Issue 37.12
When old combat flyers get together, they usually fly a few reminiscing missions together, maybe sing a song or remember a poem or even send a playful barb. We almost always tell each other about our worst missions and perhaps some humorous happenings. When former B-24 and B-17 crewman get together they usually send out some playful barbs. A B-17 guy might say “A B-24, oh yes, isn’t that the box that a new B-17 came in?” A reply may be “Let’s see, a B-17 was the best three engine bomber of World War 2 wasn’t it?” Actually “The Flying Box car” was one of the B-24’s nicknames. The B-17’s nickname was of course “Flying Fortress”. Three-engined bomber had reference to the fact that the Wright Cyclone engine of the B-17 was not nearly as good and reliable as the Pratt Whitney engine of the B-24. In all fairness to the B-24, that bomber had the better engine and had the Davis Wing which made the B-24 able to fly higher, farther, faster and carried a bigger bomb load than did the B-17. At one time there were as many B-24 groups in the Eighth Air Force flying missions over Germany as there were B-17 groups but more B-24s were sent to the Pacific Theater because of the vast distances until there was a ratio of two B-17 groups to one B-24 group.
The B-17 could take more punishment in the skies over Germany and still come home than could the B-24. If I had my choice of which bomber to fly missions over Germany, I would take the B-17 and this in spite of the fact that we seldom came home from a mission over Germany with all four engines running.
You can often tell if a person is an old flyer by his conversation. If that person would call the device the burns gasoline and powers an automobile – a motor, that person probable was never an old flyer. But if he calls it an engine, chances are that he was. For instance, we were told that a B-17 has fifty-four motors and five engines (four with propellers hooked to them and one put-put or the small auxiliary engine for battery power).
One B-24 friend that I once knew used to sing the B-24 song which was sung to the tune of “The Strawberry Roan”.
Oh, that B dash two four, oh that ship I adore, At fifty five inches* she barley does cruise, the men who fly in her are sure bound to lose, Oh that B dash two four. Down in flak valley*where the big bombers go, down in the valley where the black mushrooms grow*, The big bombers go and some don’t come back, there are hundreds of fighters and carloads of flak.
First * -Fifty five inches refers to exhaust manifold pressure as measured in inches of mercury which is above the maximum limit.
Second * -Flak valley refers to Germany’s most heavily industrialized area which was protected by ground FLAK guns from one end to the other.
Third* -Black mushrooms refer to ground to air cannon whose explosion among the bombers leaves a black mushroom shaped small cloud.
My friend the P-38 pilot, and I can’t remember his name, gave me a poem entitled “Lightning’s in the Sky” which was written by a B-17 gunner in North Africa.
As far as I can remember, there was not a song about the B-17 Flying Fortress.