A long time ago I read “The Nuremberg Raid” by Martin Middlebrook.

When I saw your post, the first thing to come to mind was an image from that book. It’s a picture of P/O Cyril Barton VC

He looks about 12. All I could think then, and what I still think now, based on that picture, is we sure ask a lot of our kids.

Cyril, or someone similar should should show up somewhere in your work.

Good stuff. “Jacko” got his DFC with 91 Squadron flying XIIs and XIVs. He wrote at book about his experiences as well post war.

I’ve got photos of him getting his DFC as well as one of him in a photo of the Tangmere Wing in October 43

Great job Andy!

Who remembers a film with a very early B17? xb17 woteva? where they hacked the tail off and then put a machine gun inside and the tail wheel came up and almost crushed the poor gunner? was it called Air Force? havent seen it in donkeys, but it must have been fairly memorable.

One of my all time favorite movies. Totally of the time and in some ways the kind of film I think Lucas was trying to replicate with Red Tails.

Mary Ann is a B17D (Actually a B-17B from a training unit in Florida) that is part of a group of B-17s that fly into Pearl Harbor during the attack. Some truth there, but the movie story has some inaccuracies. It then is sent to the Philippines via a stop at Wake Island to visit the Marines. After visiting the heroic but ultimately doomed Marines at Wake the crew makes it to the Philippines where it gets shot up on it’s first mission with the pilot wounded and unable to bail. The washed out of pilot training gunner stays with him and bellies in the bird. Pilot dies. The gallant crew won’t give up the ship yet however and using parts from broken 17s gets Mary Ann back on her feet and in the air. A fighter pilot who has learned the worth of bombers now takes over as pilot as the co-pilot is wounded and can only sit in the right seat. Off they go with a bomb load as the field is overrun. On their way to Australia they spot a Japanese fleet and call for reinforcements before leading the attack, wiping out the Japanese fleet.

Great film of early B17s and P-39s

You know what the saddest part of this thread is?

That most of it has been spent on ‘what’s it worth’ and ‘how to sell it’.

I know it’s the nature of the beast now, but it seems to me finding a unique piece of history should have been what was valued, not the profit that could be made.

The beauty of the story is that folks reacted, got things going in the right direction and in the end Mr Carter will get his Spitfire time 🙂

And you can bet the Museums will think first next time. So a lot of good out of one poor decision.

That story is as mentioned generally connected to the 100th Bomb Group and why they got slaughtered at Munster with only one plane returning.

I don’t know that any particular crew and plane were ever connected to the lowering the wheels and then shooting bit.

That it’s now connected to a B-24 Group speaks loudly to it being just a story that was created to explain a particular rough mission or set of missions.

I caught part of 633 Squadron on TV the other day. It had been a long time since I’d seen it.

I have to admit I cringed a bit watching it. Loved the Mossies, but the film itself left a bit to be desired.