An afternoon of engine repairs on B 17s, in the South Pacific, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, December 1942, from the LIFE Magazine Archives - Ralph Morse Photographer
thanks! I was very happy to run across it by accident... there are a few more in the link, but the way I arranged them seems to flow with how the photographer took them, and gave a nice simple narrative of work day to after work.
I've only flown one B-17, for about an hour, and it was one of the most unpleasant airplanes I've ever flown. It put me in mind of the early 1960s 4WD Chevy pickup that my father-in-law gave us. My wife had learned to drive behind its wheel, and I always çredited it with developing her spectaular chest.
Incredible pictures Jesse of B-17 maintenance and the guys doing the work. This is the type plane my Dad earned his gunners wing on. They had to hit the target a tow plan would drag behind it while flying next to the bomber. My Dad wasn't a big fan of flying and went on to OCS where he became a captain in the USAAF. After his graduation from there, he then went to war in the Atlantic theater and did work in photo recon in England.
Great pictures. I never thought about how the engines are mounted to the wing. Just 4 bolts through a tube frame on the back of the engine. You can see it in picture 9. I would have expected something more substantial.
Good find. This is an excellent series of photos of a B17 engine change. Brutal conditions.
ReplyDeletethanks! I was very happy to run across it by accident... there are a few more in the link, but the way I arranged them seems to flow with how the photographer took them, and gave a nice simple narrative of work day to after work.
DeleteI've only flown one B-17, for about an hour, and it was one of the most unpleasant airplanes I've ever flown. It put me in mind of the early 1960s 4WD Chevy pickup that my father-in-law gave us. My wife had learned to drive behind its wheel, and I always çredited it with developing her spectaular chest.
ReplyDeleteIncredible pictures Jesse of B-17 maintenance and the guys doing the work. This is the type plane my Dad earned his gunners wing on. They had to hit the target a tow plan would drag behind it while flying next to the bomber. My Dad wasn't a big fan of flying and went on to OCS where he became a captain in the USAAF. After his graduation from there, he then went to war in the Atlantic theater and did work in photo recon in England.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I never thought about how the engines are mounted to the wing. Just 4 bolts through a tube frame on the back of the engine. You can see it in picture 9. I would have expected something more substantial.
ReplyDeletesame here! I always was curious when seeing a wing with the engines removed, why it looked like a blank space
Delete