Sentimental Journey: A Living, Flying Museum
ASHLAND — The U.S. Army Air Forces suffered 115,382 battle casualties in World War II. Of those, 52,173 were killed – 44,785 were killed in action.
As part of an effort to remind current and future generations of that sacrifice, a World War II-era B-17 Flying Fortress, the Sentimental Journey, paid a visit to Hanover County Airport as a living, flying, museum.
Sentimental Journey: Business end
ASHLAND, Va. -- The business end of a B-17G, especially with its chin turret below the plexiglass nose, made the aircraft a difficult target to attack from the front.
Sentimental Journey: Wee Willie
The B-17G Wee-Willie (323th Squadron, 91st Bomb Group) goes down over Kranenburg, Germany, after its port (left) wing is blown off by flak (antiaircraft artillery) on April 8, 1945.
Sentimental Journey: No Survivors
There were no survivors of this B-17 of the 483rd Bomb Group. It was downed by flak (antiaircraft artillery) in a mission over Nis, Yugoslavia, in April 1944.
Sentimental Journey: On the tarmac
ASHLAND, Va. -- The World War II-era B-17 bomber "Sentimental Journey" draws visitors to the tarmac during a visit to the Hanover County Airport on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020.
Sentimental Journey: Heavy bombers
ASHLAND, Va. -- Heavy bombers like the B-17G carried the war deep into the heart of Nazi Germany in World War II, but at great cost to air crews. The Eighth Air Force suffered 47,000 casualties, with more than 26,000 dead.
Sentimental Journey: Nose art
ASHLAND, Va. -- The Sentimental Journey's nose art includes a nod to a famous World War II pinup photo of Betty Grable.
Sentimental Journey: Business end
ASHLAND, Va. -- The business end of a B-17G, especially with its chin turret below the plexiglass nose, made the aircraft a difficult target to attack from the front.
Sentimental Journey: Bomb bay
ASHLAND, Va. -- The two racks in the bomb bay of a B-17 could hold up to 8,000 pounds of bombs.
Sentimental Journey: Nose compartment
ASHLAND, Va. -- The bombardier and navigator of a B-17 crew shared a cramped compartment up in the nose of the aircraft.
Sentimental Journey: PIlot seat
ASHLAND, Va. -- The left seat of a B-17's cockpit was filled by the pilot, an officer who commanded the rest of the crew.
Sentimental Journey: Top turret
ASHLAND, Va. -- The flight engineer stood on a platform to operate twin M2 Browning .50-caliber machine guns of the top turret.
Sentimental Journey: Passage
ASHLAND, Va. -- The passage through the bomb bay was cramped.
Sentimental Journey: Catwalk
ASHLAND, Va. -- Before arrival over the target, the passage through the bomb bay was lined with high explosives. Anyone on the catwalk had to be very careful.
Sentimental Journey: Radio compartment
ASHLAND, Va. -- The radioman worked in a compartment filled with equipment used for both communication and navigation. It also had a 50-caliber machine gun for when the radioman's marksmanship skills were more in demand.
Sentimental Journey: Ball turret
ASHLAND, Va. -- Getting into or out of the ball turret was always a bit of a challenge. Because of the lack of space inside the turrent, ball turret gunners often kept their parachutes on the flight deck near the hatch. One gunner, Alan Magee, was thrown clear of his damaged aircraft and did a 4-mile free fall into the train station in St. Nazaire, France. He survived.
Sentimental Journey: Waist gunners
ASHLAND, Va. -- The waist gunner's compartment may look spacious enough for two, but the space could get quite claustrophobic in the heat of battle.
Sentimental Journey: Brownings
ASHLAND, Va. -- Its complement of 13 M2 Browning .50-caliber machine guns gave the B-17G plenty of bite when enemy fighters attacked.
Sentimental Journey: Fire rate
ASHLAND, Va. -- The M2 Browning .50-caliber machine guns could fire at a rate of about 800 rounds per minute.
Sentimental Journey: Loneliest position
ASHLAND, Va. -- The crawl space leads to the tail gunner's compartment, arguably the lonelist position among the B-17's crew.
Sentimental Journey: Waist gunner
ASHLAND, Va. -- One of the Commemorative Air Force crew mans a waist gun while talking to visitors inside during the Sentimental Journey's visit to Hanover County Airport on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020.
Sentimental Journey: Ball turret
ASHLAND, Va. -- It took a special person to climb into the ball turret. Oftentimes, there wasn't room for both the gunner and his parachute.during a visit to the Hanover County Airport on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020
Sentimental Journey: Tail markings
ASHLAND, Va. -- The Sentimental Journey bears the markings of the Eighth Air Force's 457th Bombardment Group. The unit's home base in England during World War II was at RAF Glatton in Cambridgeshire, England.
Sentimental Journey: Takeoff
The Sentimental Journey, a B-17G owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, takes off from Hanover County Airport for a flight on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.
Sentimental Journey: Approach
The Sentimental Journey, a B-17G owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, approaches Hanover County Airport on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.
Sentimental Journey: Overhead
The Sentimental Journey, a B-17G owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, flies over Hanover County Airport on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.
While Americans tend to remember only the U.S. Army Air Forces' contributions to World War II, many of our allies had been at war for several …
Dave Lawrence
Sports Editor
ASHLAND – The U.S. Army Air Forces suffered 115,382 battle casualties in World War II. Of those, 52,173 were killed – 44,785 were killed in action.
