Quoted:


An excellent tribute.

Quoted:


Tonight's featured avatar belongs to the team member, tnsparky,...a member of the site since 2011.



http://www.ar15.com/media/images/xAvatar/288827.JPG
His avatar is of the Memphis Belle, one of the first B-17s to complete 25 bombing missions over Europe during WWII.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Arfcom/AVlarge_zps41cb8c4c.jpg
The Aircraft



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Arfcom/membelle_zpsf7f98fdf.jpg



For many of you, this will simply be a review.  For some of us, perhaps it will be new information.



The heavy hitters of the American air war over Europe during WWII were made up of huge formations of B-17s or B-24s.



If you could pick one aircraft to represent the B-17s, it would be the Memphis Belle.



The casualties suffered by the men of these bombing formations were horrific.  Airmen at the time were told that if they completed 25 missions, they would have completed their combat obligation in the war.



For many, that seemed to be an unreachable goal.  It wasn't for the Memphis Belle though.  She completed her 25th mission and rotated back to the US to participate in War Bond rallies.
The Art





The men of that time decorated their aircraft with nose art - a way to personalize their bomber.



The inspiration for the Memphis Belle came from pinup art by George Petty featured in the April 1941 issue of Esquire magazine.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Arfcom/mb_zps13e3eaa7.jpg





Robert Morgan, the pilot, contacted George Petty and asked for his permission to use his artwork on his aircraft.  Petty was thrilled to be able to give his permission.



A local artist with the unit, a Corporal, painted her on both sides of the aircraft.



Some of you who have a sharp eye for detail may have noticed in photographs of the Belle that sometimes she is in a red bathing suit and sometimes it was blue.



That's because she was painted in red on the port side of the aircraft and blue on the other.
The Mission





The mission of the Memphis Belle and all of the other bombers like her was to destroy the war fighting ability of the Germans.  



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Arfcom/1024px-Memphis_Belle_zps5a95f114.jpg





She flew, bristling with .50 caliber machine guns and a belly full of bombs.  Much of the time, she was escorted by Allied fighters, though often times she continued on when the target was out of range of their escorts.  During those times, she depended on her guns and the guns of the other bombers with her to defend herself.



In the end, she had dropped those 25 bomb loads and was also been credited with shooting down eight enemy aircraft.
The Departure



I have a set of rules for myself when I do these threads.  One of the rules is that I immediately send an IM to the user of the featured avatar immediately after posting the thread.



I can't IM tnsparky today because we lost him yesterday.  



Instead, I'll notify him via prayer and hope that he can take a moment to review it.  



I'll hope that you can join me in a prayer for him as he departs for his final mission.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Af4HVl1WI
GD thread



Memorial thread
...and now you know.
Previously featured avatar: Eastonj

Quoted:


A fantastic tribute to tnsparky and to those he paid tribute to.

Quoted:
nice job. RIP tnsparky.