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| By Carmelo Turdo |
The B-17G Memphis Belle made a stop in St. Louis this weekend as part of the Midwest U.S. summer tour. The World War II-era bomber was hosted by Million Air St. Louis, a full-service fixed base operator at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, and was available for tours and rides around the downtown St. Louis area. The bomber is operated by the Liberty Foundation, and was used in the 1990 movie Memphis Belle portraying the historic B-17 of the same name that became the first B-17 Flying Fortress bomber to complete a tour of 25 missions over Europe in May of 1943. (The original Memphis Belle is now under restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force). The touring B-17 was accepted into service in April of 1945, and was converted to a VB-17G staff transport for use in the U.S. and Europe until it was designated as surplus in 1959. It was used as a water bomber until the late 1970s, and restored to B-17F standards for the movie work and living history tours around the U.S. Yesterday, within the span of three hours, the aircraft flew a B-17 veteran pilot and a living history pilot reenactor - both of whom were essential in preserving the nation's freedom and the legacy of the mighty Flying Fortress.
The touring B-17 was on the ramp around 9:00am, and ready for the first flight of the day at 10:30am. During the preparations for the flight, several of us looking over the aircraft recognized a gentleman wearing a "U.S. Army Air Corps WWII Flyboy" cap, and soon a group began to gather around him. We quickly learned that our new friend was Mr. Guyon Smith, Sr., a B-17 bomber pilot with the 457th Bomb Group in the last year of the bombing campaign against Germany. He was accompanied by his family, including his son, Guyon Smith, Jr., as he awaited his first flight in a B-17 since his wartime service. Mr. Smith described missions he flew over Munich and other German cities, emphasizing the thickness of the anti-aircraft fire over the targets and the attacks from German fighters. His formation was attacked by the vaunted Me-262 jet fighters making slashing attacks from the rear of the large formations of bombers. His aircraft received damage on several occasions. When asked if his plane had any nose art, Mr. Smith responded that during the later months of the war, the planes were flown without as much nose art, and his was a "plain Jane" bird without any special markings. The Aero Experience was privileged to visit with Mr. Smith and his family members, and we have some photos of his flight below:
The third flight was ready for takeoff around noon, and it was time for a new friend of The Aero Experience, Travis Roberts, to climb aboard. The flight was timed as a 40th birthday present, but it also had another special meaning. His grandfather introduced him to flying as a boy, and over the years he has taken an occasional flight lesson and become involved in flying RC aircraft. Throughout the 1990s, Mr. Roberts portrayed a Navigator, Co-Pilot and Pilot of the B-17 Shoo Shoo Baby as a member of the World War II Airmen's Preservation Society. He was able to participate in events throughout the Midwest, tour many of the warbirds on display, and fly in a B-25 Mitchell bomber and TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. However, after years of educating the public about the planes and crews of the World War II era, he still had not flown in a B-17. Yesterday, the timing was right for that B-17 flight, and off he went! He wrote following the flight, "The flight was everything I expected, it was really awesome! During the flight around the St. Louis Arch, I was the only person in the nose...it was truly a moving experience."
Special thanks to the Liberty Foundation, Million Air St. Louis, the Guyon Smith family and the Roberts family for visiting with The Aero Experience as they prepared for their flights. For more information on the current Memphis Belle tour, visit the Liberty Foundation schedule page.
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| By Carmelo Turdo |
Some books about World War II can be overly academic and clinical, and I generally put them at the bottom of the stack for use as my anti-insomnia therapy. Then there are books that transport the reader into the middle of the action, fighting alongside grizzled veterans and shiny new rookies alike in the war zone. Fear no Evil: True Stories of the Mighty Eighth, is more of an experience rather than a book of war stories. Written by Charles D. Hamlin, a B-17 ball turret gunner who flew 35 missions over Germany after enlisting in 1942 at the age of 15, Fear No Evil takes you into the heart of Germany on bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force's 385th Bomb Group out of Great Ashfield, England. Hamlin lays it on the line on the first page of the Foreword: "The crews managed to complete only 27% of their assigned missions before being killed, wounded, taken prisoner or suffering some kind of breakdown." No sugar-coating the war experience here, just a reminder of the grim reality of war and the adventures that lay ahead for the reader.
The book is divided into short chapters that capture a specific mission or incident that made an impact on the veteran telling the story. These brief glimpses of war range from social foibles of Piccadilly Circus in London to the tension of nursing a severely damaged B-17 past German flak gunners and Luftwaffe fighters to a ditching in the English Channel (if you're lucky). Other crews were not so lucky, falling victim to vicious anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire, fighter attacks and even mid-air collisions with other bombers. Throughout Fear No Evil, the attentive reader can experience the musty, oily smell of the bomber's close confines and feel the bone-jarring impact of 88mm shells as large pieces of the aircraft disappear into the murky air. The cries of wounded crewmen can be heard, and the fear of being captured by enemy soldiers can be felt as the crew (and you) parachute out of a burning B-17 into enemy territory. With every adventure, Hamlin is careful to credit the skill and bravery of the crews in overcoming tremendous odds in attempting to complete the mission in the face of a determined enemy.
The Aero Experience highly recommends Fear No Evil for anyone interested in the real story of the B-17 bomber crews in World War II as told by those who experienced it first-hand. It can be ordered through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Autographed copies can be obtained from Charles Hamlin.
