# Airshow photos from World War II bomber in flight...



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

These are actually old photos from last year, but I stumbled across them in the course of getting ready to travel, and thought I'd post 'em! Late in 2012, we had a small group of World War II planes on show at a local airport, and I visited. Highlights were a cockpit tour of an A26 light bomber, and being able to actually go up in the air in a four-engined B-24 bomber!



An overall view of the A26. This was very maneuverable for a twin-engine plane, and was a favorite for ground attack.



Obligatory cheesecake nose art!



In the cockpit. It was a very cramped setup!



The group visiting had a two-seat trainer version of the famous P-51 Mustang. You could fly in it (with an instructor riding herd in the rear seat) for a hefty price of well over a thousand dollars. I declined, though I'd have loved to have done it (Years ago I did something similar in an AT6 Texan down in Florida and I will never forget the experience of flying aerobatics in the historic old plane). The plane in the background is an A-1 Skyraider, a ground attack plane from the 1950s that served in the Vietnam War. Note how much bigger it is than the Mustang, even though it is further away.



Overall view of the B24 "Liberator" bomber. I did shell out an obscene amount to fly as a passenger in this.



Here I am in the waist gunner position, ready to fight off attacking Messerschmitts! This photo impresses me with how much weight I've lost...



Propellers built with pride in Connecticut!



Inside the B24, looking back towards the tailgun position.



Airborne! Looking out the waist gunner position, down on a residential area. We quickly moved out over the country after reaching altitude. The very edge of one of the twin tails is visible at upper left.



Out over the country, with a river loop and the classic propeller blurs to add some color and interest. Alas, it was a dreary overcast day, not a great day for flying, but I was so excited to be flying in the historic plane that I didn't care!



Coming in for landing. We were required to sit on the floor using very crude seatbelts to hold us in position, but I was seated near the waist position and got a snap showing some blurry runway at least!


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Wow.  Thanks for posting those shots.  I grew up building models of many of those aircraft.  Bet the ride in the Liberator was thrilling.

Especially love the P-51B, as most P-51 Mustangs you see today are the later bubble-canopy versions.


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