The B-17 flight itself was great, but not as great as having the honor of talking with Capt. Lawson and Lt. Wheeler...two real Heros of the Air War over Germany and Italy. As soon as I was inside and the engines were warming up I closed my eyes for a minute and tried to imagine what it was like to be a 19 year old waist gunner, wondering if this mission would be "my last."( I would later ask the two B-17 Vets about this and both of them told me the same thing...that they were focused only on the mission and hitting the target.
One thing you notice immediately when you are sitting in a B-17 is how thin the aluminum skin on the fuselage is. Flak or MG bullets passed through it like a hot knife through butter. The Vets explained to me the reason for this was to allow them to carry the maximum bomb load, which was normally twelve 500 lb. anti-personell bombs or sometimes the WWII version of a "Bunker
Buster."
Lt. Wheeler took part in the bombing of Monte Cassino and also the unfortunate bombing of Allied soldiers on the front line in Italy which resulted in over 100 deaths and many times that number wounded. (I had not planned on mentioning that or asking questions about it out of respect for all who were involved in this terrible accident.) Both of them stated that they worried more about Flak than they did the Luftwaffe. They both mentioned being under orders not to bomb the concentration camps or any other areas where there were high numbers of civilians. (This would change in the latter part of the war.) I did ask Capt. Lawson if he ever encountered the Nazi's ME-262 jet fighters and he said he had seen them but didn't consider them as dangerous as the German 88's that filled the sky with Flak. Both men had high praise for the "Red Tails" that protected the bombers with their P-51 Mustangs and mentioned them several times.
I apologize for the unusually long post. It's very hard for me to condense the experience. I have posted more pictures below. Rather than describing each photo for you I will be happy to explain any of them if you wish, starting with the top row and going left to right. Please note the picture in row 3 first image. I took this one sitting down and looking directly above me. Notice the thin (about .25 inches) cables running horizonatlly...we watched them moving whenever the pilot was operating the wing and tail flaps...pretty darn primitive by today's standards!! In the same row, 4th image..this was taken with my head and shoulders sticking out of the OPEN top gun turret. That's the first time I've ever been able to do that! The last thing I need to mention is what a huge amount of courage it took for all the B-17 Pilots and Crew to crawl back into that airplane day after day. We owe them so very much for their courage and commitment...
