If you find yourself in Tucson, AZ, I highly recommend going to the Pima Air & Space Museum. The museum has been around for since 1976 and is pretty well known, so it's not like I'm breaking new ground here, but I had a great experience there this week. If you're a patriot and a history lover, then you should not wait any longer to go here or you might miss out of an American treasure.
I got there right as it opened and was sort of shocked that I was 50th in line. The museum is more popular than I expected, I guess. The collection is marvelous if you like planes at all. You can spend two or three hours and still not feel like you've seen it all. I took my time and walked their entire grounds, including every building on site and was impressed the whole time. I'll admit, it would be great if you could get inside more of the craft, but it would probably be a liability nightmare to allow that. Still, if you're not impressed by the size of some of the planes you see and the variety, you're not an aviation enthusiast. The more prized possessions are on display in the several hangers they have, and that includes most of the WWII aircraft. You'll be thrilled by the B-29, B-24, B-25, C-47, PBY, Hurricane, Spitfire, P-51, Corsair and more. Planes from all major conflicts are represented, including our adversaries as well as civilian aircraft. There are well-versed volunteers, a restaurant, gift store and even a tram to take you around the 80 acres with ease.
The highlight for me was in the B-17 building. It was in the middle of the open-air area, completely separate from the other buildings. It didn't open until an hour and half later than the rest of the museum and that is because it is operated by the 390th Bomb Group. This museum in itself claims to not get any of the gate proceeds from the museum and relies on donations. It houses the last B-17 to be used by any branch of the service, named the, I'll Be Around. The 390th does a great job of honoring the 673 crew members that didn't return from the war as well as a those that were prisoners after their planes were shot down. If you like dioramas, there are several cool ones, especially one of the airfield they occupied in England, Framlingham. They have a wall dedicated to nose art of the B-17, as well as some of the bomber jackets worn by the bombers themselves.
Perhaps the coolest part was listening to Colonel Richard Bushong speak. Bushong is a true national treasure. He is 100 years old and quite possibly the last surviving B-17 airman alive in the US. At a century old, Col. Bushong has all his faculties and a great memory. He is only there on Thursdays and he is well worth listening to. I hope the museum has taken the time to record him as he is living history that will not be around forever. I consider myself lucky to have been there and to listen to him. It just happened to be that 79 years ago to the day, that he was involved in a raid on Germany that he recalled. It's impressive that he remembers so much. He volunteered to join the Army Air Force in 1943 and piloted aircraft in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He has written a book, so you can get some of his stories there, but seeing him in person was worth the price of admission.
The B-17 has always had a special place in military aviation history and was a fascination of mine as a kid. The conditions of flying one of these beasts in combat is something most people can't really imagine today. Not pressurized, the crew was subject to the elements at high altitudes, so freezing temperatures and hours away from any real help, the planes were safer in large numbers so that all the crossfire could keep some fighters at bay. Subjected to massive flak barrages while over the target, the planes were loved for bringing their crews home while being heavily damaged. Originally, B-17 crews were told they had to make 25 missions before getting to go home and later this was increased to 28 and then 35. Life expectancy was usually around 5 missions, so making it was a big deal. Later in the war, as fighter escorts gained longer ranges, things improved, but every time a B-17 fell from the sky, ten men were lost. It also didn't help that American bomber crews flew all daylight missions while the RAF bombed at night. This around-the-clock bombing campaign helped destroy Germany's war fighting ability and did shorten the war, but the costs were dear.
German fighters learned to take the B-17 on from the front, where it was more vulnerable due to less machine guns facing forward. It also exposed the pilots to fire. Once this head-on maneuver became standard German practice, the losses of American bombers grew steadily. After being damaged, the planes would drop out of formation in order to let the rest go on to target as a group and the crippled bombers would be picked off by fighters. Still, many did limp home down an engine or two, tail sections shot off and gunners killed or injured. The B-17 earned its nickname of the Flying Fortress. There were also accidents, many where bomber collided in the air or crashed on landing. As glorified as they were, I still think it one of the more heroic and dangerous jobs there was.
I highly recommend the Pima museum, especially anyone interested in aviation. Their large collection of planes, many in great condition, kept in hangers makes it easy to see and even touch most of them. It is a jewel in the desert and with planes being acquired regularly, it's one of those places you can go to again and again.
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