This old plane was in town for a couple of days. Naturally a friend and myself had to get some pictures. That's my friend and his daughter in a couple of the pics.

 

Wow! A B17-G. My Dad was a tail gunner on those. Flew in the South Pacific out of New Guinea. That's a real beauty! What was the occasion of the visit?

 

Not sure. The B-17 belongs to the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and there was an EAA support van parked nearby with posters advertising rides, but I didn't see or hear anything from the local news outlets about this. The plane is supposedly due back Jun 1st for an airshow.

If you look closely at the tail gun position you can see a mannequin decked out as a tail gunner. Now isn't that a coincidence.

 

The best part besides seeing these old planes is hearing them run, both on the ground and in the air.

 

62thunderbird.
So your father was "Tail end Charlie", the most dangerous place on the plane in combat.

 

Ball turret doesn't look like any picnic either...

 

that plane travels around giving rides as a fund raiser. Got my ride at Mt Comfort here in Indy a few years back...best "C" note I have spent in awhile.....I was a waste gunner for a short while, then moved to navigator/ bombadier...what a great plane...those young men were heros, each and everyone of them...absolutely no protection for them...

 

Another shot of the ball turret.

A ride was posted as $465 for a non-EAA member.

62t-bird, did your dad tell any stories that you could share with us?