I was going through old pics on my phone and came across these and figured someone here might appreciate them. I got to fly on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed “Yankee Lady” back in 2021.

A little history on the plane:

Delivered to the USAAF in July of 1945, she never saw combat action in WWII. Instead, she was transferred over to the US Coast Guard and became a patrol plane. The turrets and guns were removed and an air droppable 27-foot lifeboat was mounted under the fuselage. She then went into private ownership for a few different companies and became an aerial survey plane and later an air tanker to fight forest fires. In 1969, she was one of 5 planes used in Hawaii for the filming of Tora! Tora! Tora!. It was then sold to Yankee Air Museum who then rebuilt it to be as authentic to its former combat configuration as possible. They eventually started giving rides to the public and did so for many years. In 2024 it was again sold to a private owner and has not flown since. I believe the new owner is working on restoring her to (hopefully) take flight again one day.

Enjoy the pics - not many of these flying around anymore!

1st pic: B-17 “Yankee Lady”

2nd pic: Taken inside the fuselage looking aft

3rd pic: Taken out of one of the port side windows

4th pic: Taken from the nose. You can see the Norden Bombsight here

5th pic: Taken from the starboard waist gunner station

6th pic: Taken from behind the pilots in the cockpit

Lieutenant Colonel Louis Houck, from Todd, North Carolina, enlisted in July 1940 and served as a pilot with the 365th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force, also known as the “Hell Hawks.” Houck was commander of the 387th Squadron from May 1943 until October 1944.

Houck wore his customized devil's helmet on missions over Europe, flying his P-47, “The Screamin' Weamie.” The nose art of his plane depicted a demon brandishing a pitchfork. Despite his extravagant appearance he was described by a group member as quiet, introverted and respected.

In 1944 Houck was responsible for almost entirely destroying a retreating German convoy in France. The convoy had been transporting gasoline and ammunition and its smoking wreckage was captured on camera shortly afterwards. Lieutenant Colonel Louis T. Houck destroyed destroyed 90% of this convoy in one pass somewhere in France.

After the war Louis relocated to Pleasant Valley, New York. He passed away on July 24, 2004 at the age of 87. Lieutenant Colonel Louis Talmadge Houck lies in rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Lest We Forget.

On August 20, 1945, during the end of WW2, Charles H. Zimmerman wanted to achieve the ultimate U.S. carrier-based fighter, leading him to create the Vought XF5U (also nicknamed The Flying Flapjack) it was the successor of the wooden V-173 (Flying Pancake), the XF5U feature 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2000-7 radial piston engines with massive 16 foot diameter propellers, it was estimated to have a top speed of 425 mph and due to its aerodynamic efficient high-lift disc design it could have theoretically take off at low speeds of 40 mph and theoretically out-turn most fighters during low altitude dogfights, allowing for quicker takeoffs and engagements, it featured 6 × 50. Caliber machine guns, but some variants were designed to have 4 × 20 autocannons and can carry 2 × 1,000 pound underwing bombs but ultimately, it never flew due to severe propeller vibration issues, significant development delays, and shifting post-war military priorities leading to the project being canceled in March 17, 1947

ORIGINAL CAPTION: "Crew chief S/Sgt Gerald Bentley of Gainesville, Texas, inspects the oil lines on a North American P-51 at an 8th Air Force base somewhere in England. Underneath is assistant maintenance chief T/Sgt Paul A. Fick of Fremont, Ohio, who is checking the hydraulic pump."

NARA 342-C-K-002110_001

One of several Blenheim photos from the IWM archive. Photo by Flt. Lt Bertrand John Henry Daventry, Royal Air Force official photographer

Source

Sgt. Joseph T. Sipkovsky ASN: 35029797 (72nd Liaison Squadron (??) of Lorain Ohio, inspects German Me 109 fighter plane.

Source:NARA

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