Nubbins III | B-29 Cockpit Air Adventure at Oshkosh is just around the corner. It’s been several years since I have been able to attend. Even with gas prices sky high, hopefully many planes and people will show up. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
| 7/29/2017 | B-29 Cockpit |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom |
| Exposure | 10mm (27mm) f/8 1/320s -0.33ev 400iso |
Nikon 1 V3 Hodgepodge | B-29 Cockpit The B-29 Cockpit seems quite large. What a view! Notice anything a bit out of place; perhaps, something not available in the 1940s? During WWII, 3,970 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. The B-29 began active service in 1944. It was needed in the World War II Pacific theater due to its long range and large bomb loads. Later, it was also used in the Korean War and remained in service until the late 1950s. Today, a few Superfortresses have been preserved, restored, and put on static display, but only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. “Doc” is maintained and operated by Doc’s Friends. Do you see anything in the cockpit a bit unusual, that was not available in the 1940s?
The Back Story This image was captured on a tour of the B-29. Fifi came to an airport near me to sell tours and rides. It was a cloudy, rainy day. The image as captured was to dark to see the instrument panel so I lightened them up in post processing. For more information and images on using the Nikon 1 V3 for aviation, see Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation | a 7 Image Story. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | B-29 “Fifi” Tour |
| Location | KARR Aurora Municipal Airport |
| Date/Time | 7/15/2016 2:29pm Local Time |
| Weather | Cloudy | 72°F | Moderate Winds |
| Method | Get as much light as possible without overexposure. Then, lighten more in post processing. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.4-5.6 PD-Zoom lens |
| Exposure | 10mm (27mm) f/7.1 1/200s -0.33ev 400iso |
| Post | Lightened up the instrument panel by reducing the black point in post processing and reduced noise. |
More WWII Nose Art | B-29 FiFi During WWII, 3,970 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. The B-29 began active service in 1944. It was needed in the World War II Pacific theater due to its long range and large bomb loads. Later, it was also used in the Korean War and remained in service until the late 1950s. Today, only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. For the whole story with all images, see More WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
More WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story During WWII, nose art could be found on many fighters, bombers, and sometimes on other planes like transport and observation planes. The most popular were the bombers since they had more space around the nose to paint. This post only contains images of the B-24 Liberator, the B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress, and the C-47 Skytrain. More planes with nose art are posted in my portfolios. Also, see WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story for history and more information on the practice of painting art work on the noses of WWII aircraft. For more nose art see B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story and More B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
B-25 Miss Hap Miss Hap, a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, is the oldest B-25 still in existence. It was one of the first B-25s delivered to the USAAF in February of 1941, where it was assigned to the 17th Bomb Group, 34th Bomb Squadron. Throughout WWII it served as an administrative and training aircraft as well as a VIP transport including the personal transport for General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Commander of the USAAF during WWII. Since 1989 the American Airpower Museum has been flying it to air shows throughout the country.
B-29 FiFi During WWII, 3,970 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. The B-29 began active service in 1944. It was needed in the World War II Pacific theater due to its long range and large bomb loads. Later, it was also used in the Korean War and remained in service until the late 1950s. Today, only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force.
B-25 Barbie III Barbie III is a B-25H Mitchell bomber operated by History Flight. It’s one of the rarest B-25s still flying. The B-25H was designed mainly for strafing with a 75 mm cannon in the nose, four .50-caliber guns in the nose, four .50-caliber blister guns on the forward fuselage, two .50-caliber guns in the top turret, two .50-caliber guns at the waist stations, and two .50-caliber guns in the tail turret.
C-47 “That’s All Brother” On 6th of June 1944, “That’s All Brother”, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, led the airborne invasion of Normandy. It led over 800 C-47s that dropped over 13,000 paratroopers into Normandy the night before the D-Day invasion. The Commemorative Air Force restored “That’s All Brother” to its 1944 flying condition both inside and out.
B-25 Lady Luck This B-25J Mitchell was built by North American at Kansas City, Kansas, USA in 1945. It was immediately declared surplus and changed hands many times. After finding its way to C and P Aviation at Anoka County Airport, it was renamed Lady Luck, polished, and restored to military standards.
B-24 Diamond Lil This B-24 Liberator was the 25th plane out of almost 20,000 built. After a long and varied history, it found it way to the Commemorative Air Force in 1968. In 1972, the CAF painted the Liberator the colors of the 98th BG and renamed it Diamond Lil.
B-25 Berlin Express This B-25H Mitchell bomber was completed in late December of 1943. It was flown mostly in training and administrative roles during and after WWII. Finally in 1972, after changing hands many times and after being used in filming the movie “Catch 22”, it was donated to the EAA Air Museum Foundation. After a full restoration in 1975, it flew as “The City of Burlington” with a B-25J nose, but was put on display after a landing gear collapse. Then, after another complete restoration by the EAA, it was renamed Berlin Express. Its first flight as Berlin Express was on April 20, 2019.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category More WWII Nose Art.
Click any image below for a slide show.
WWII Nose Art | B-29 “Doc” During WWII 3,970 B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. Today, a few Superfortresses have been preserved, restored, and put on static display, but only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. “Doc” is maintained and operated by Doc’s Friends. It was part of an eight plane squadron. Each plane was named for one of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . “Doc” required extensive restoration which was done over 15+ years by volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, where it was originally built. It’s first flight after restoration occurred on 17 Jul 2016. For the whole story with all images, see WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story During WWII, nose art could be found on many fighters, bombers, and sometimes on other planes like transport and observation planes. The most popular were the bombers since they had more space around the nose to paint. This post only contains images of the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress, and the C-47 Skytrain. More planes with nose art are posted in my portfolios.
The practice of painting the noses of military planes actually began in WWI. After the Great War, new regulations ban the practice. However, during WWII the regulations mostly ignored and nose artistry flourished. The nose art made each aircraft unique; helping to unify the flight crews and ground crews of each plane. Nose art became a matter of great pride to the pilots and crew. It evoked memories of peacetime life at home and helped relieve the stress of war. It also boosted the morale of combat flight crews. Its appeal partially came from nose art not being officially approved, even when the regulations against it were not enforced.
Today, nose art tends to be stenciled to the airframe. Back in the day however, it was painted onto the airframe by both professional civilian artists and talented amateur artists serving in the squadrons. Some were good; others not so much. Still some servicemen became famous by the quality of their nose art. At the height of the war, nose art artists were in such high demand, some were paid for their services.
Much of the nose art was based upon Vargas style “fantasy girl” pinup girls for the image as well as the aircraft name. Aircraft names like Heavenly Body, Yellow Rose, Miss Behavin, Double Exposure and Pacific Princess were based on pinup girl art; just to name a few. Cartoon characters were also popular; such as Super Wabbit, Ruptured Duck, and Doc. Some nose art themes tried to intimidate the enemy on planes such as Surprise Attack and Axis Nightmare. Sometimes hometowns, wives, and girlfriends inspired the nose artists.
B-25 Yellow Rose The “Yellow Rose” is the name of a vintage B-25J Mitchell WWII bomber which is again flying in American skies. The bomber was restored to its original wartime flying condition by the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing. It now flies regularly as part of the “Ghost Squadron” collection.
B-17 Thunder Bird This restored B-17 bears the markings of Thunder Bird. The original Thunderbird was based at Molesworth, England during WWII. Attached to the 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, it flew 112 bombing missions over Europe.
B-25 Executive Sweet Built late in the war, Executive Sweet saw stateside service during the remainder of WWII as a crew trainer. Then, in 1948, it became a VIP transport. After several years in military service at the School of Aviation Medicine, it was sold as surplus. It changed hands several times while appearing in films and TV shows. Eventually, it was sold to a private owner who restored it back to a wartime B-25 J model appearance. Finally, it made its way to the American Aeronautical Foundation, who operates it today.
B-25 Axis Nightmare Sometimes, the nose art tried to send a message to the enemy on planes like Axis Nightmare. Or, perhaps the message was for the flight crews.
B-25 Pacific Princess This B-25 flying as Pacific Princess has risen to celebrity status. It was used in the filming of “Catch 22” and as a static prop during the filming of “1941”. It took off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War II. It also took off from carriers USS Lexington and the USS Constellation for filming “Pearl Harbor”. Perhaps, the nose helped it get those parts.
B-29 “Doc” During WWII 3,970 B-29 Superfortress bombers were built. Today, a few Superfortresses have been preserved, restored, and put on static display, but only two B-29s, “FIFI” & “Doc“, are airworthy. “FiFi” is maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. “Doc” is maintained and operated by Doc’s Friends. It was part of an eight plane squadron. Each plane was named for one of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . “Doc” required extensive restoration which was done over 15+ years by volunteers in Wichita, Kansas, where it was originally built. It’s first flight after restoration occurred on 17 Jul 2016.
C-47 Tico Belle On the 5 Jun 44 just before midnight, this C-47 Skytrain, now named Tico Belle, was boarding soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division for their historic mission. After flying over the English Channel, at 0407 on 6 Jun 44, flying at 500 feet AGL through heavy flack, she dropped 82nd Airborne soldiers into Normandy near St. Mere-Eglise. St. Mere-Eglise was one of the first towns in Normandy liberated by the Allies on D-Day. She flew three daring missions on D-Day and had a distinguished combat record serving in six major campaigns. After the war, she participated in the Berlin Airlift from 1948-49.. After serving in the Royal Norwegan Air Force and the Royal Danish Air Force, Tico Belle came home to the Valiant Air Command in 1988. Recently, she flew supplies into the Bahamas after Category 5 hurricane Dorian.
For more nose art see B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story and More B-25 WWII Nose Art | a 7 Image Story.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category WWII Nose Art.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Oshkosh 2018 | B-29 Superfortress Landing Doc is one of 1644 B-29 Superfortresses built in Witchita during WWII. Doc was found in the Mojave Desert in 1987. Over the past 15+ years, hundreds of volunteers have worked tens of thousands of hours on Doc’s restoration. Countless people and organizations also made contributions to make the project successful. Now, this historic warbird serves as a flying museum to honor those who served and preserve our heritage for future generations. Learn more about Doc! See Oshkosh 2018 | a 7 Image Story for more about 2018 Air Adventure.
Oshkosh 2018 | a 7 Image Story Picking seven images to represent Oshkosh Air Adventure 2018 feels like mission impossible. To narrow it down a bit; for this story, it’s all about warbirds!
Also, “Doc”, one of 1644 B-29 Superfortresses built in Witchita during WWII, came to Oshkosh. Doc was found in the Mojave Desert in 1987 and restored over the past 15+ years. Learn more about Doc!
With initial deployment in 1950, the North American Aviation T-28 was the first trainer designed to transition pilots to flying jets. Besides being a trainer, the T-28 was also used in a counter-insurgency role during the Vietnam War. In civilian use, it continues flying as an aerobatic warbird.
The Red Tail P-51C Mustang, Tuskegee Airmen, also visited Oshkosh this year. It was painted to honor the four fighter squadrons in the 332nd Fighter Group featuring the red tail indicative of the Tuskegee Airmen. Learn more about Tuskegee Airmen.
The A-1 Skyraider entered service in December 1946 and saw extensive action in the Korean War and Vietnam War. One of the Skyraider’s most famous roles was as the “Sandy” helicopter escort on search and rescue operations. It was retired in the 1970’s after a total of 3,180 planes were built.
This year the Douglas C-47 Skytrain was featured with around twelve C-47s attending, including That’s All, Brother. They attended Oshkosh as part of their preparation for the June 2019 recreation of the flight into Normandy. In the wee hours of the morning on 6 Jun 1944, “That’s All Brother”, piloted by Lt. Col John Donalsoned, led the first flight of more than 800 C-47s to drop over 13,000 paratroopers from the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions behind enemy lines in Normandy. “That’s All, Brother” on the nose was a message meant for Adolf Hitler.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Oshkosh 2018.
Click any image below for a slide show!
