Jessie The Jeep

Do you recall which flight you saw? was it the good one or the one where I lost an engine on take off and almost lost the plane, struggling to gain height over the wood, turning towards the dead engine!! It was the longest most stressful circuit of my life! In the attached picture, you can see the dead engine, and full left rudder. I thought it was the crosswind causing the swing, until airborne, and could see the stationary prop against the sky. The other picture is my B-17 over the Debach tower on the previous flight. Don Brooks was one of the main guys involved with getting the P-38 "Glacier Girl" out of 260ft of Greenland Ice in the early 1990's. It had been an 8 year struggle to get that far, but financial or personal problems forced him to later sell his share in the P-38. He is also involved in the recovery and restoration of another B-17 from Labrador ( http://nwrain.net/~newtsuit/b17labrador/1998search.html ) This extract about Don is taken from that site..... "Don Brooks is a lifelong resident of Douglas, Georgia where he attended the public school system and two years at South Georgia College. In 1972 he graduated from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan with a Bachelors in Business Administration. He returned to Douglas to work in the family business, Brooks Auto Parts/Supply that was founded by his father, Elton Brooks, in 1937. After his fathers death in 1978 Don took over as President and CEO of the company. The business has continued to grow and is recognized as the largest group of privately owned NAPA stores in North America. Don has developed a deep interest in military aviation history due to his father's military service with the Army Air Corps during World War II. Elton Brooks served as a tail gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress and flew 37 combat missions with the 390th Bomb Group operating out of England during the war." Steve [attachment deleted by admin]

What??? a Genie will pop out?

21 plus VAT!! ;-)

Old ones are the best!!

Is it true that when Jack offers to buy a drink, a coldness decends over the room, and it becomes quite and erie??? :-D I've had a few interesting experiences at Thorpe Abbotts airfield, from hearing trucks driving in the Tech Site, to the distinctive screech of B-17 wheel brakes when taxiing. There have also been many unusual occurances at the museum. Overnight when the museum is locked and alarmed, pictures have been removed from the walls and placed on the floor and uniforms have been removed from mannequins, folded and layed on the floor. When camping in the museum grounds one reunion, the museum alarm went off at midnight. The staff member we called reset the alarm, but wouldn't go into the building. But even during the war, the was a ghost seen at Thorpe Abbotts. He was frequently observed, walking through barrack hut walls, spooking many airmen who took to sleeping with small arms under their pillows. It became so serious that the CO banned any mention of the ghost. There is also the question of "Are they really all ghosts?" People assume that some of these occurances are ghosts, which they may not be. There seems to be two types of ghostly incident, those that interact with present day surroundings, and those unaware. Is it possible that locations of great trauma may cause distortions in time. Sounds like Sci-Fi, but there have been many recorded incidents of people seeing ghosts that are completely unaware of the watcher. There's a story of a Roman soldiers marching along a road in the York area I think, but only visible from the knee upwards, since they are still marching on the original Roman road which was two feet lower. Is the location a window through time? Someone once posed the question.. "If Spitfires, Lancasters and B17's (and trucks) really do come back as ghosts, it blows the religious theories that only humans have souls, doesn't it? Hmmm" Science seems to think now that time and space is anything but linear, so perhaps these ghostly visions are actually folds in spacetime? Having a soul doesn't come into it. After all, your clothes don't have a soul do they?? and you don't see that many naked ghosts. Steve

If anyone is interested in a more in depth look around Thorpe Abbotts, I have a 55 page, 5MB PDF file with photos, maps, and captions. A few screen prints have been attached to give you an idea of what it is. If you want a copy, send me a PM with your email address. Steve [attachment deleted by admin]

Clive, I hope you don't mind me reworking one of your pictures, but after you said "You can almost hear the B-17 running its engine up against the chocks.", I had to do it. Here's a ghostly B-17, with the number 4 engine just kicking into life. Actually, it's my 1/6 scale aircraft, but the original picture was taken at Thorpe Abbotts, a bit further up the 351st perimeter track during the 2000 reunion. Steve [attachment deleted by admin]

Behind the two women and the pole, is the generator that I was talking about that was at Thorpe Abbotts in the mid 1990's. Unfortunately this is the best picture I have of it. I'm not sure where it went after removal, but I have a feeling it wasn't scrapped. You could try contacting the museum and see if they know what happened to it, or for any more info about the base generator. Thorpe Abbotts Museum Steve [attachment deleted by admin]

Tim.... :computerterror: OK, enough about the mottled look, what about the lack of a window in the side screen? Anyone seen that before or do you think it has been made in the field? Steve

I've two large photo albums of aerial pics from many of the 8th bases in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. I'll try and remember to bring them to Bolero for anyone interested. Steve

The pics with the scorched earth are the summer of 1997, the greener pics are summer 1999. Steve

I think you're fairly safe with the 91st BG and Bassingbourn. I don't know quite so much about the 1st Division Groups. I've had a long connection with Thorpe Abbotts and the 100th Museum starting in the early 90's. On honeymoon in the USA in July 2000, I stayed the 4th July weekend with the Dolores Lautman, sister of Frank E Valesh, the pilot of B-17 "Hang The Expense". As soon as I got my jeep, that was painted in 100th BG, 351st BS Markings. My first 1/10 scale R/C B-17 "Hang The Expense" is on display there, for which the 100th BG Foundation in the USA made me an Honorary member. I'd like to fly the 17 feet span version there too one day. It has already flown out of Debach and Seething. Steve

See above, I amended a post to say it was taken at noon. The shadow is pointing North. Picture taken from the balcony of the control tower at Thorpe Abbotts, looking towards the Night Flying Equipment Store. Steve

The dirt on the screen does look baked on though, and I can't see them being washed regularly.

My only thought against rain or dew is that the ground is dry, the strong shadow suggesting bright sun, the guy isn't wearing his jacket also suggesting warmth, and the shadow isn't long so the sun must have been up for several hours. Actually, it must be around mid-day as the shadow is pointing North. Steve

This is a picture of the 100th Bomb Group jeep that my jeep scheme is based on. I have a couple of questions regarding the canvas on it. i) Do you think the mottled appearance of the roof canvas is just from rain, or do you know of any wartime jeep canvasses that had any kind of camo on them? ii) looking at the rear side screens, there is only one window in them, between the hood bows. The usually seen front window ( arrowed ) is just canvas. Has anyone seen any other jeeps with this style of single window side screens? Steve ps Also note the jeep in the background has the often seen, 'inverted' USAAF Bumperettes [attachment deleted by admin]

Do you really think the money saved would go to a good cause? What's happened to the £50mil a year that was being paid to the USA for WW2 debt? Does it cost much to operate them???? From the 'Reds' website..... "How much does the Team cost to operate? There is no meaningful answer to this question. The RAF already has the pilots and aircraft so they really cost nothing. The only real saving that could be made by not having the Red Arrows would be the cost of the fuel they use but that is insignificant when set against the advantages accruing from the Team's appearances. The additional costs of sending The Red Arrows on overseas tours such as the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia in the autumn of 1997 and 1999 and Canada in 2002 were entirely borne by British companies. The Ministry of Defence takes the view that British tax-payers should not bear the cost of these overseas tours. However it is happy for The Red Arrows to demonstrate the “Best of British” overseas when the companies that stand to benefit are willing to pay the bills." Steve

Here's some pics from four of the airfields on the visit list, just to tease you a little. Thorpe Abbotts http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/ta1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/ta2.jpg[/img] Eye http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/eye1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/eye2.jpg[/img] Hardwick http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hardwick1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hardwick2.jpg[/img] Metfield http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/metfield1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/metfield2.jpg[/img] Steve

I'm not a big fan of the Arrows myself, but they are a great symbol of the RAF and "great BRITAIN". They draw huge crowds to airshows all over the UK ( and the world ) and loosing them could also mean big gate losses at shows, possibly leading to fewer airshows, which in turn could mean less money for other vintage aircraft operators. I agree that cutting the 'Arrows' could be the start of further cuts, and all this while money is wasted on other projects. Since it is only large amounts of cash which keeps vintage aircraft in the air, many could end up being sold abroad or grounded. The new Cold War Hangar at Cosford springs to mind as an 'Arty' project that has swallowed up a huge amount of money. While it is great to see the aircraft under cover, the building itself cost a fortune and isn't practical to display the aircraft to their best. Because the aircraft are 'built in' to the odd shape of the building, in the event of a fire, it would be impractical to remove any aircraft. I'm sure a normal design hangar with overhead walkways would have giver better views and a safer environment for the planes. Keep the 'Reds' and save at least one symbol of pride for a once great nation. Steve

Are you sure you aren't getting into the territory of.........shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?? :roll: Let's face it, until the time comes that you can't swing your leg up into the Jimmy cab, you don't have to worry. Ooops, you aren't already at that stage are you Jack? :shake: Steve

You must be ££££££££'s lighter already!! Steve PS I'm at the peak of unfitness

What do you fly? Steve

I've moved my mid June holiday to the end of June now, so Lynne and I will be there with Jessie the jeep! Steve

Of course you can. Steve

That first picture is just too sad. I hope the museum can collect up the parts for possible future rebuild on the museum site. Steve