, based in Oshkosh, Wisc.) took me and other journalists for a brief flight over the South Bay and gave us a bird’s eye view of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. When you see Hollywood movies about WW2 and B-17s, one tends to get the impression that the aircraft is quite roomy inside. Not true, which is why most of this month’s travel feature is a photo layout – the first of a two-part story on this aircraft.
Growing up in London, I knew all about the B-17 and its role in WW2, and to actually fly aboard the plane was not only a dream come true, but also a magical, mystical, marvelous experience – and it made me think about the brave U.S. flight crews who flew this magnificent bird in that conflict, and the trials and tribulations they went through as they completed their 25 or later 30 and then 35 missions over Europe. PEN.
#1 An Aviation Legend
The B-17G Aluminum Overcast was “born” May 18, 1945 when she was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps. She was too late to actually fly in WW2, and for nearly 30 years she came very near — countless times — to being sold as scrap. In fact, in the summer of 1946 she was sold to a scrap dealer in New Jersey for all of $760! During her “years in the wilderness” she performed a wide range of duties from crop dusting to cargo carrier, hauling (of all things) cattle in Florida and Puerto Rico. Of the 12 727 B-17s that were built, 8,670 were the G model. Lovingly restored by the EAA over a 10-year period beginning in 1979, she now proudly carries the colors of the 398th Bomb Group of WW2 which flew hundreds of missions over Nazi held territory. She commemorates another B-17 of that name that was shot down over France on its 34th mission on Aug. 13, 1944. Every year, she flies hundreds and hundreds of miles throughout the USA and Canada giving flights and tours on this superb flying machine — as you’ll see at www.b17.org.
#2 It’s A Lot Smaller Than You Think
This photo clearly indicates how narrow the inside of the B-17 actually is. The two gunners on each side of the plane amidships were so close that their backs often touched each other – and the “large aperture” that held their 50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns was open to the freezing cold at 30,000 feet. The tail gunner had to crawl along the back, inside part of the fuselage to reach his position in the tail. Although all crews wore heated flight suits and lots of other thick clothing to keep them warm, it was still bitterly cold flying so high in the sky and if, through enemy action, you lost your oxygen mask, or any such attachments, death was often only seconds away. Add to that, over enemy territory you not only had Me 109s and FW 190s German fighters trying to shoot you out of the sky, there were also countless anti-aircraft guns below which threw up tons of shells and exploding shrapnel, all designed to kill you or make your bomber crash. 4,750 (or one third) of all B-17s built, were lost in combat.
#3 A Sobering Touch Of Reality
Because the EAA wants to give the public who see their B-17 as realistic an experience as possible, it’s still a bit of shock when you see the “bombs” in the bomb bay of the aircraft. The variety of the bombs a B-17 carried are illustrated by replicas on Aluminum Overcast, indicated by the number of yellow stripes – incendiary, general purpose and armor piercing. Although only dummies, they do add a dramatic touch of authenticity to the entire in-flight adventure. The average bomb load of a B-17 was about 6,000 lbs. The bomb bay is located just aft, behind the cockpit, and there’s one aspect that I found to be almost frightening. On the righthand side of the photo you see a silver sort of walkway. There are “bombs” on either side of this “path,’ and it’s very narrow – almost to the point of making one walk foot over foot. While that may not be scary, the fact is that when the bomb bay doors open, it’s as if there is an enormous gap (which there is!) just beneath your feet. The wind’s roaring in, the noise is deafening and, unless you’re careful, you might slip and fall out of the B-17! No, this does not happen on the flights aboard Aluminum Overcast B-17, but that’s how it was way back in WW2.