Anyone know of a good source (on line or book) that would contain pictures of field modified B-17s?
Check out Squadron/Signal B-17 In Action. Detail in Scale might have some more,other than that I’m not sure. A lot of field modifications were applied to older aircraft at repair depots,so you may have to start checking serial numbers.
Just so happens I have a particular serial number I’m researching for - 41-2666.
But what would I check this number up against?
Have you asked the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB? If you know the Bomb Group and Squadron you might find an online resource by searching by that.
Looks like you caught the recent installment of ‘Dogfights’ on the History Channel. There are some lingering questions as to how Zeamer’s plane was configured. What is known is:
- Dual .50s were carried in the waists and radio room.
- Both .30s in the nose were replaced with .50s
- An additional .50 could be remotely fired by the pilot.
The question is where was that last .50? The producers of the show seem to think it was jury rigged on the top of the fuselage and while that could be true but I have never seen such a modification. I have seen dozens of 17s and 24s with a pilot-operated fixed gun and all were in the floor of the nose.
Another question is the nose art. The name ‘Lucy’ is always been associated with that plane in 43BG history but in interviews Zeamer denied it carried any name and referred to the plane as ‘Ole 666’.
Good luck with the build. For me this is another one of those builds that I keep putting off.
Thanks, Winged Prop. It was indeed inspired by the recent episode of ‘Dogfight’ that got me started. What really got my going on this was a link I found when I started my on-line research:
http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part2/07_zeamer_sarnoski.html
This is a detailed account of the pilot of ‘Old 666’ and it was compiled by the nephew of one if the aircraft’s crew members. I swear if they could make a movie of the ‘Memphis Bell’, they could do one for ‘Old 666’. A single B-17 fighting of 17 Zeros, two Congressional Medal of Honor winners and Distinguished Flying Crosses for the rest -the most decorated air crew in history.
Right now I’m trying to find the 1/48 Revell B-17E/F kit but the hardest part will be finding the references to the additional guns. Some YB-40 references may help but the fixed pilot’s gun will be tough to find. The pilot’s gun mount is probably the biggest mystery for me because it’s not just augmenting a existing mount but a new improvised one. As for the markings, according to ‘Dogfight’ and my on-line article find, there was no distinct markings on the aircraft. It was supposed to be a patched up plane ready to be canibalized for parts before Zeamer got hold of it so I may have to consider doing something to convey a worn looking appearence on the model.
This will be a very long build process. I’ve still got others to finish first, but this too good a subject to let go.
John,
Thanks for the Air Force Museum idea. I’ll try contacting them.
Thanks for that link! That’s an amazing story! I’m building a B-17F as “Black Jack”, so please share any information you have on the field mods, as I think “Jack” had them as well.
Deal, jaypack. I’ll let you know what I find and please let me know if you find something that helps you with ‘Black Jack’.
If you haven’t already, you might want to check out kensmen- it might not have pics of old 666, but it does have a lot of other information on the 43rd BG, as well as several photos that may be of some use.
Glad to help John. If I had to put money on it I would say the fixed gun installation looked like the one shown in the photo of Ole Shasta 41-2428 which is posted on the Black Jack thread. I have a photo of a unidentified E from the 11th BG that carries the same mod.
The nose art has always intriqued me. The fact that this plane was originally in the 19th BG may lend some credence to the ‘Lucy’ nose art/name.
John, I too saw that episode and started having ideas. I’ll be watching this thread closely, and thanks for the great link! Joe
No problem, Mustang. When you see a thread here with the subject ‘Old 666’, you’ll know when I’ve started.
And before It goes any further, my name is Mike.
I think Winged Prop saw my line of thanks to ‘jeaton01’, whose name is John. It kind of looked like a sign off line that way I postioned it in my post. Besides, in the real world, I’m Mike, but in this world I am - AURORA-7!
Here’s the original post