B-17 E 666

[hang the expense]

Anyone know of any pictures of 666?There are some guys on a modelers site who build B-17 models and need some info.I said I would ask.let ;er rip boys.

[Second Air Force]

None I know of, and we researched that airplane pretty thoroughly a few years ago. I had the chance to meet Lt. Colonel Zeamer a number of years ago and he didn't know of any photos, either.

Scott

[jmkendall]

I think there is One known picture, and it is just a group picture in front of the nose, with very little detail. But never say never as literally thousands of unknown photos come into the net/market place each year.

As an example. I was reading on another board where a researcher was lamenting that pictures of the US Marines involvement in China were very rare, other than the occasional "buddy picture". I was able to send him copies of about 200 pics that my Grandfather had taken as a "China Marine"; well...actually as a Corpman! Unit formations, tanks, airplanes, ships, ect.

So I am willing to bet a small lunch that the photo you want is still out there somewhere!

Joe

[Steve Birdsall]

Over the past few years I’ve been researching the small group of Australian navigators and co-pilots who flew in B-17s with the 19th and 43rd Bomb Groups. One of those Australians was Pilot Officer John Edkins and on 4 November 1942 he was flying as navigator on the 65th Bomb Squadron’s 41-2666, piloted by Lieutenants Melville “Dutch” Ehlers and Bill Wilson.

According to a newspaper report by George Johnston the B-17 was “within about 30 miles of its target”, Salamaua, when for no apparent reason the port life-raft hatch, located between the cockpit and the radio room, flew open. The rubber raft popped out into the slipstream, knocked off the radio aerial, and wrapped itself around the left elevator, where it began to inflate.

In the cockpit Ehlers and Wilson braced against the controls, which had suddenly “kicked like a mule”. The B-17 rapidly lost altitude and the crew was ordered to get ready to bail out. Luckily, Private Lowell Lee was able to swing the left waist gun around to fire a short burst that punctured the raft. It quickly deflated and the pilots regained control. The crew briefly considered completing the mission, but the wildly flapping life raft was still stuck there, threatening to tear the elevator off.

Edkins navigated the damaged plane back over the mountains and 41-2666 landed safely at Port Moresby, the life raft still wrapped around the tail.

Photos of the damaged plane were taken, but I don’t have them.

According to his log book, Jay Zeamer only flew 41-2666 on five occasions – two long reconnaissance missions on 28 May and 2 June 1943, two “test hops” from Port Moresby on 18 May and 15 June, and the fateful mission on 16 June.

UPDATE 9 JANUARY 2017:

Unfortunately the information in this 2013 post is not accurate. The Ehler’s aircraft in the story is not 41-2666 . . . I believe it’s either 41-9011 or 41-9244, but the records for that period, when the 43rd Bomb Group was taking over from the 19th, are incomplete and I can’t be certain.

A very similar incident did involve 41-2666, but the pilot was Lt Leonard S. Humiston and it happened on 11 July 1942.

[hang the expense]

Steve, Did that bird have a cannon in the nose or not?TIA. Hang

[Steve Birdsall]

No, I don't think any of the claims about this plane's armament have ever mentioned a cannon.

[hang the expense]

Thank you Steve.

[Second Air Force]

I had the pleasure to meet Jay Zeamer a number of years ago at the IPMS National Convention in Dallas. Our group of modelers had built a number of aircraft involved with Medal of Honor recipients and 666 was one of the machines built.

Col. Zeamer told us that 666 was just a typical B-17 (shit-brindle green was his exact description) with some extra guns. Steve's mention of his logbook entries matches what he told me, that they had basically resurrected the airplane and repaired it but only flew a couple of missions with it.

The fellow who built the model of 666 corresponded with Col. Zeamer and he didn't know of any existing pictures of the airplane when he and his crew "owned" it.

Scott

[hang the expense]

Pictures found of 666 over at the wix from pacific wrecks.No nose pics yet but you just know somebody has them.

[B17EDave]

Be nice if Mr. Taylan would put up some bigger versions of the photos.

I offered to make a donation in order to get a better rez photo, but no response. Really?

[Steve Birdsall]

I've corrected some information about 41-2666 in one of my old posts.

[jmkendall]

So would This: be typical of the camera installation in triple 6?

[suzyQ194]

1200px-DC-6B_drift_meter.JPG

These photos show drift meters in the nose of the Aircraft a B-17 E and most if not all "E"e were equipped with drift Meters.
Drift meter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the aircraft instrument for measuring wind speeds. For the World War I bombsight, see Drift Sight.
Douglas DC-6B drift meter in Finnish Aviation Museum
A drift meter, also drift indicator and drift sight, is an optical device used to improve dead reckoning for aircraft navigation. It consists of a small telescope extended vertically through the bottom of the aircraft with the eyepiece inside the fuselage at the navigator's station. A reticle, normally consisting of spaced parallel lines, is rotated until objects on the ground are seen to be moving parallel to the lines. The angle of the reticle then indicates the aircraft's drift angle due to winds aloft, and can be used to calculate the ground speed.
References
"B-17 Pilot Training Manual: Duties and Responsibilities of THE NAVIGATOR", Headquarters AAF
"Ellis Beymer, B-17 Navigator", Combat Aircrews' Preservation Society, 2003

The Cameras carried on 666 were in the bomb bay and the camera lenses were so wide and long the lenses and cameras hung down below bomb bay. According to some recollections, the plane flew with the bomb bay doors removed.

[jmkendall]

Thank you! I have never seen this before. And with the hole cut through the fusalauge I just assumed it was a camera, having seen them mounted that way in our F-10 thread.

[DryMartini]

The first two pictures, we are almost 100% sure, are taken in 41-2595.
Life has a picture of the same bombardier exiting from "The Rat".