Lotsa guns

[armoredman]

Yes, 12 .50 BMG caliber machine guns, to be exact. B-17G "I'll Be Around" in her very own hangar at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Don't ask me why my son looks depressed in the picture - he had the time of his life! Oh, yes about the guns...notice how well I represent CZ-USA?



Here's the part most people DON'T know - they are live and loaded with live ammo. The electrical firing circuits are disabled. The 309th Bombardment group wanted their plane to be as close to authentic as possible. Therefore the plane ostensibly belongs to the US Air Force, which allows the museum to keep the weapons live, locked and loaded. She is perfectly restored, and fully flight capable. They would have to replace the upper turret, seen to the right, back where the dummy turret is right now, drop the four dummy bombs and find some live ordnance. Imagine this plane finding cartel convoys...
In this picture, the man in the wheelchair was the navigator on a B-17 in Europe. The gentleman in the red hat was the co pilot of the very plane behind him, but in the 1950s as part of a CIA run.

[DenStinett]

Dave:
When was this ?
What a cowinkidink
Catherine and I just went up to Hill Air Museum yesterday
Imagine being a Waste Gunner on one of them ?
Fighting off a swarm of 109s, through an open window, in sub-zero conditions

Cool fact;
Preston Tucker, the man that was behind the late 40?s Tucker Car, invented the system that ran the Upper Turret of the WWII Bombers and a Battle Car that carried one atop it too
The US Army turned down his Battle Car because (get this) it was too fast ! ! !

[armoredman]

This was less than a month ago. If you get the chance, go see the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, incredible history.

[jwc007]

Visited there as well as "Old Tucson" back in 1992.  Great Museum! 

[DenStinett]

Dave:
I hear you
The Air Museum here at Hill AFB is real nice too
A large outer grounds with Planes like;
A B29, B47, B52, B1 and a few Fightes
A Globemaster, C130, C119 and a Flying Gas Can
Then there are two large buildings full of Planes and memorabilia
A lot of WWII and Viet Nam era Planes
PLUS, JFK's Air Force One, an SR-71 and a Wart Hog
Lottsa cool stuff

[Spirit 1]

Thanks for sharing that! It just doesn't get any more cool than that!

[armoredman]

We have Ikes Air Force One. They finally moved the SR-71 indoors, walk right underneath it now. Many fighters from every time period, Russian, German, American. It's hard to understand how small some planes were until you park a short 11 year old next to one.



jwc, if you back out, stop in at the Desert Museum, too, just had my son over there, too, what an incredible place. This is part of the "cave" underground exhibit.



I have to note that both PASM and ASDM are posted "no weapons".

[DenStinett]

That Mig doesn't look like much but they were fast in their day

Wait ! ! ! Did you hear that ? ! ?

[armoredman]

No, but my son did.

[Hayfield123]

This looks like a great place to visit.  I'm debating a trip to Tucson in September . . .  The 390th Strategic Missile Wing Memorial Association is having a Titan II 50th Anniversary celebration . . . I was a Propellant Transfer Specialist (PTS), loading fuel onto Titan IIs in the 60's and our PTS crowd plans to attend and have a reunion in association with the event.

Have you ever been to the Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita?

[larryflew]

They finally moved the SR-71 indoors....................

Now your talkin'.   Have a pic I took of the SR with my NCOIC sitting on the wing.  In Okinawa in 1969 and we where the only two in the A/C section that had high enough clearances to be in their area so the 2 of us did all their A/C work. Their hats just said 3+  since even the location of those was secret.  When they left the base they turned nose straight up and where out of sight in a few seconds.  Run up was right behind our shop and the starter engine was a full chromed, including headers, big block buick V8.

Thanks for the GREAT flashback.

[armoredman]

No prob - had a former friend who worked at China Lake NAS, said when the SR-71s did touch and goes, they called them touch and gones.