NFR B-17 Bomber

Non-fishing related
Stonedfish

Stonedfish

Known Pluviophile
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Anyone else been seeing the B-17 flying around the Seattle area the past few days?
It flew over the beach I was fishing on Friday multiple times and banked into a big wide turn right it front of me.
Pretty cool to see. My best friend’s dad flew one in WW II.
SF

www.king5.com

Restored B-17 Bomber arrives at Boeing Field

A World War II B-17 Bomber has landed in Seattle, delighting onlookers with its nostalgic journey and historic significance.
www.king5.com www.king5.com
 
An eerier B17 story:
I grew up in Suquamish, fishing, boating, skiing and diving around Agate Passage. My parents were both Marines, dad a lifer, and have now passed away many years back. They both requested their ashes be scattered in Agate Passage. We kept their urns here at the house for quite a while but eventually organized a family trip (Liz, two daughters and myself) through the locks and across the Sound to my old stomping grounds. After some champagne and remembrances we began our drift on the incoming tide. About when I was ready to scatter dad, we hear rumbling, getting louder and louder, coming from Bainbridge Island. Suddenly not one but two B17s flew directly overhead at very low altitude. Lemme tell you, very impressive. I could not have orchestrated a better send off. And so there they are.

I’m sorry, I just checked myself. Our encounter was with twin B25s, medium bombers. Oops,
my bad. Still, a super rare occasion and the timing was spooky.
 
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Big warbird nerd here. I flew in the "Nine-O-Nine" a few months before it crashed. It was an amazing experience. RIP to all the bomber crews that flew in those things for real, not for fun. And RIP to the crew and guests of the "Nine-O-Nine" who perished in the crash.

avm-mag.com

The Day the Nine-O-Nine Died | Aviation Maintenance Magazine

Former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti explains how inadequate maintenance contributed to the destruction of a rare vintage airplane and why this
avm-mag.com avm-mag.com
 
I remember going to an airshow at Boeing field in 85 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the B17. I don't remember how many of them were there but I seem to remember it being most of the ones still flying. They loaded up the cannon's with blanks and were doing runs over Boeing shooting them off. Very cool and I-5 had cars that stopped along the freeway to watch that.
This post reminded me of that day. Thanks
There is the remains of a crashed B 17 not too far from me here in the sierras that you can hike to if anyone is looking for something to do near Tahoe.
 
These guys did multiple slow laps over Green Lake 8/3/25, my wife thought I was nuts running through the house to get to the top floor with camera in hand, love that engine sound. When I looked up B17 the pic used on Wikipedia is the same tail number as this guy, probably one of the most photographed B17 ever... so damn shiny....
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I was working in the yard last weekend and heard the distinctive sound of its engines. Only managed a glimpse through the trees.
 
Boot, that B-25 picture brings back some memories. When I was in tech school at Chanute AFB in 1957 I was assigned to a B-25 crew as a work assignment. Of course I didn't have to do any work, just hung out every day and heard lots of good stories. In February of that year I got a chance to fly down to Orlando and Miami in our highly polished gem for the weekend. It is amazing that I can still hear as the Wright Cyclone engines with the short stacks were some of the noisiest engines ever.

For my entire adult life I have had a B-17 altimeter that I use as a barometer. Built like an anvil, that thing will still be monitoring the weather 100 years from now.
 
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That brings back some memories of my uncle that passed away at 100 in 2023 , flew his 25 missions during WW2 in a B-17 . He was a small guy ,he was a ball turret gunner. His bomb group was the 390th . They were stationed in England ,bombing mostly Munster, Germany . They were shot down with his first crew , he was one of three that survived , actually landed in Belgium when he bailed out of the plane . He was able to get back to England , and was assigned to a new crew .

It was something to hear some of the stories about his 25 missions , and the fact he never really talked about them until late in life . We were sitting in my cousins living room in Tucson , Az. ,when my uncle told some of the stories , he was then in his 90's . We actually had visited that day the air museum in Tucson . There was an entire building dedicated to the 390th , and he took us to a tour of the building . There were two photos of him with his two crews he flew with on the wall among many other crews . As we were talking that day with him , my aunt ,his wife looked over to us ,and said well I am hearing things about the war that I hadn't heard being married to him at that point for over 60 years .
 
The first photo his him top left leaning out of the plane , bottom photo is him in the bottom right . I am not sure which crew was lost , as said in previous post except for three of them , my uncle being one of them . Second photo the lady leaning behind him , was a tour director ,and wanting to hear about the ball turret from someone that was actually a gunner in one of them . He was in his 90's then .
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up2nogood said:
The first photo his him top left leaning out of the plane , bottom photo is him in the bottom right . I am not sure which crew was lost , as said in previous post except for three of them , my uncle being one of them . Second photo the lady leaning behind him , was a tour director ,and wanting to hear about the ball turret from someone that was actually a gunner in one of them . He was in his 90's then .
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Last pic, bottom row, all the kids on that row look like they are maybe 14, though doing the math your Uncle must have been at least 18, more likely 20. Dude lived to 100, and at 20 he looked 14, and in his 90's he's on his hands and knees like a 70 year old telling stories from 70 years earlier- your Uncle had some solid genes and a some amazing luck to live that long!

That show from last year, Masters of the Air was pretty harrowing watching how many crews were shot down in the first half of the war. Plus daylight bombing precision target runs seemed like a really bad tactical move
 
Daylight bombing raids over Germany were certainly jeopardy but being a ball turrent gunner was double jeopardy! Just about every short guy in a crew was condemned to that assignment. Almost 40% of all B-17's were shot down making the Air Force the branch of service with the most lives lost during the war.
 
My co worker friend worked as a reporter for the Sierra Sun and flew in the B-17 “Aluminum Overcast” when it was here for the Truckee air show. His Grandfather was a B 17 pilot so it was extra special.
My Grandfather flew Wellingtons ( and was killed in one) for the RAF as a part of Czech squadron 311. Iirc those are the RAF equivalent of the B-25
 
iveofione said:
Boot, that B-25 picture brings back some memories. When I was in tech school at Chanute AFB in 1957 I was assigned to a B-25 crew as a work assignment. Of course I didn't have to do any work, just hung out every day and heard lots of good stories. In February of that year I got a chance to fly down to Orlando and Miami in our highly polished gem for the weekend. It is amazing that I can still hear as the Wright Cyclone engines with the short stacks were some of the noisiest engines ever.

For my entire adult life I have had a B-17 altimeter that I use as a barometer. Built like an anvil, that thing will still be monitoring the weather 100 years from now.
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I was at Chanute for 18 months of tech school eleven years after you.
I remember some miserable winter mornings marching down the flight line from the chow hall to the classroom.
 
Wadin' Boot said:
Last pic, bottom row, all the kids on that row look like they are maybe 14, though doing the math your Uncle must have been at least 18, more likely 20. Dude lived to 100, and at 20 he looked 14, and in his 90's he's on his hands and knees like a 70 year old telling stories from 70 years earlier- your Uncle had some solid genes and a some amazing luck to live that long!

That show from last year, Masters of the Air was pretty harrowing watching how many crews were shot down in the first half of the war. Plus daylight bombing precision target runs seemed like a really bad tactical move
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I don't know the exact time he was in England during his 25 missions , my cousin would know . . He was an amazing man , well educated after the war ,was a high school band leader ,and teacher in El Cajon ,Ca. . Yes was in very good shape ,developed dementia the last 2-3 years of his life . But up until that was taking care of a 1 acre lot with fruit trees etc , riding his bike nearly daily . His two brothers , one my dad spent his war years in the Philippines , and New Guinea against the Japanese , the other in the Navy in the Pacific . Totally amazing all three survived the war .
 
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