![]() In the lobby of a Holiday Inn, a pair of uniformed U.S. Paying participants started booking in 2009, and, despite the moribund economy, last year’s camp had one more camper than the 2009 session.ĭAY ONE, 7 A.M. One friend made his ranch available for the bombing runs another for a gunnery range. Luckily, Stockton Field museum vice president Ken Terpstra has friends with large, private ranches. Locating a target range appropriate for the cement bombs was also an issue. 50-caliber machine guns that actually fired (rented from suppliers to Hollywood studios), they reinforced gun mounts. Ramey and about 10 volunteers from the Stockton Field museum had to reactivate inoperative bomb racks and rewire gun turrets. The period-faithful had to be made 21st century functional. “You’re taking an historic airplane, restored to look authentic, and making it into an aircraft capable of doing everything it did in World War II-not just looking like it could,” says Collings. Four years ago, he presented his idea to foundation executive director Rob Collings: “I said, ‘Hey Rob, could we, uh, drop bombs out of your planes and shoot the guns?’ Rob thought for a minute and said, ‘I don’t see why not.’ ” Ramey, who owns Vintage Aircraft, a company specializing in the restoration of warbirds and antique aircraft, provided radios for Collings’ fleet, then expanded into piloting the classic airplanes. “It’s a vision I’d had since grade school,” says Taigh Ramey, president of the nonprofit Stockton Field Aviation Museum in California. ![]() Fantasy Camp, however, turns toe-dipping into total immersion. ![]() On its Wings of Freedom tours, Collings offers glimpses of air combat with fly-alongs in its renowned warbird collection. The camp is sponsored by the Collings Foundation, a group known for preserving and flying vintage aircraft, and the 2010 session drew 12 “cadets” willing to pay nearly $4,000 each to experience two days as B-24 airmen. Welcome to World War II Bomber Crew Fantasy Camp. On one of the bombs, someone has scrawled a greeting to “Adolph.” A huge cross mark has been mowed into a hay field below and covered with hundreds of pounds of puff-producing white flour. The bomb bay doors growl open, and the fuselage is filled with hot wind and exhaust fumes. 50-caliber waist guns jackhammer the air with bursts of defensive fire. Beginning in 1943, Airmen wore patches on their uniform sleeves to indicate their specialty.Try not to show it’s your first mission on a B-24. The success of the bombing campaign depended on tens of thousands of highly-skilled enlisted Airmen. bomb before hoisting it into a B-17 bomb bay. Ordnance men put on the tail fin and arming wire for a 500-lb. In 1970, historian Roger Freeman found this twisted bomb casing while visiting Metfield-embedded within is the sole of a shoe believed to be from one of those killed. The explosion was heard for 40 miles and shattered windows in a village several miles away. The catastrophic blast killed five men, destroyed or permanently grounded more than 20 B-24s, and damaged several others. One bomb accidentally detonated, which in turn set off 1,200 tons of bombs. ![]() On July 15, 1944, US ordnance personnel were unloading high-explosive bombs at Metfield airfield in England. Wartime poem expressing ground crewmen’s emotions when bombers did not return. Most maintenance was done outdoors regardless of the season or weather. Ground crew changing an engine on a B-24 in the snow at an Eighth Air Force base in England. They will add tail fins and a nose and tail fuse before loading it. Accidents happened from time to time, with catastrophic effect.īomb loaders retrieve a 1,000-lb. They assembled, transported, and put bombs in the aircraft. Ground crews constantly maintained the large, complex bombers, repaired battle damage, and performed modifications to make the aircraft more effective.īomb loaders in the ordnance section had the dangerous duty of preparing the bombers’ deadly payload. Bomber crews’ lives depended on the skill and diligence of their ground crews.
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