World War II saw air battles that were absolutely vicious in nature being fought by pilots that were barely out of high school going toe-to-toe with their adversaries. Their aircraft were the only thing that they could rely on to bring them back to safe territory, or even to get them safely to the ground. And there were no guarantees of either one of those events happening. After the war’s end, the majority of those surplus planes were scrapped after their useful life had ended. But across the country, dedicated crews have restored these aircraft and have spent years touring across the country, showing the planes off, giving rides and educating the public about the importance these aircraft have in the history of the world.
The three planes that arrived in Bowling Green for this exhibition were the B-24H Liberator “Witchcraft”, B-17G Flying Fortress “Nine ‘O Nine”, and P-51C Mustang “Betty Jane”. Sitting on the tarmac of the Warren County Regional Airport, these aircraft stood just as imposing now as they must have been to anyone who saw them so many years ago. One thing that has certainly changed, however, is crew size. The Flying Fortress is unbelievably small and narrow inside, the Liberator only just a bit better. Pleas to test out the interior of the Mustang fell upon deaf ears.
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I saw the trio a few weeks ago when they were in Rockford. All of the control surfaces are manually controlled (no hydo or electronic aids) and there isn’t a place on the plane that you could hide from a kid with a .22 shooting at you…pretty damn sobering