Goodbye, Liberty Belle
Day 1,302, 12:32
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Published in USA 
•
by
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by George Armstrong Custer
The B-17 Flying Fortress
They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
Dateline: June 14, 2011 (Day 1,302)
Location: Scott AFB, Illinois
Reporter: Private George Armstrong "Old Man" Custer
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Arm America is open for the Virginia RW.
Form here: http://tinyurl.com/AAIRCSupply
Battle here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/military/battlefield/7351
Meet up here: IRC Rizon server, channel #defense
For the RESISTANCE! As with all Resistance wars, Refresh before fighting to beat the eRep glitch and ensure that you are scored for the correct (USA) side!
Regular readers will know what's coming. Yes, it's another one of Custer's "too much RL" history lessons. Students of World War Two military avation history, grab your gear and settle in for a good one. The smoking lamp is lit.
Game purists who... well, if you don't like RL in your eRep, you are dismissed.
Historic B-17 Bomber Crashes in Rural Illinois
Ctrl+Click the image to see a video of the fire in another tab. Be sure to read the Notes below the video.
The Liberty Belle B-17 flies the same historic route flown during WWII.
Ctrl+Click the image to watch the video in another tab.
Take a ride in the Liberty Belle
Ctrl+Click the image to watch the video in another tab.
Meet a WWII B-17 pilot and share his flight aboard the Liberty Belle.
They didn't call 'em the Flying Fortress for nothin'!
The B-17 underwent several incarnations through its production run, improving everything from its armor plating to number of defensive guns to payload size.
While each plane was a "fortress" unto itself, a mission flight consisting of groups of planes in formation and several of these groups at staggered intervals and altitudes brought the combined fields of fire together to create a practically impenetrable wall of lead for enemy pilots to deal with.
Rather than present a rehash of others' work, here's a short list of links to the best websites I found on the subject. Besides, there's a contest today (see the Announcements section, below), and I wouldn't want to spoil your fun!
Seriously, there's a ton of material I could copy/paste and still not present enough to do the topic justice. Surf, read, it's good stuff.
Wikipedia: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing: B-17 Flying Fortress
AcePilots.com: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
WarbirdAlley.com: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Also, or Instead, Let's watch a couple videos:
Ctrl+Click to see this 43 minute Department of Defense film in another tab.
How To Fly The B-17 - Flight Operations (1943)
Ctrl+Click to see this 29 minute Training Film film in another tab.
Twelve O'Clock High
1949, 2oth Century Fox, starring Gregory Peck.
In this story of the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a "hard luck" bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a diciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over thier targets. Actual combat footage is used in this tense war drama.
In the past I have held to presenting films which are readily available on the internet, free and not requiring any sign-ups or downloads. In order to bring you today's feature film I must break that rule.
Downloading the Player and signing up at Veoh.com is free, and it expands our free film library by a lot. Without downloading the Player and signing up, this link will only yield a 5-minute movie sample. The link to the Player is at the top of the viewing area of the video sample.
Twelve O'Clock High at Veoh.com: Link
It's also available at other sites which require a Player download, as well as through NetFlix.
As an avid Old Time Radio fan, I was very happy to find online this episode of Screen Guild Theater, which brings "Hollywood's greatest stars in their greatest motion picture roles" to the radio in a condensed one-hour radioplay very faithful to the movie presentations of the stories.
This 4-part presentation is the cleaner of the audio offerings I found.
Twelve O'Clock High at YouTube: Playlist Link
Announcements:
If you didn't read yesterday's Death From Above, please do so, if for nothing else than the Announcements section.
Today... to celebrate this newspaper's move to the USAirborne, let's give away some tanks.
First fifty USMilitary readers who Comment with a unique factoid or trivia tidbit about B-17's gets a Q5 tank. A link to the source gets you 50 points worth of food.
Unique means repeats don't count, so pay attention! And "one per customer," so if you know more stuff then get on IRC and tell a buddy so he can score, too!
Don't want prizes? Play anyways, and "pay it forward" by welcoming a new member of your USMilitary branch with a nice little re-gift.
Another USAirborne newspaper, Ruthain's News From the Trenches, has a new edition out:
An interview with the Leadership of the Airborne
If you want to join the any branch of the USMilitary, the Training Corps is the place to start.
Here's the USAirborne application. Minimum Strength 1800; Barehanded Hit 800; High Activity
USAirborne Private George Armstrong Custer
Member; JCS Public Relations Department
Recommended Reading:
*The familiar row of avatars linking to newspapers is being redeveloped.
USMilitary writers, send me the link to your newspapers which are dedicated (or mostly) to your USMilitary branch.
:::
They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
Dateline: June 14, 2011 (Day 1,302)
Location: Scott AFB, Illinois
Reporter: Private George Armstrong "Old Man" Custer
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Arm America is open for the Virginia RW.
Form here: http://tinyurl.com/AAIRCSupply
Battle here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/military/battlefield/7351
Meet up here: IRC Rizon server, channel #defense
For the RESISTANCE! As with all Resistance wars, Refresh before fighting to beat the eRep glitch and ensure that you are scored for the correct (USA) side!
Regular readers will know what's coming. Yes, it's another one of Custer's "too much RL" history lessons. Students of World War Two military avation history, grab your gear and settle in for a good one. The smoking lamp is lit.
Game purists who... well, if you don't like RL in your eRep, you are dismissed.
Historic B-17 Bomber Crashes in Rural Illinois
Ctrl+Click the image to see a video of the fire in another tab. Be sure to read the Notes below the video.
The Liberty Belle B-17 flies the same historic route flown during WWII.
Ctrl+Click the image to watch the video in another tab.
Take a ride in the Liberty Belle
Ctrl+Click the image to watch the video in another tab.
Meet a WWII B-17 pilot and share his flight aboard the Liberty Belle.
They didn't call 'em the Flying Fortress for nothin'!
The B-17 underwent several incarnations through its production run, improving everything from its armor plating to number of defensive guns to payload size.
While each plane was a "fortress" unto itself, a mission flight consisting of groups of planes in formation and several of these groups at staggered intervals and altitudes brought the combined fields of fire together to create a practically impenetrable wall of lead for enemy pilots to deal with.
Rather than present a rehash of others' work, here's a short list of links to the best websites I found on the subject. Besides, there's a contest today (see the Announcements section, below), and I wouldn't want to spoil your fun!
Seriously, there's a ton of material I could copy/paste and still not present enough to do the topic justice. Surf, read, it's good stuff.
Wikipedia: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing: B-17 Flying Fortress
AcePilots.com: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
WarbirdAlley.com: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Also, or Instead, Let's watch a couple videos:
Ctrl+Click to see this 43 minute Department of Defense film in another tab.
How To Fly The B-17 - Flight Operations (1943)
Ctrl+Click to see this 29 minute Training Film film in another tab.
Twelve O'Clock High
1949, 2oth Century Fox, starring Gregory Peck.
In this story of the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a "hard luck" bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a diciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over thier targets. Actual combat footage is used in this tense war drama.
In the past I have held to presenting films which are readily available on the internet, free and not requiring any sign-ups or downloads. In order to bring you today's feature film I must break that rule.
Downloading the Player and signing up at Veoh.com is free, and it expands our free film library by a lot. Without downloading the Player and signing up, this link will only yield a 5-minute movie sample. The link to the Player is at the top of the viewing area of the video sample.
Twelve O'Clock High at Veoh.com: Link
It's also available at other sites which require a Player download, as well as through NetFlix.
As an avid Old Time Radio fan, I was very happy to find online this episode of Screen Guild Theater, which brings "Hollywood's greatest stars in their greatest motion picture roles" to the radio in a condensed one-hour radioplay very faithful to the movie presentations of the stories.
This 4-part presentation is the cleaner of the audio offerings I found.
Twelve O'Clock High at YouTube: Playlist Link
Announcements:If you didn't read yesterday's Death From Above, please do so, if for nothing else than the Announcements section.
Today... to celebrate this newspaper's move to the USAirborne, let's give away some tanks.
First fifty USMilitary readers who Comment with a unique factoid or trivia tidbit about B-17's gets a Q5 tank. A link to the source gets you 50 points worth of food.
Unique means repeats don't count, so pay attention! And "one per customer," so if you know more stuff then get on IRC and tell a buddy so he can score, too!
Don't want prizes? Play anyways, and "pay it forward" by welcoming a new member of your USMilitary branch with a nice little re-gift.
Another USAirborne newspaper, Ruthain's News From the Trenches, has a new edition out:
An interview with the Leadership of the Airborne
If you want to join the any branch of the USMilitary, the Training Corps is the place to start.
Here's the USAirborne application. Minimum Strength 1800; Barehanded Hit 800; High Activity
USAirborne Private George Armstrong Custer
Member; JCS Public Relations Department
Recommended Reading:*The familiar row of avatars linking to newspapers is being redeveloped.
USMilitary writers, send me the link to your newspapers which are dedicated (or mostly) to your USMilitary branch.
:::
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Comments
The smoking lamp is lit.
\o/
\o/
Technically, this would be considered by your guidelines to be a unique factoid. The B-17 bomber is a plane. 😃
Iran received a B17 from an American company.
okay, let's get real, here..
Devill, don't be a smartass, don't play semantics games. How hard would it be to click on any of the links and copy/paste a line from a spec list?
Joe Alpha, let's have some citation of that statement. Obviously, Iran could have gotten anything from the US before the trade embargo. But outta left field like that, let's have a link.
Voted up Custer. Good work and keep it up!
http://www.twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b17_26.html
Two, for good measure
My Grandfather was a waist gunner on a B-17. He was in the 100th Bomb group "D"
http://www.8thafhs.org/bomber/100bg.htm
very, VERY interesting, Joe...
especially as the second linked page tells of Sweden's conversion of B-17's to passenger use, and how they came to possessing the planes.
you'll get a tank and food, and I'll just eat crow.
a double helping, for good measure.
also sent a tank and food to DeathAndDestruction, for Grandpa.
✯ USMC ✯
Some stuff on the specs of the plane, with a 1,700 gallon fuel tank!
http://www.b17.org/history/specs.asp
Sad sad day for people like myself who take joy in crawling around and touching the history of WW2. None too long ago the Collings Foundation came through here with their flying B-17 and B-24 as well as other flying WW2 aircraft. I crawled around in them taking tons of pictures and talking with some of the local WW2 pilots about the planes. If I'd had the money, I'd have booked a ride in one of them as they were selling seats (If I was still thin Id have booked the ball turret).
Sad day to see the Liberty Belle gone.
Heres a few links for ya Custer...
http://www.unrealaircraft.com/hybrid/B17G.php
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/tour_b-17g.htm
I sure hope our readers are clicking on the links you folks are providing!
at the B17.org site Kishie linked, check out the "Interactive Tour"
tanks and food sent to Kishie and Relorian.
In the movie Memphis Belle (1990), "There are only five real B-17 flying in the movie. Two were flown in from the US, two came from France, and one was already based in England."
Good article, Custer.
Oh that quote was from IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100133/trivia
Just to let you know Custer the Airborne are paratroopers not bombers...
voted a B-17 had 13 .50 cal mgs
Voted !
o7
more contest pay-outs, to Bia Pandora, and Allen Webster.
Vanek26... uh-DUH! ya think I might be allowed to write about stuff that's not Airborne related? where was this brilliant flash of yours when I published an Army Times all about the Navy Seabees?
I tried not to read your paper. Only read it cause Bia shouted it.
v!
I'm a big WWII buff myself. Great write up.
I think the biggest impact the B-17 had, was in grinding down the industry of Nazi Germany during 1944 and 1945. The B-17 laid waste to most of germany's cities.
The bombing of Dresden is one of the most (in)famous of such raids. We firebombed the city. A famous book, Slaughterhouse-Five, is a great read on the event.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II#The_attacks
💜💙💚🧡❤️💛 https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=%6e%61%6b%65%64%2d%67%69%72%6c%73%2e%6f%6e%6c%69%6e%65%2f%6b%6b%2f%78%6b%44%57%43%39%3f%73%6f%75%72%63%65%3d%65%72%65%70%75%62%6c%69%6b%26%61%64%5f%63%61%6d%70%61%69%67%6e%5f%69%64%3d1798939