B-17

We took a trip to Muskegon to tour a B-17 today. (We also went and walked down the channel in Grand Haven, dipped our toes in the lake and got some sun... but that's normal stuff.)

Old planes are cool. World War II planes are awesome. One that is very similar to the kind my Father in Law flew in, and ejected from over occupied France during WWII, are something of legend in our family.

Imagine any flight you've taken. Pressurized cabin, heat, comfy seat, very little real risk of going down. Now, take a look at these pictures and imagine being in a suit you had to plug into the plane to stay warm, having no room to move around and knowing that bullets and bombs are coming your way shortly after you leave the ground. It should leave no doubt in your mind as to the character and heroism of the people that did this over and over and those that continue to serve our country today.

It took 3 people to get these off the ground. The pilot & co-pilot were busy doing so much that the flight engineer was also needed to watch the gauges and call out readings.

My FIL's view when in place for missions. He shot from the top.

See the hatch on that little ball? Someone actually went into that to hang below the belly of the plane!

The view of the same from under the plane.

My Father in Law's crew only lost their tail gunner (they flew with 10 people total). Everyone else ejected, touched down and were immediately contacted and recovered by the French Underground. They were then moved through occupied France to Great Britain over the course of several months before they made their way home to the United States.

We spent almost 2 hours crawling around this plane. It was free to walk around the outside and $5.00 per adult, $3.00 per child, to go through front to back. It's worth much more than that.