Me before takeoff. Speaking generally, I was scared. Doing this day
after day, up there where the air is thin and freezing and with Nazis
shooting at you,
must have been unspeakably terrifying. More evidence that they were
made of sterner stuff back then.
The original 'Nine 0 Nine' flew 140 missions. This ship was delivered
too late to see combat but was renamed in honor of its distinguished
predecessor. It had a peculiarly radioactive history.
Ready for takeoff. Note the relative lack of safety equipment and
abundance of
sharp edges. See comments above regarding sterner stuff. Most who flew
with me
also had a family connection with B-17s. With me in the radio
compartment was a woman whose father in law was a pilot and a guy whose
uncle was a bombardier. My uncle, Joseph Harry Joffe, was a navigator.
His ship, a B-17 F, tail number 42-30608, from the 326th Bombardment
Squadron of the 92nd Bombardment Group (Heavy), was shot down over the
Frisian Islands between 11:00 and 11:30 AM on Friday 26 November 1943.
High above the reservoirs of Westchester.
Above the Hudson River at about 1000 feet, looking out the nose.
Video of the view from the top turret, looking forward and then back
A view from the nose looking at the bombardier's seat as we crossed the
Hudson.
Another view out the nose from the bombardier's position, looking over
the
bombsight.
