Big Old Girl

Some sounds are unmistakable and unforgettable. Even though my hearing may be going as I age and tinnitus grabs hold of my left ear, the sound of a radial piston engine on an aircraft is easily detectable above the din of the city and my screaming ear. It is also a sound we sadly rarely hear anymore.

Busily loading my bounty in to the car after a trip to the local SunFresh (aka GayFresh) grocery store, I heard a soft rumble overhead. "Round Engine"! I shouted to my self, forgetting about the bags of foodstuffs and casting my eyes upward. There in the glare, not all that high over Westport was the unmistakable silhouette of a big war bird. Slowly churning northwest, the big blades of the propellers gripping the thick tropical air, was a vintage B-17 Flying Fortress. Most in the parking lot looked up and went on their way. I stood in awe. I love big round engined aircraft. Their pounding, fiery drone reminding me of hearing the DC3s, Martin 404s and occasional DC4s flying over head as an aircraft crazed kid.

Big old girl, shiny and restored. The grand lady is a four-engine heavybomber developed in the early years of WWII and built primarily by Boeing. At her proving trials, the soon to be B-17 outperformed other competitors and more than met the Air Corps' expectations. But Boeing lost the contract due to the unfortunate crash of the prototype. Luckily for Boeing and many future air crews, the US Army Air Corps (the US Air Force was not established yet) was so impressed with Boeing's design that they ordered some anyway. The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to enter full-scale production with 12,731 built.

The B-17 was the primary bomber aircraft of the European Theatre of WWII. She was mostly employed in the daylight precision bomb campaigns against German targets. The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the Pacific Theatre against the Japanese.

Right from the start the Flying Fortress was a formidable, high-flying, long-ranging bomber capable of unleashing great destruction yet able to defend itself. With the ability to return home despite extensive battle damage, its durability was legendary.

Our visitor, one of only 14 B-17s still flying in the US, has been restored and repainted to look like the the legendary 909, an aircraft that completed a record 140 combat missions during WWII never losing a crewman. The original, likely in bad shape, was scrapped in 1945.

Along with a B-24 that escaped my attention, the B-17 is on display this weekend at the KC Downtown Airport. I just may go and see them. Don't see one everyday you know.