Western Railroad Discussion > B-29 and B-24 over Colorado Joint Line

No need to take cover - they're ours! The Commemorative Air Force (formerly known as the Confederate Air Force) flew over the Joint Line into Colorado Springs, CO, after their weekend Rocky Mountain Air Show in Broomfield, CO, August 16-18, 2013. B-29 FiFi (Boeing Superfortress) and B-24 Liberator Diamond Lil will be taking to the air Tuesday and Wednesday (August 20 & 21st).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/13 07:46 by cozephyr.

---

---

nice ones, CZ!

Very nice. Thanks for sharing them!

It was a fantastic show, and the chance to see a B29 fly was not to be missed. Here is FiFi warming up in the morning sun on saturday.

— espee4ever

---

Heard them flying over my house, the sound they make flying over is quite distinctive.

Those planes are AWESOME!Thanks for sharing.
The only thing better than seeing them is hearing them.
Tom

Imagine the sound of over 100 of them flying overhead in formation.

Gary

If you admire the mechanical engineering of railroad equipment, you have to be impressed with those engines.
Like our steam "teams", the aviation community is hustling to get the personal knowledge of these crafts into younger people.

Nice,unless you were the target for today.


SN711 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Imagine the sound of over 100 of them flying
> overhead in formation.
>
> Gary

Here's a bit different perspective on the B-24,Diamond Lil ... a quick grab shot as she flew over Golden, CO this morning on her way to Colorado Springs ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

---

Beautiful images, I have seen Fi-Fi before and it is something. My grandfather flew on Liberators during the war and he has shared many photos and stories with me about his experiences and the B-24...it always brought him home. Thanks for posting these.

I'm glad to see FiFi still flying. I saw it in Norfolk, Va at least 30 years ago. She is beautiful

I've heard that "Fifi" is the only airworthy, flying B-29 left. It flew almost over the house a couple of years ago, and I found out it was at an airshow near here, so got to see it close up too. The B24 & the P-51 were there also, what a day. I was at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum near Washington, DC this spring, and saw another B-29, the "Enola Gay" on display. I was kinda surprised, had no idea it was preserved there.

Here's the two planes arriving over Broomfield last Friday before they did an over head break to land...

---

ddg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum near
> Washington, DC this spring, and saw another B-29,
> the "Enola Gay" on display. I was kinda surprised,
> had no idea it was preserved there.

Enola Gay's atomic bomb dropping squadron mate "Bockscar" is preserved at the USAF museum at Dayton OH.

They will be in the Kansas City area Aug. 22-25. See them at New Century AirCenter (former Olathe Naval Air Station) in Gardner, Kansas... about 20 miles southwest of downtown Kansas City on I-35 (and hard by the BNSF Transcon Emporia Sub [had to get a train reference in there!!]).

Okay, since we've become 'planeorders.com', here's one I took recently from the bombardier's position on a B-17. But wait! There IS rail content here, that is Seattle's Interbay Yards up there ahead.

Ed

---

Those radial engines do have a distinctive sound and feel.

Bill Higgison, the best boss I have ever had, flew B29's off Tinian Island during WWII. He did not pilot either of the two famous planes, "Enola Gay" or "Bockscar" which took off from Runway Able on Tinian. His was "Miss America 1962", name derived after he and the guys in his crew determined that would be the first year that Bruce Alger's, captain, or any of their daughters would be eligible to obtain the title of Miss America.

His plane is one of the few B29's still around, preserved at Travis Air Museum. You can see images at http://philcrowther.com/6thBG/6bgcrewf2409.html or http://philcrowther.com/6thBG/6bgplane11.html. Bill Higgison is 2nd from right kneeling with bright vest in the first photo and 3rd form the left in with the white shirt in the second photo.

Of his many recollections, the one the crew was awarded medals for was most interesting. When the B29s took off from Tinian Island, they were loaded basically to double the spec weight they were designed to carry. While setting on the runway waiting to take off, the plane taking off in front of him would literally drop below his line of vision and slowly climb back within view. The fuel would only be enough to run a perfect mission. On the medal mission, a bomb was stuck in the tracks of the bomb delivery system in the plane. They had to return with the bomb stuck. On the return from the mission they had a jolt like something huge had kicked the plane. Upon investigation, they found the bomb had dislodged and burst through the bomb bay doors with the biggest damage being the door cables rendered useless. The open bomb bay doors was creating too much drag to safely return to the base, so the decision was made to drop to 100' and lower the smallest crew member with ropes, held by other crew members, into the opening between the doors. The lowered crew member grabbed and raised the bomb bay doors which were cabled shut. Mission accomplished and the plane safely returned to base.

Here in Marietta, GA a B29 is on display at the entrance to Lockheed Martin. Compared to the planes of today, the B29 is relatively small. But the work they accomplished was rather large. In checking the spelling of names for the recollection above, I came across a story about Suicide Cliff on Siapan Island near Tinian. Over 20,000 Japanese and other nationalities jumped to their deaths as a command of the Japanese emperor. Story is here. http://ronnyhermandejong.com/tinian/

Jay

B-29 Superfortress
Price: $595-$1,595
The B-29 is no doubt the largest and most sophisticated bomber of WWII. Come join us on tour as we offer rides to the public. Experience what crews of WWII felt as you take this ride back in history.

Maybe TO will allow one more non-rail comment? A trivia item. There was supposed to be completely different crews for each of the atomic bomb missions. But didn't quite turn out that way. One man flew on both of them. He was one of the three bomb specialists on each flight whose functions were specifically related to the atomic weapon on board. Google the name Jacob Beser.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/13 08:14 by GeneL.