Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Position: Permanently scarred
Posts: 1,707
Nice find, Boomer. I was curious about Mount 'N Ride. Nice little history on the crew that flew that plane, which had a predecessor named "Gay Caballero." (Maybe the officers named that one?)
Photo History - 91st Bomb Group (H)
Photo History - 91st Bomb Group (H)
The crew of Mount ‘N Ride was assembled in Alexandria, Louisiana in the summer of 1943. They shipped out for England along with 47 other air crews on October 30, 1943 aboard the Queen Mary.
They were assigned to the 91st Bomb Group (H), 323rd Bomber Squadron which was commanded at the time by Lt. Col. Bishop.
Their first airplane a B-17F had been named Gay Caballero by its first crew. On the crews second mission during climb out in the clouds they hit what they thought was a radio tower. They completed the mission and upon landing at Bassingbourn Air Field, the right wing dropped. They had impacted another aircraft (the one which had taken off immediately behind them) and the main spar had been broken. As long as the wing was loaded the aircraft flew fine but as the wing loading dissipated the wing fell off. Gay Caballero was retired.
They were assigned a new B-17G. On their first mission in this plane, to Hanover, they were hit by both 20mm cannon and 30 cal. fire. The top of the flight deck was blown off and they sustained heavy damage to rudder and trailing edge of the left wing. They also lost use of their left flap and had to land hot without flaps. This was the only mission for them in this aircraft.
They were then assigned to a new B-17G which had just arrived from the States. The enlisted men of the crew named her Mount ‘N Ride and Tony Starcer painted her nose art. The crew would fly the rest of their missions in Mount ‘N Ride.
On their 6th mission, originally scheduled to Hamburg but diverted to Dusseldorf because of weather, they took a direct hit to their #3 engine. They were unable to feather the prop and had a runaway. They lost the formation and made it over the North Sea at altitudes under 100 feet and speeds of 115 to 120 mph. They made landfall and landed at a RAF Base. The RAF covered their nose art because it was too suggestive.
In late February on a mission to Leipzig the 323rd supplied 9 aircraft. By the time they reached the target they had lost 8 of the nine aircraft. With no one to form up on they adlibbed the rest of the mission. They avoid attackers by going high and then low to keep the formation between them and the attackers.
Their last mission was on the 16th of March 1944. The target was Augsburg. As they approached the target they were hit and lost their #3 engine. They began to loose the group and another FW190 took out their #2 engine. With the help of 2 P38s they were able to make it to c cloud deck. Knowing they could not make it back to England they plotted a course to Dubendorf, Switzerland. They were able to navigate in the clouds to Dubendorf where they landed and were interned in Adelboden, Switzerland.
The crews 13 missions were:
Bremen
Wilhelmshaven
Hamburg
Kiel
Hanover
Düsseldorf
Frankfort
Munich
Ludwigshaven
Nancy, France
Berlin
Leipzig
Augsburg
They had 6 confirmed fighter kills.
This information came from the War Time Memories of Doyle E. Bradford, the pilot of Mount ‘N Ride.
They were assigned to the 91st Bomb Group (H), 323rd Bomber Squadron which was commanded at the time by Lt. Col. Bishop.
Their first airplane a B-17F had been named Gay Caballero by its first crew. On the crews second mission during climb out in the clouds they hit what they thought was a radio tower. They completed the mission and upon landing at Bassingbourn Air Field, the right wing dropped. They had impacted another aircraft (the one which had taken off immediately behind them) and the main spar had been broken. As long as the wing was loaded the aircraft flew fine but as the wing loading dissipated the wing fell off. Gay Caballero was retired.
They were assigned a new B-17G. On their first mission in this plane, to Hanover, they were hit by both 20mm cannon and 30 cal. fire. The top of the flight deck was blown off and they sustained heavy damage to rudder and trailing edge of the left wing. They also lost use of their left flap and had to land hot without flaps. This was the only mission for them in this aircraft.
They were then assigned to a new B-17G which had just arrived from the States. The enlisted men of the crew named her Mount ‘N Ride and Tony Starcer painted her nose art. The crew would fly the rest of their missions in Mount ‘N Ride.
On their 6th mission, originally scheduled to Hamburg but diverted to Dusseldorf because of weather, they took a direct hit to their #3 engine. They were unable to feather the prop and had a runaway. They lost the formation and made it over the North Sea at altitudes under 100 feet and speeds of 115 to 120 mph. They made landfall and landed at a RAF Base. The RAF covered their nose art because it was too suggestive.
In late February on a mission to Leipzig the 323rd supplied 9 aircraft. By the time they reached the target they had lost 8 of the nine aircraft. With no one to form up on they adlibbed the rest of the mission. They avoid attackers by going high and then low to keep the formation between them and the attackers.
Their last mission was on the 16th of March 1944. The target was Augsburg. As they approached the target they were hit and lost their #3 engine. They began to loose the group and another FW190 took out their #2 engine. With the help of 2 P38s they were able to make it to c cloud deck. Knowing they could not make it back to England they plotted a course to Dubendorf, Switzerland. They were able to navigate in the clouds to Dubendorf where they landed and were interned in Adelboden, Switzerland.
The crews 13 missions were:
Bremen
Wilhelmshaven
Hamburg
Kiel
Hanover
Düsseldorf
Frankfort
Munich
Ludwigshaven
Nancy, France
Berlin
Leipzig
Augsburg
They had 6 confirmed fighter kills.
This information came from the War Time Memories of Doyle E. Bradford, the pilot of Mount ‘N Ride.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: C47 PIC/747-400 SIC
Posts: 2,100
I have a humble 35 hours in the right seat of a warbird B17, stories like the one you just related fill me with a renewed sense of appreciation for the tough old Boeing,and the boy crews who flew her. Love the nose art !!!
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,113
Don't get me wrong, I'm a Boeing fan. No matter how good the 350 looks, you're still basically just a meat-servo for the computer. It's just that with every other Airbus product, you have to emphasize the comfort of the seat, and the tablet for your lap-top, to draw attention away from the underwhelming aesthetics. You do this with a straight face, the way you would bravely talk about the "great personality" of a girlfriend that you (strangely) refuse to introduce to your friends and family. The best example is the Lufthansa/Air France 380 drivers, who probably keep a model of the 747 on their shelf. When the kids ask about the new plane, they bravely say it's Supah/Supperre.
At least, with the A350, you'd be able to show them a picture. They'd never have to know about normal (martial) law.
At least, with the A350, you'd be able to show them a picture. They'd never have to know about normal (martial) law.
Dammit, missed it! I was in a movie theater watching American Hustle until about 10pm. Pretty funny movie if you haven't seen it. I have seen some of the night Shuttle launches from my driveway on a clear night, and once we were flying a 757 from DFW to FLL at night, when ATC told us to look out the left side for the Shuttle Launch.
It was about 10pm, we were delayed out of DFW about two hours, and the launch had been delayed about 5 hours, so by accident we got front row seats for the launch that night. It was a huge fireball going up, very bright. Of course we made a PA and woke everybody up, but we got a lot of Thank You's when we got to FLL.
Too bad that program is retired...
Remember, Richard is the guy who brought the first Airbus to North West. He loves Airbus, and he hates spending money (the last DC9 just now retired).
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Remember, Richard is the guy who brought the first Airbus to North West. He loves Airbus, and he hates spending money (the last DC9 just now retired).
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Position: Decoupled
Posts: 922
Ask the important question: Which one will pay more?
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2009
Posts: 282
Remember, Richard is the guy who brought the first Airbus to North West. He loves Airbus, and he hates spending money (the last DC9 just now retired).
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Notice what he just ordered, a bunch of 321's and 10 330's.
I doubt if we'll ever see Richard order another new Boeing widebody, he is constantly talking down the 777 as a jet with nowhere to go.
Truth is, the real person responsible for the A330 at NW was Mickey Foret who was the numbers guy for years there. Worked Airbus over on that deal, especially since all the internal studies at NW showed the 777 was too big. He's on the BOD with Delta.
Mil LV question for u experts out there. I took 10 days of MLOA this month. Only had to drop 3 of the 16 on call
days this month. My sched now shows proj credit of only 48. The way I figure it, I should get 58.5. Res gar of 72 with 16 on call days equals 4.5 hrs per day so they should only subtract 13.5 for those 3 dropped on call days right???
days this month. My sched now shows proj credit of only 48. The way I figure it, I should get 58.5. Res gar of 72 with 16 on call days equals 4.5 hrs per day so they should only subtract 13.5 for those 3 dropped on call days right???
Runs with scissors
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: Going to hell in a bucket, but enjoying the ride .
Posts: 7,730
The only 'good news' I've heard from the LCA's is that the 777 will be going to London come May or June, after they've added more seats, and that Boeing was in ATL a few months ago, pitching the 777-300 as the replacement to the 747.
Replacement jets, not growth jets.
We have yet to see an A/E replacing the retiring 777/747 Capts.
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