Bomber Camp in Stockton, CA June 2-3. More students wanted!
Sun May 16, 2010 12:47 pm
The Stockton Field Aviation Museum and Vintage Aircraft put on a fund raiser for the Collings Foundation here at Stockton Army Air Field (KSCK) and we need a few more students to join in.
Here is a shot taken during last year's Bomber Camp by the awesome photographer and WIX member Roger Cain:
Our Bomber Camp is a two day course fashioned after WWII bomber crew training methods employed back in the day. On day one you will receive instruction for the various crew positions including Radio, Navigation, Bombardier and Gunnery. Then we will head out to the range for lunch made from the WWII recipe book served in mess tins. At the range we will teach you about the different weapons that the WWII aircrew would have used. You will start off with a Colt 45 automatic, M1 Carbine and M1 Garand. Then a hand held Browning M11 gunnery training shotgun will be used for skeet training and hopefully an original BB machine gun. Next is the 1942 Chevy E-5 gunnery turret training truck where you will try to hit skeet from a powered Crocker Wheeler A-8 training turret. The turret has another original WWII shotgun mounted just like they did at the gunnery training bases during the war. I will offer a $20 reward to the first person to hit a clay pigeon from the turret truck. It took a while before I had to give it up last year!
After the skeet you will graduate to shoot the 50 cal ANM2 gun which is a thrill to say the least.
Day two starts off with more specific crew station training showing the students the B-24J and getting them familiar with the equipment and how to operate it. For those who would like to try out the ball turret in flight (surprisingly not everyone does) they will receive intensive training on our ball turret mounted on the ground firing frame. They will learn how to get in and out of the turret and how to operate it while in flight. This is one of the best parts about this camp is actually being able to run the ball turret while flying in the B-24J. Nothing can compare to the view from the ball turret below the B-24.
Here is link to a YouTube video I shot from the Collings B-17G ball turret a while ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvuChgh4fGg
The students will also work with the amazing ground crew to prepare and load up the bombs in the B-24 using the period equipment like the 1944 Chevy M6 bomb service truck and the M5 bomb trailers along with the M1 bomb lift.
After lunch we will have the mission brief and the crews will board the B-24J for the Mission. We will fly out to the range with an escort of the P-51C (whose back seat is also available) and there is a high probability of the bomber being attacked by an ME-262. The gunners will be able to shoot at the attacking aircraft with 50 cal full auto blank firing guns from the open waist window. You can imaging what a thrill this is too!
We will make several bomb runs using the Norden bombsight and will try and hit the target with dummy bombs just like they used in WWII. Last year we came within 60 feet of the target and hopefully we will do better this year.
Another great shot by Roger:
I will make a special offer to any WIX members who might want to bring out their own Norden sight to use on the mission. I will personally work with you and your sight so you can try and hit the target yourself as long as your sight is still operational and in reasonable calibration.
After the missions are complete we will have a mission debrief, dinner and 'graduation ceremony'.
This is an amazing experience that just gets better each year. We will likely use the B-17 next year (if Mac lets us!) and hopefully we might even have both aircraft go on a mission together. We usually have the Twin Beech up full of photographers and videographers and anyone who might want to buy a seat to watch.
The cost is $3900 per person which includes two nights at the Holiday Inn Express.
If you know anyone who might want to try out this once in a lifetime experience (that we do each year) please have them sign up with the Collings folks or e-mail me for more information. As I mentioned we need at least three more people but there are more slots available for additional crew positions. Nowhere else will you be able to have such an experience and it just gets better and better each year.
Here is a web page with photos and videos from last years camp:
http://www.twinbeech.com/bombercrewfantasycamp.htm
Here is a link to a web page on the Collings Foundation's web site about the camp:
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/cf_FantasyCamp.htm
Thanks,
Taigh
Here is a shot taken during last year's Bomber Camp by the awesome photographer and WIX member Roger Cain:
Our Bomber Camp is a two day course fashioned after WWII bomber crew training methods employed back in the day. On day one you will receive instruction for the various crew positions including Radio, Navigation, Bombardier and Gunnery. Then we will head out to the range for lunch made from the WWII recipe book served in mess tins. At the range we will teach you about the different weapons that the WWII aircrew would have used. You will start off with a Colt 45 automatic, M1 Carbine and M1 Garand. Then a hand held Browning M11 gunnery training shotgun will be used for skeet training and hopefully an original BB machine gun. Next is the 1942 Chevy E-5 gunnery turret training truck where you will try to hit skeet from a powered Crocker Wheeler A-8 training turret. The turret has another original WWII shotgun mounted just like they did at the gunnery training bases during the war. I will offer a $20 reward to the first person to hit a clay pigeon from the turret truck. It took a while before I had to give it up last year!
After the skeet you will graduate to shoot the 50 cal ANM2 gun which is a thrill to say the least.
Day two starts off with more specific crew station training showing the students the B-24J and getting them familiar with the equipment and how to operate it. For those who would like to try out the ball turret in flight (surprisingly not everyone does) they will receive intensive training on our ball turret mounted on the ground firing frame. They will learn how to get in and out of the turret and how to operate it while in flight. This is one of the best parts about this camp is actually being able to run the ball turret while flying in the B-24J. Nothing can compare to the view from the ball turret below the B-24.
Here is link to a YouTube video I shot from the Collings B-17G ball turret a while ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvuChgh4fGg
The students will also work with the amazing ground crew to prepare and load up the bombs in the B-24 using the period equipment like the 1944 Chevy M6 bomb service truck and the M5 bomb trailers along with the M1 bomb lift.
After lunch we will have the mission brief and the crews will board the B-24J for the Mission. We will fly out to the range with an escort of the P-51C (whose back seat is also available) and there is a high probability of the bomber being attacked by an ME-262. The gunners will be able to shoot at the attacking aircraft with 50 cal full auto blank firing guns from the open waist window. You can imaging what a thrill this is too!
We will make several bomb runs using the Norden bombsight and will try and hit the target with dummy bombs just like they used in WWII. Last year we came within 60 feet of the target and hopefully we will do better this year.
Another great shot by Roger:
I will make a special offer to any WIX members who might want to bring out their own Norden sight to use on the mission. I will personally work with you and your sight so you can try and hit the target yourself as long as your sight is still operational and in reasonable calibration.
After the missions are complete we will have a mission debrief, dinner and 'graduation ceremony'.
This is an amazing experience that just gets better each year. We will likely use the B-17 next year (if Mac lets us!) and hopefully we might even have both aircraft go on a mission together. We usually have the Twin Beech up full of photographers and videographers and anyone who might want to buy a seat to watch.
The cost is $3900 per person which includes two nights at the Holiday Inn Express.
If you know anyone who might want to try out this once in a lifetime experience (that we do each year) please have them sign up with the Collings folks or e-mail me for more information. As I mentioned we need at least three more people but there are more slots available for additional crew positions. Nowhere else will you be able to have such an experience and it just gets better and better each year.
Here is a web page with photos and videos from last years camp:
http://www.twinbeech.com/bombercrewfantasycamp.htm
Here is a link to a web page on the Collings Foundation's web site about the camp:
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/cf_FantasyCamp.htm
Thanks,
Taigh
Re: Bomber Camp in Stockton, CA June 2-3. More students wanted!
Sun May 16, 2010 1:22 pm
Question for the Collings guys:
What, if any, type of FAA waivers did you need to get to operate the ball turret while in flight?
Thanks
Chris
What, if any, type of FAA waivers did you need to get to operate the ball turret while in flight?
Thanks
Chris
Re: Bomber Camp in Stockton, CA June 2-3. More students wanted!
Sun May 16, 2010 1:36 pm
To me it is a lot easier to make the equipment installed in the bombers operational because making all those "INOPERATIVE" labels is a real pain and they just don't look authentic 
Re: Bomber Camp in Stockton, CA June 2-3. More students wanted!
Sun May 16, 2010 10:37 pm
I'd just like to say that my hat's off to the folks who make such a thing possible. I can't even begin to imagine how much work has to go into making something like this a reality.