B-17 rumbles over Spa City
The iconic World War II B-17 bomber Sentimental Journey is rumbling through the sky over Hot Springs Memorial Field this week as part of the Summer Flying Legends of Victory Tour across the United States and Canada, giving the public exclusive access to a piece of American history.
“We’ve hosted many different aircraft like this in the past. It provides something for the community to do while reminding them the airport is here and fully operational,” airport Director Glen Barentine said.
The fully restored aircraft and two others from the World War II era are on tour through October, visiting around 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada to “fulfill their mission of educating all generations about the role of aviation in combat,” a news release said.
Volunteers with the nonprofit Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum, known as the Warbirds, spend six months on tour with one of the three aircraft and another six months ensuring the planes are kept in pristine condition.
“This is the most authentically restored B-17. That doesn’t make (our crew or aircraft) any more special, it makes us lucky. We are all trying to keep a small piece of American history alive,” loadmaster Shelby Bolke said.
Nicknamed the Flying Fortress, the B-17 was a strategic weapon in World War II because of its ability to sustain extensive battle damage and still return home, a news release said.
Typically, the crew would range between the ages of 17 to 25 years old. The older boys would take the helm, while the younger ones manned the guns and worked as part of the flight crew.
“Obviously, it’s not built like a modern plane. It’s all muscle power (to operate) and you work up a sweat flying it,” pilot Reid MacCosham said.
Construction on the aircraft was completed near the end of 1944. The plane was then shipped to the South Pacific to assume active duty, but because it was commissioned near the end of the war, it never actually saw any action.
After the war, the plane served in a variety of different capacities, from photo mapping the Philippines to assisting in nuclear tests. It was finally decommissioned after years of fighting forest fires and put up for auction.
In 1978, the plane was bought at auction and the restoration process began. Most B-17s received extensive damage during the war, making it impossible for them to ever fly again. Sentimental Journey is one of only 10 B-17 Bombers still in flight.
“Everything that made her look like a bomber was gone (when we got her). The other
person bidding at auction wanted to use it to make beer cans,” Bolke said.
A lot of time was spent authentically restoring the aircraft to its former glory. A few modifications were made to improve public accessibility, but nearly everything else is still as it was in 1944. Intricate details like an old photo of a soldier’s sweetheart and an image of actress Betty Grable pasted on the side of the aircraft add to the authenticity of the restoration.
Three veterans and members of the press were given the opportunity to fly over the city in the bomber Monday. The flight circled airspace 2,000 feet above Hot Springs, giving those aboard a small, rumbling glimpse into the past.
The veterans who flew on the plane Monday “are symbols of the generation that gave us a free world. I was born in 1946, so they literally made it possible for me to be free,” Bolke told the Sentinel-Record Monday.
The B-17 Bomber will remain in Hot Springs until Oct. 2. Tours will be offered from 2-6 p.m. Sept. 25, 29 and 30; and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 26-28. The cost is $10 per person, or $20 for a family of four.
Rides will be offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $425 per waist compartment seat and $850 for bombardier/navigator seats in the nose and are limited to eight passengers per flight.
Bolke said those seeking tours should come in the afternoon and those wanting to see the bomber in flight should come in the morning.
All the money made from ticket sales goes directly into maintaining the quality and integrity of the aircraft. Reservations are required; visit http://bit.ly/HotSpringsB17 for more information.