Nice! I can relate to how great a time it must have been.  My grandfather was a crew chief with the 339th BG 8th AF.  His birds had a primitive radar dish in the belly instead of a turret.  In the late 90's I went with him to an airshow and got to climb aboard the memphis bell.  The crew let us tour the plane for free because of my grandfathers service.  That was the first time he was thanked for his service and he was really moved.  I couldn't believe how well he was able to move around the b17 at 81 while my 12 year old self was having to be cautious.  He just seemed at home in the plane it was really amazing to see.  If I turn out to be half the man he was I'll be in good shape.  I know it doesn't need to be said but cherish every moment you have with your Gramps, I would give anything to just have 5 minutes with mine again.

Took my father (age 90) to see 909 this spring. He co-piloted a 17 in the 91st Bomb Group for 30 missions. Incredible the number of planes we lost. The 91st lost 198 bombers out of 400 assigned. Out of the 12 planes he flew, 7 were eventually lost.  Definitely the Greatest Generation. Also the 8th Air Force had the most KIA of any division in the US Army, just under 29,000.

quote]Quoted:
His crew went down twice. He's told over and over of being about to bail, the pilot, I know his name, telling them last second "if you haven't bailed yet, hold on, I think I've got it."
They landed with one or two engines, on a crude German fighter airstrip, " cow pasture" as I recall him describing it. He said it was 2pm when they came in, the Allies had taken that ground sometime after ten that morning. German breakfast still sitting out where it was served that morning.
If anyone can tell me where "Guisen" (sp?) is, in Europe somewhere, I'd like to know. He pronounces it "Geese-in". Fog of war may have mixed up the city or pronunciation... idk
eta, Guise France, maybe?
eta, pretty confident now, that would be geographically on the "way home" from about any mission.[/quote]

The town you're asking about is in western Germany.  Can't remember where, maby SW of Frankfort, but the name is familiar so I've probably been there.  
I've been up in a B 17 - Texas Raiders, Confederate Air Force - 3 times.  Never been on her when she landed.  Our C 47 jump A/C blew an engine before an air show so we did 2 free fall jumps from TR at that air show and one other a week later at another air show, both in texas in the late 70s.
Sarge

The town you're asking about is in western Germany.  Can't remember where, maby SW of Frankfort, but the name is familiar so I've probably been there.  
I've been up in a B 17 - Texas Raiders, Confederate Air Force - 3 times.  Never been on her when she landed.  Our C 47 jump A/C blew an engine before an air show so we did 2 free fall jumps from TR at that air show and one other a week later at another air show, both in texas in the late 70s.
Sarge[/quote]

found it!
Gießen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gie%C3%9Fen

Awesome!  Thanks again for sharing and be sure to tell your grandfather Thank You for me.  America owes him and his generation a debt that can NEVER be repaid.

Fantastic thread....memories that you will always have.

WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice. The Greatest Generation.

Great day with your Gramps. Sobering to think he was about your age when he rode those into combat.

Been aboard that '17 years ago, took a ride on Sentimental Journey about 4years back. Awesome experience.

Great for taking your Granddad!

My father was a waist gunner.  My dad is squatting down in front of the pilot, his best friend, who has his hands on Dad's shoulders.





Years ago, I went to see some B17's with my then future Father in Law.  We were walking around one of them, talking about various things, and one of the B17 guys came up, started to tell us about how various things worked, features, etc.  Before he got two words out, my Father in Law asked him, "What would you like to know?  I crew chiefed on B17's out of North Africa."

I got this in an email just today:

A mid-air collision on February 1, 1943 between a B-17 and a German fighter over the Tunis dock area became the subject of one of the most famous photographs of World War II.  An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot then continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress named All American, piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb Squadron.  When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left some pieces in the B-17.  The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left  elevator were completely torn away. The two right engines were out and one on  the left had a serious oil pump leak.  The vertical fin and the rudder had been damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through   connected only at two small parts of the frame and the radios, electrical and oxygen systems were damaged.   There was also a hole in the top that was over 16 feet long and 4 feet wide at its widest and the split in the fuselage went all the way to the top gunners turret.



 Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed, except one single elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft still flew - miraculously!  The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor connecting the tail to the rest of the plane.  The waist and tail gunners used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage from splitting apart.  While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs over the target.  



  When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section.  It took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from parachutes  and haul him back into the forward part of the plane.  When they tried to do the same for the tail gunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began to break off.  The weight of the gunner was adding some stability to the tail section, so he went back to his position.  

  The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail from twisting off.  They actually covered almost 70 miles to make the turn home. The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed and was soon alone in the sky.  For a brief time, two more Me-109 German fighters attacked the All American.  Despite the extensive damage, all of the machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the fighters.  The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was actually causing the plane to turn.  

  Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over the Channel and took one of the pictures shown.  They also radioed to the base describing that the empennage was waving like a fish tail and that the plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they bailed out.  The fighters stayed with the Fortress taking hand signals from Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signaled that 5 parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail out.  He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he would stay with the plane and land it.    

  Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away.  It descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing gear.  

   When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a single member of the crew had been injured.  No one could believe that the aircraft could still fly in such a condition.  The Fortress sat placidly until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of the aircraft collapsed onto the ground.  The rugged old bird had done its job.  

I had a great uncle that flew them. He told stories to my very young    self    about peeing on the guns to unfreeze them at altitude and about the piss tubes freezing up. I wish he had lived to regale me with some of the more colorful or in depth ones.

Awesome story and pics.  Please thank your Grandfather for his service for me, one humbled vet to a living legend.

Ho

Ly

Shit.

What an awesome experience to have.  Those guys were tough sons of bitches, especially the tail and ball gunners.  

My grandpa was a combat engineer in the Third Army, but evidently spent most of his time doing every job other than being a combat engineer.  He died when I was eight, so I only got to hear a few of his stories from the war, but I think about that stuff and miss him just about every day.  You're a lucky man to still have your grandpa around to share all that with you.  

ETA:  And thanks for the link

It is kind of ironic then that he came back to Maine if he said he would never again be cold!  Would love to know what was going through his mind with his hand on the tail of the aircraft. Great post.

Family has been here for ages. He's 86 and sleeps in the same room he was born in.

Late to the thread here, but what an incredible read.  High five to you, and a most sincere nod to your grandfather for his service.

My pleasure, and sincerely, my honor. I 'll keep passing the word on to him. He's a very humble man, he'll tell you the  thanks belong to the men who served with him who stayed behind 66+ years ago.

He's an incredible man, IM inbound.

Very cool!!!!