Mid-Seventies Firebomber Flashback

[Tomahawk]

Had to dig deep for these. My apologies for the poor image quallity. They were taken at FCA/KGPI (now Glacier Int'l.) in Kalispell, MT, circa July/August 1974, as I recall. I would have been twelve at the time. They were taken with a Kodak Instamatic, acquired in exchange for cereal box tops. Shutter release had a "trigger pull" of about 25#, causing most of the pics to be out of focus. Used 126 cartridge film. The gentleman on the wing of a/c "12" took me up in it later that day. He was impressed that I knew right off it was a "G" model! (Already owned a copy of "Flying Fortress" by Edward Jablonski at that time.)
Any additional info would be appreciated.

Aircraft "04" is N17W, a B-17F. Aircraft "10" remains unidentified. Aircraft "12" was a B-17G, N6694C (?).

Last edited by Tomahawk on Fri Sep 19, 2014 4:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Courier Sportster]

good. makes me feel less bad for my 1970's kodak work. 126 looks even worse than my 110! cool that he took you up! good old days.

[Steve Nelson]

Always cool to see these old pics. One small correction though: N17W is a B-17F, now restored as "Boeing Bee."

SN

[Tomahawk]

Thanks Steve. Duly noted. The ol' memory ain't what it used to be...

[Chris Brame]

Tanker 10 was 42-102715/N66573; crashed 7-21-79. Parts of it still exist (not sure what parts).
Tanker 12 is 44-85813/N6694C; crashed 4-16-80. Its ID and some components are now being restored as Champaign Lady.

Last edited by Chris Brame on Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Tomahawk]

Thanks Chris. Any idea who the operator was at the time of the photos? Were the crashes related to firefighing duties? Was #10 an "E"model?

[Chris Brame]

Tanker #10 was a G model. There were no E model tankers I'm aware of, and only two Fs: 42-29782/N17W and 42-6107/N1340N (with Aero Flite; converted to Rolls Royce Dart turboprops in 1970 and crashed August 18th of that year on a firefighting mission).

Both B-17Gs you photographed were owned by Black Hills Aviation and lost on firefighting missions. Scott Thompson's book Final Cut has a lot more info on those B-17 tankers.

[Tomahawk]

Thanks again Chris. Wasn't aware that any "G" models had "42-" serials. Obviously, the fuselage of #10 had been modified past visual recognition. I've seen photos of that turboprop conversion you mentioned. I have family connections to FCA, and still own property near Glacier Nat'l. Park. I donated all of my aviation library to the Civil Air Patrol around 1982, so I no longer have any reference materials. Been away from this scene for thirty-odd years, but have suddenly found myself back in it. I will definitely find a copy of the book you recommended. Trying to get back up to speed, working off of forty-plus year-old memories. Many thanks!