My Ride on a B-17 Flying Fortress

On August 24, 2012, I took a ride on a World War II bomber, the B-17 Flying Fortress named Aluminum Overcast.

The B-17 was one of the main strategic bombers in Europe; the other was the B-24 Liberator. The B-17 was also used tactically in the Pacific Theater of the war. For a Wikipedia article on the B-17, click here. B-17s have been featured in films. For a video clip from Twelve O'clock High, click here. For a video clip from Memphis Belle, click here.

The Aluminum Overcast was manufactured in March 1945, too late to get into the war. One of a dozen or so B-17s still flying, it was restored and is owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) (website). For more information about the history and restortion of Aluminum Overcast, click here.

Here are some very short videos and still photos of my flight:

• She taxis in after a flight: Video


• Exterior: front view: Photo


• Exterior: the tail and tail gun: Photo


• She starts her engines: Video


• I was lucky to be assigned to the radio operator's seat and desk, from which I filmed the port engines and wing as we take off. Video


• The vintage radio on the radio operator's desk: Photo


• Each B-17 had a short-statured crewman who crawled into a spherical gun turret poking out of the bottom of the plane. This is a photo of the turret from inside the plane: Photo


• B-17s had two waist gunners each of whom manned a machine gun, one on each side of the plane, aft of the wings. This photo shows a waist gun and one of the right engines and wing as seen by the gunner: Photo


• To go forward from the radio operator's area to the cockpit, one walks a narrow bridge through the bomb bay, between racks of bombs and over the bombay doors: Photo


• In the cockpit, a view of the pilots and some of the instruments: Photo


• View of one of the left engines and the ground, from the cockpit: Photo


• The bombardier and navigator work in the nose compartment. Here is a video of the compartment and the engine running next to it. Video


• Here is the navigator's view and gun: Photo


• Here is the bombardier's seat: Photo