Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Gremlin Gus II, has that name due to being a special project survivor. A unique B 17, they called it a roadster, and it was the only open cockpit bomber that wasn't destroyed in a disaster-destined idiotic plan to make old B 17s flying radio controlled bombs


https://www.flickr.com/photos/133697406@N05/18705658385/

Gus was the name of the 1st guy to see a Gremlin in the Roald Dahl story, and so his buddies called him Gremlin Gus... more on the story at the bottom of the post


http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/4607



https://flightaware.com/photos/view/5656173-e6a23e3936d57c86cd43a977777d66b50b6f5833/user/DougHildreth/sort/votes/page/1


http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=435032&page=6

The Gremlin design was from Disney, based on a story and description from Roald Dahl, the guy motivated to get gremlins into pop culture from the tales told by British pilots. He was also the author of the many famous books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice", and Matilda... but it all started with "Gremlins" with Disney


The Gremlins was released as a book by Walt Disney and Random House with proceeds going to the RAF Benevolent Fund.



http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/11/quot-the-gremlins-the-lost-walt-disney-production-quot-finally-finds-its-way-back-into-bookstores.aspx?no_redirect=true

https://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2014/04/adventures-in-vintage-advertising-life.html
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9 comments:

  1. Burkey8:00 PM

    A stripped down open cockpit B-17. Firstly, That's a Hot Rod.
    To stand and salute as you overtake a B-24.
    That would have been, hilarious.

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  2. Kim4:10 AM

    Good story, but slightly inaccurate headline, as there were other open top B-17 about: http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/08/operation-aphrodite/

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    Replies
    1. Jesse7:48 AM

      there were? I wasn't picking up on that from what I read. I'll check that link you gave me, and then edit this post, thanks!

      Delete
    2. Jesse8:01 AM

      that link seems to say that all the others were blown up, or crashed, but in every case they didn't survive the experimental project... just this one, the Gremlin Gus II.

      Delete
  3. Kim1:53 AM

    You're right. Still my info helped you write quite a headline.

    Speaking of flying bomb concepts, the Germans had a lot of 'Misteltoe' combinations stationed in Denmark at the end of WW2. Can't recall if you ever posted anything about it, but in case you're not familiar with this slightly less hare-brained idea, check out http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=842

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  4. Ted Harwood3:26 PM

    My dad flew in a b-26 named "The Gremlin II" also based on the Roald Dahl character.

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    Replies
    1. Jesse9:34 PM

      that's great! Do you have photos or stories to share?

      Delete
    2. Ted Harwood2:25 PM

      41-31708 WT-B The Gremlin II. 323rd Bomb Group, 456th Squadron. My dad flew the Gremlin on 6 missions from England and then France. He flew missions in 13 different Marauders. I have no stories, but I have a few poor-quality photos.

      Delete
    3. Jesse10:05 PM

      thanks for the reply! Darn shame on both stories and photos... it's what I find incredibly fascinating about history, stories and photos

      Delete

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