FIFI B-29 Prepares for Takeoff at KCID Cedar Rapids Iowa

Fifi the B-29 World War II bomber made a four day stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa this weekend. These three photos are from this morning during the plane's last full day here. Yesterday the weather was fantastic and many people turned out to see the aircraft and other WWII era fighters.

By going black and white and jacking the contrast I produced this old time looking image of the plane. With some sand and tropical trees this could very well be some runway in the South Pacific during 1945.

Fifi's late morning trip around the Cedar Rapids area ended with another successful landing at KCID. Airport Park area on the east side of the property is an excellent place to see and hear planes of all sorts come and go. Its just not everyday when a historic aircraft like the B-29 comes to town.

B-29 (Fifi) Tail Section Explained at Cedar Rapids CID

Yesterday at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID,) a crew member of Fifi, a World War II B-29 bomber explained to me about the tail gun section of the 67 year plane. My late uncle once told me that he was a tail gunner aboard a B-29 during WWII and may have been a gunner on other stations of the craft. Since the bomber was pressurized unlike the open B-17, the gunner traveled to his location from the forward crew compartment. He crawled through a tunnel the length of the plane until he reached a hatch. 

While at Fifi's static display at the airport the crew member climbed ahead of me into the rear of the plane. He allowed me to peek in the tail section to see the open hatch where the tail gunner would enter. The crew member explained that the gunner would then stand and operate optical instruments that fed data to a weapons computer. He explained that my uncle would have engaged the computer and then pulled the trigger to fire the 50 caliber machine guns. It was an interesting tour of the B-29 and it permitted me to see how a tail gunner would operate equipment under combat situations. Fifi flies next to Oshkosh on Saturday morning to attend the EAA airshow.

A Day With a B-29 (Fifi) at the Cedar Rapids Airport CID

Make no mistake, this was a rare day for aviation enthusiasts to see, hear and experience the rumblings of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. "Fifi" entered service in May 1945 just a few months ahead of the end of World War II and now tours the country. Yesterday the massive four prop bomber arrived at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a couple of days of static display and to provide rides for those with cash. The plane will move on to Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Saturday for the annual EAA show.

The line to climb into the cockpit was long but a wind was blowing, the humidity was down and the shade from the right wing provided great relief from the summer sun. Standing in line you meet people and hear stories related to B-29s. The guy next to me just returned from Alaska via Seattle where he visited the Boeing plant there and toured the last manufactured B-17 bomber made.

While in line you can also chat with the flight crew. Here two Fifi mechanics unscrew the face plate of one of the massive engines to determine where oil was leaking. The obvious answer is that these engines constantly leak oil all over - perhaps by design. The boys made sure all the rivets were replaced.

And finally after 45 minutes you climb up a ladder in the forward bomb bay section to enter the pressurized flight deck. Here is where the majority of the crew is seated during missions. A tail gunner would crawl in a tube from this area rearward to the 50 caliber machine guns in the tail. Note how the glass nose looks very much like Star Wars' Millennium Falcon's front view area. Hans Solo and Chewbaca would fit right in. 

The tour continues with an exit down another ladder to the nose wheels. After emerging from the wheel door you are greeted by a view of the nose window.

Hours later the 67 year old B-29, which is the only remaining flying Superfortress, started its four engines and rolled down the taxi area in preparation for flight. Fifi provided two flights today and will do so tomorrow (Friday) before leaving on Saturday for the land of beer and cheese.

B-29 "Fifi" Lands At Eastern Iowa Airport Cedar Rapids CID

The only flying B-29, named Fifi, landed about 2 PM today at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID.) After circling the airport twice the World War II bomber landed then taxied to the PS Air terminal. To get perspective of the bomber's size, I photographed Fifi and an United jet in the same frame. The dust above the B-29 came from construction activities on the north-south runway area.

Fifi is based in Addison, Texas (north of Dallas.) It makes several appearances throughout the year offering tours and rides. Locally an aerospace communications company, Rockwell Collins made the B-29's original radio equipment. Some of the company's retirees are expected to visit the plane during the three day visit.

During World War II, my uncle served on a B-29 as a tail gunner in the Pacific. He talked passionately about the plane and crew but often discussed how his compartment was pressurized due to the altitude. He said it was hard to sit in that area and do his job. I'll be touring the plane in the next few days and will find out exactly what that experience was like.

2011 Quad Cities Air Show - Part 2

The Quad Cities Air Show held in Davenport, Iowa last weekend included a variety of aircraft and flight performances. Precision parachuters battled moderate winds on Saturday. Their skills enabled the team to land on target.

The Lucas Oil barnstormer made incredible turns, stalls and dives. And like many of the performers did so with a trail of smoke to highlight the flight characteristics.

A rare jet assisted glider also wowed the crowd with its graceful climbs and dives performed much slower than its propeller counterparts. The jet engine was not engaged during loops and drives but turned on to regain airspeed for the next set of performances.

The sturdiness of a World War II Stearman is tested by a low level pull out.

Another World War II trainer showed the crowd the difference in technology between the Stearman and this A-6 Texan. Know that.

Remembering Pearl Harbor and the Iowa Class Battleships

Photograph at left is from the DoD photo by: PH1HILTON Date Shot: 15 Aug 1984 http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/Defens

Today is the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii. The USS Arizona was sunk at the harbor and lies there today as a monument to the attack, and to the those who fought Japanese imperialism. A few yards from the ship's wreckage is the floating museum of the USS Missouri, the battleship where the Japanese later signed cease fire documents in 1945 at Toyko Bay. In essence the beginning and the end of the World War II in the Pacific theater is enshrined at Pearl Harbor.

The USS Missouri is an Iowa-class battleship, and part of a group of six fast attack battleships - Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky. The first ship built of that class was the USS Iowa which served both theaters of war, the Korean War, and later conflicts through the 1980s. It currently lies in Suisun Bay in California as part of the decommissioned ghost fleet, awaiting being made into a museum or another fate. Find the USS Iowa and other decommisioned ships at this map link. Know that.

World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Buried at Keokuk National Cemetery

Ten service personnel who have Iowa connections were recipients of the country's highest military decoration - the Medal of Honor during World War II. The award celebrates valor in action against an enemy force which is bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States.

At the Keokuk National Cemetery, among the 4,000 war dead, the grave of one soldier carries the special distinction. U.S. Army Private First Class John F. Thorson was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) following his sacrifice during World War II. 

Thorson's offical citation reads, "He was an automatic rifleman on 28 October 1944, in the attack on Dagami Leyte, Philippine Islands. A heavily fortified enemy position consisting of pillboxes and supporting trenches held up the advance of his company. His platoon was ordered to out-flank and neutralize the strongpoint. Voluntarily moving well out in front of his group, Pvt. Thorson came upon an enemy fire trench defended by several hostile riflemen and, disregarding the intense fire directed at him, attacked single-handed He was seriously wounded and fell about 6 yards from the trench. Just as the remaining 20 members of the platoon reached him, one of the enemy threw a grenade into their midst. Shouting a warning and making a final effort, Pvt. Thorson rolled onto the grenade and smothered the explosion with his body. He was instantly killed, but his magnificent courage and supreme self-sacrifice prevented the injury and possible death of his comrades, and remain with them as a lasting inspiration."

According to the Iowa Medal of Honors Heros section of the Iowa History web site John Thorson, Sr., accepted his son’s Medal of Honor in a ceremony at Fort Crook, Nebraska, presented by Brig. Gen. Paul X. English of the 7th Division. The Women’s Army Corps band from Fort Des Moines played a concert before the ceremony. A newspaper report about the ceremony reported that, “The father clutched the medal tightly in hands gnarled by a life-time of work on the farm as he walked back across the parade ground after the ceremony.”

A year after the war ended, a Red Cross club in Korea was named in John Thorton's honor, and a U.S. Navy vessel (cargo ship) was also named for him. To locate Pvt. Thorson's grave, visit the cemetery in Keokuk and proceed to section D, grave 71. He is buried in a World War II section. Know that.