Funny what you run into when you've got B17s on the brain

[Dan Johnson]

Apparently a reprint, but found at a used book store. Funny how it works out. Get B17B on the brain and it shows up everywhere.

Anyone want to go flying?

[pokryshkin]

Why you lucky so-and-so!!!!!

OH BOY would I love to get my hands on even photocopies of THAT handbook!!!!!!!

BOFF the B-17E/F/G Handbooks!!! THIS is the one I want for Christmas!!!!
(even photocopies!!!!!)

THANK you for at least sharing this gold bounty with us!!!
(Is THIS part of your reward for such hard work???)

Delighted with your good fortune,

Dan K.

[Dan Johnson]

Let me try and find out what it would take to make a copy. If possible I'll see what I can do. You are more then welcome to a copy if I can manage to find a way without wrecking this copy.

This didn't cost much and I'm just about positive it's a copy itself. It looks and reads well, but I doubt I'd have gotten it as cheaply as I did, if it had been an original

[pokryshkin]

Bless ye, Bless ye, Bless ye!!!!
A THOUSAND THANKS!!!!!!!

IF you have my email, please feel free to correspond directly.

If there's ANYTHING I can do, say, write, et cetera, please, PLEASE let me know!

Incidentally, shall we begin digging on the War bond Tour of "05564"(?)
"68" "Mary Ann, Star of 'Air Force" ..??
-and DID she ever go back to anonymity, "8584"? - or did the aircraft continue to carry that "05564" during the War Bond Tour? Would anyone be able to find out?

I'd LOVE to be able to nail THAT down as well. We would have a pretty complete history at that point, confirming Steve Birdsall's newspaper article!

Dan, you are rapidly becoming one of my heroes, along with Chuck Yeager and Jimmy Stewart!
-I STILL recall the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast back in '83, when, coming back from a commercial break, the lights went up on the stage, and THERE WAS CHUCK YEAGER, drawling, "Hey, Jimmy, remember when we was Sergeants taking flight training at March Field together?" You could have knocked me over with a feather!!!!!!
I'll give Scott all my email and address data to give to you for reference and contact when and as you like.

Your humbled, humbly grateful friend,
Dan

[Dan Johnson]

My intent at this point is to work backwards. I'd love to track down a photo of 8584 in her pre-Mary Ann days and to figure out what units she was with previously and who flew her.

I'm figuring the 7th BG is the place to start so that's the direction I'm going. I would imagine we should be able to figure out more about the war bond tour. There must have been some sort of schedule etc. You'd have to believe there are more photos out there in someones scrapbook from that tour.

It's a fun history detective kind of project. No point in quitting now

And yes I still have your e-mail. I'll let you know when I get a chance to see about copying the B17B handbook

[pokryshkin]

GREAT! CAN I HELP??

-Dan K.
So, we start with that IARC (I forgot the correct initialsl) that somebody already posted on one of these forums, and begin digging.

I'm in!

P.S. It just hit me! (Not like "Garfield" with a lightbulb, but more like "Odie" with a candle - SLOOOW, y'know?)
That manual, even a copy, must be worth a mint! You might have the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the National Archives, the USAF Museum, drooling - and I totally forgot Boeing!

I'll email their historian and ask if THEY have a copy of that manual...

You might have a REAL gold mine on your hands!!!

[pokryshkin]

OK, I just copied the list from Page 1 of your "I got it!" forum, with corrections to the "Boeing" stay from the original IARC:
Delivered to Hamilton Field (7BG?), 1 FEB 1940
Transferred to Salt Lake 7 Sept 1940
Visited Langley Field 2 June 1941
Transferred to Westover Field, Mass 11 June, 1941
to Boeing 9 August 1941 and back again 11 August 1941
Back to Westover Field 25 August 1941 - full B-17C Standard
Transferred to Geiger field 08 DEC 1941
to Yakima, WA 22 DEC 1941
to S.A.D.(Sacramento Air Depot) 23 DEC 1941 (install deicers?)
to Felts Field 19 JAN 1942
Transferred to Tuscon AZ 07 FEB 1942
to Boise 27 May 1942
to Salt Lake 14 June 1942
to Tuscon 17 June 1942
Transferred to Sebring, FL 06 June 1942
to Barksdale JUL 1942
to Mitchel Field 20 June 1943
to Hendricks Field 08 JUL 1943
to Lowery Field 24 JUL 1943
to Memphis 25 JUL 1943
Transferred to Hobbs Field NM 30 JUL 1943
Placed in Class-26 29 OCT 1943
Total Flight Time Recorde 2336.4 hours

Respectfully,
Dan Katz

[AIR DEPOT]

SORRY GUYS, BUT IT DID NOT OCCUR TO ME THAT YOU WOULD WANT MANUAL REPRINTS. I HAVE; B-17B MANUAL SET; AN01-20EB-1 OPERATIONS-57 PAGES, AN01-20EB-2 SERVICE INSTRUCTIONS-208 PAGES, AND AN01-20EB-3 OVERHAUL INSTRUCTIONS-235 PAGES= ALL FOR $60.00 plus shpg & hdlg

[pokryshkin]

Dear "Air Depot",
I'd love to purchase them, but cannot afford them at this time. Please let me know if they DO get sold before I can try to wheedle some money out of my family. I MIGHT be able to purchase them in November, when my birthday is, and then I might have some discretionary funds available. As it is, I don't think there's any chance until then.
HOWEVER, Bill Stanczak would LOVE those service and overhaul manuals, as they would give him more help toward recreating that flyable B-17C. (Bill, Desert Rat team). I would be only, really, interested in the flight manual.

Please advise.
Thank you.

Sincerely,
Dan Katz

[pokryshkin]

Dear Air Depot,
I believe Bill Stanczak's forum name is "Dry Martini" you can email or private message him (see bottom left of one of his posts)

Regards,
Dan Katz

[pokryshkin]

My intent at this point is to work backwards. I'd love to track down a photo of 8584 in her pre-Mary Ann days and to figure out what units she was with previously and who flew her.

I'm figuring the 7th BG is the place to start so that's the direction I'm going. I would imagine we should be able to figure out more about the war bond tour. There must have been some sort of schedule etc. You'd have to believe there are more photos out there in someones scrapbook from that tour.

It's a fun history detective kind of project. No point in quitting now

And yes I still have your e-mail. I'll let you know when I get a chance to see about copying the B17B handbook

Dear Dan,

How are things going?

What's new?

I'm still broke, working on the B-17B individual histories project, getting additions bit-by-bit, maybe going to start on similar works for B-17C and B-17D, [to keep me off the streets and out of the trees (and keep me from going nuts with the "fun in the prison with Rudolph Hess" situation with my Dad, and him treating my wife like the hired cook, among other fun problems with him...!] )

Regards,
Dan