05/04/2022

   There is a fabulous air museum located at the southern edge of the Dover Air Force base, the Air Mobility Command Museum. We were greeted upon entry by one of the many informative volunteers, who are mostly retired service personnel.  On the tarmac there is a large collection of Airforce planes, with a strong emphasis on cargo aircraft because that is the current focus of this base.  The planes are in very good condition and well presented and maintained. 

   Many aircraft are outside, and include an extensive collection of many different cargo craft.  The biggest and best is the C5, the largest in the fleet.  The C5 has the largest cargo volume and a payload capacity of 220,000 pounds.  There are four rear landing gear assemblies which each have 8 tires to manage the massive load. 

   Lining the hall to the hangar are an excellent collection of medal of honor presentation photos and excerpts of the heroic events of the soldiers to achieve the award.  Some of the photo’s include the award event being presented by standing presidents, which include almost every president back to Coolidge. The events justifying the award are very impressive and moving sagas, Linda spent a lot of time absorbed by the stories. Each display was hand curated by one of the volunteers who researched the soldier and contacted family members to get appropriate photos and accurate accounts.  These are said to be more personal than the medal of honor display at the Smithsonian. 

   Inside the hangar is a B-17 which is of great interest to me.  The plane is in great condition, and much information is provided on the mission operations.  The B-17 bomber is a four engine propeller plane, it is not very large.  An audio recording by a tail gunner describes what the missions were like.  The plane is un-pressurized and unheated.  Eleven crew members each have a task, and wear oxygen masks and electrically heated suits to survive the -40F temperatures at altitude.  Eight 50 caliber guns are positioned around to protect the craft from enemy fire.  The tail gunner is on his knees and a bicycle seat for the 8 hour missions in Europe. A smaller soldier is curled up in the ball turret under the craft. The pilots are positioned high above the front gunner. The rather small bomb bays are located in the belly.  A Norden sight is used to calculate release positions based on weather, aircraft and land parameters. My father was a pilot of a plane like that B17. 

• 2022 Spring