My experience in 99th Bomb Group B17 WW2

Discussion in 'Veteran Accounts' started by jhor9, Apr 10, 2006.

  1. jhor9

    jhor9 WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    did you for an chance operate from gibraltar; proud to have u in the forum

    I nver was close to Gib
     
  2. jhor9

    jhor9 WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Jules,

    Can you tell us what the Air Force did with men who had completed their tour of duty overseas?

    I assume they did not give you a discharge!

    Instructor perhaps, or "flying a desk"?


    OZ

    After returning to the U.S. I had a 10 day leave and then reported for reassignment. I asked for B29's but was told that they needed 4engine instructors. After 6 months of training B17 crews I requested and went to Navigation school, and got wings and was dual rated.
     
  3. Lonewolf

    Lonewolf Junior Member

    jhor9,

    First of all--Thank you for your service.

    50 missions--probably not many men/crews had 50 missions.

    Great to have a WWII Vet. here on the forum.
    I lost my WWII Hero November 26, 2007. My father was 93.
    He was wounded and captured March 11, 1945 near Trier, Germany.

    Regards,
    Lonewolf
     
  4. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    First post on this thread.

    It took a little reading to to get throught the whole thread, but perhaps I can answer a question posed by KFZ some time ago about Burtonwood, during the war.

    Burton wood was a BAD (Base air depot), of which there were several around the Uk and Northern Ireland.

    My local BAD was BAD2 at Warton, near Preston, where my Late uncle was posted.

    He was a very early mechanical and electrical computer expert, who worked for Honeywell, a large American Firm that still exists to this day.

    The firm helped to make the Norden Bombsight and my Uncle was one of the first at Warton to set up the training school for bombsight work etc.

    He was technically a civilian, but due to tight security, was given a Rank and uniform of Captain in order to move about the base easier.

    He married my late fathers younger sister, before the end of the war and hence my American connections.

    The Base air depots services new planes ferried acrosss the Atlantic. Warton specialised in Liberators, but other bombers types and fighters were also repaired etc.

    Burton wood specialised more in the Heavy fighter role, with Thunderbolts etc. A lot were shipped across the Atlantic to Liverpool and driven in convoys to Burtonwood and other locations for final assembly and test flight, before handing over to operational squadrons.

    A decision was taken early in the war to build these depots as far away from the German bombing radius as possible, hence them being in the North west of England and Northern Ireland.

    Anyone interested in this fascinating part of the USSAF history, I can recommend the following book.

    The World's Greatest Air Depot.
    The US 8th Air Force at Warton 1942-1945

    Author: Harry Homes. ISBN 185310 969 X

    Regards

    Tom
     
  5. camelialong

    camelialong Discharged

    Edit by VP:
    Spammy nonsense...
     
  6. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Hi Jules

    Welcome aboard and keep taking the tablets :)

    With best regards from a fellow oldie !

    Ron
     
  7. i am interested as to how the b17 was able to fly after sustaining heavy flak damage
     
  8. Philip_roy_74

    Philip_roy_74 Junior Member

    Hi jhor9 thanks for your service my grandfather was Also in ww2 his name was Philip Roy from New York
     
  9. barbass

    barbass Junior Member

    My father was with the 99th BG-WW2.......... He was a turret ball gunner . He was stationed out of Tunis, and was shot down on his wasy to italy. He survived the downing of the plane , but was captured by the Germans. His name was William A. Bass
     

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