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This is the front view of a B-17 with
the identification of the 457th Bomb Group. This is "Sentimental Journey"
belonging to the Confederate Air Force. Willard Reese |
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This is another view of the same plane as above.
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This is a rear view of the same plane.
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This is a view of the front of the plane showing the
plexiglass nose and the chin turret 50 caliber guns that were operated by the
bombardier. |
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This view shows a side view of the tail
section with clear markings of the 457th Bomb Group. The side window and gun
were operated by the waist gunners. Willard
Reese |
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This is the ball turret with it's twin
50 caliber guns. The gunner entered the turret from inside the plane and not
until the plane was airborn. |
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This view gives some idea of the crowded
space that the tail gunner occupied and the rear defense of twin 50 caliber
guns. |
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This is a view from under engine number
one showing the turbo supercharger and the exhaust system. Each engine had a
turbo charger. |
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A view of the B-17 landing gear.
The gear retracted forward and up into the nacelle. |
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We are now
inside the plane in the nose section which housed the Bombardier and
Navigator. The seat directly ahead was for the bambardier. The bomb sight was
directly in front of him. The bicycle-type handlebars to the right were
pulled down to the center by the bombardier and were used to control the chin
turret guns. The navigators table was to the left in this picture. The 50
calibre guns on each side were to be operated by the Navigator.
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This is a
view of the pilots side of the cockpit instrument panel
The throttles are to the right of the picture
and are controlled by the pilots right hand
while the control column is operated by the
pilots left hand. The round numbered control knob on the
center pedestal is the electronic turbo control. The red push buttons on the
instrument panel are for feathering engines. |
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This is the center pedestal between the
pilot and the copilot. The throttles are directly in front and the pitch
controls for each engine are immediately below the throttles. On the pedestal
in the lower part of the picture is the "automatic flight controls" (or the
autopilot). |
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This is a view of the instrument
panel on the right side in front of the copilot. |
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This is a full view of the cockpit
instrument panel showing almost all gauges and controls.
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This shows
the copilot's bucket seat and seat belt. The
lever to the right of the seat is the manual priming pump for the engines.
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This is a view looking up into the top
turret. The gun controls are in the center of the picture.
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This is a view of the right side of
the bomb bay looking forward. The outboard bomb rack and bomb shackles are
clearly shown. The bomb bay doors are open. The overhead hook is part of the
bomb loading apparatus. |
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This is the radio compartment
(port side looking forward) showing the radio operator's seat,
desk and radio. |
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This is radio equipment on the rear
firewall in the radio compartment. The view is looking toward the front of the
plane and the bomb bay. |
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This is a view of the firewall at the rear of the
radio compartment - looking toward the rear of the plane. The cranks on the
wall are to
manually crank down the
landing gear and the wingflaps. Thanks to James R. Day, who was a radar spot
jammer in the 750th, this radio equipment can be properly
identified. The top three units
are transmitters used to jam enemy radar. The bottom unit is a receiver that
detected the radar signal. Once a signal was picked up, one transmitter was used to
jam that signal as others were received and jammed simultanesouly. Each
operator was capable of jamming three signals at the same time. My thanks to
J.Jason Day who passed this information to me. He is the grandson of James.
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This is a view of the port waist
gun position showing the 50 caliber gun and amunition box. The hose and
control on the wall are the waist gunners oxygen supply. |
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Here is an actual picture of the waist
gunners in action manning the 50 caliber waist guns. Note the heavy sheepskin
flying suits and boots, the
oxygen masks, headsets and intercom cords. Maneuvering under these conditions
was difficult at best. |
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This is a view of the starboard waist gun
position looking toward the rear of the plane. The amunition boxes were steel
but these probably are temporary till they can be properly restored.
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This is a view of the ball turrett looking toward the
front of the plane. The yellow tank is the ball turret gunners oxygen supply.
Both waist guns are visible in this picture. The bulkhead door straight ahead
leads into the radio compartment. |
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This view is from the waist position looking toward the
tail. The center vertical struts are part of the tail wheel retraction system.
You can see how difficult it was for the tail gunner to crawl to his position
with heavy flight gear on. The red box in front is a tool box. |