Anyone who gets a chance to fly in a B-17 these days is lucky. Not so lucky were many of young men who flew in the B-17, also known as the Flying Fortress, and other aircraft during the Second World War.
Too many did not return. Too many promising young lives were cut short.
One of the few B-17s left flying, Sentimental Journey is in Victoria this week to let people get a glimpse of history.
Movies of the Second World War era often show battle-hardened men who look to be in their 30s or 40s. The truth is, most of them were young, incredibly young. An air-crew member who was 24 or 25 was likely to be called 鈥淧op鈥� or 鈥淕ramps鈥� because of his advanced age.
The B-17 and other wartime bombers 鈥� Wellingtons, Halifaxes, Lancasters 鈥� were not built for comfort. There was no insulation to dampen the noise and ward off freezing temperatures. At 10,000 metres, the temperature could get to -40C. 鈥淵ou could always tell the bomber crews by the frostbite on their cheeks,鈥� said a B-17 enthusiast.
Frostbite, though, was a minor worry. A successful flight was one that made it back. RAF Bomber Command crews had a 44 per cent death rate in the fight against Germany. The price was heavy, but the air war held off the Nazis until the Russian army and D-Day invasion could push them back to Germany and to defeat.
The old warbird flying over the skies of Vancouver Island this week isn鈥檛 just a bit of nostalgia, it鈥檚 also a memorial to the many thousands who paid the ultimate price for freedom.
