What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1283471
AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 3 COVER STORY History Takes Flight BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and its cousin, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, have some basic things in common. They are both huge airplanes, and both were built for U.S. bombing missions during World War II. "Designed by the Boeing Company and first flown in 1935, the B-17 was the largest land-based plane in the world at the time," says Nancy Kwiecien, executive officer of the Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing. "Although early World War II operations saw B-17s in every theater, the big bombers were primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces in the daylight precision bombing campaign against German industrial and military targets. "The B-29 is a newer, much more sophisticated aircraft. It's pressurized, and carries more advanced weaponry and is much larger," she compares. "The B-17 has a 104-foot wingspan; the B-29 wingspan is 141 feet. Although designed only five years after the B-17, the B-29's advanced design allowed it to remain in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, while the B-17s were obsolete by the end of the war." "The B-29 Superfortress was primarily used in the Pacific Theatre and was the aircraft type that delivered the two atomic bombs to Japan," Josh Wells picks up the story. He is the executive director of Doc's Friends, a Wichita, Kan.-based nonprofit "whose mission is to honor the men and women who designed, built, flew and maintained B-29s during World War II." Both Doc, a B-29 built in 1945 by the Boeing Co. in Wichita, and Texas Raiders, the third to last B-17 completed at the Douglas Aircraft factory in Long Beach, Calif., on July 12, 1945, will fly into Fayetteville Labor Day weekend for a three-day event at the Arkansas Air & Military Museum at Drake Field. It is, according to museum director Laci Shuffield, the first time the two organizations have come together to showcase their historic planes, also including a T6 Texan and a twin engine Beech Navy transport. "This event is going to be a big deal for Northwest Arkansas," says Matt Younkin, a member of the museum board. "For the first time ever, warbird fans in Fayetteville will have the unique opportunity to see the aircraft that helped deliver the final punch to end the war in Europe, along with the aircraft that led to the surrender of Japan in the Pacific. It's going to be something special." Although "she" comes from a proud tradition, Texas Raiders was essentially obsolete the moment she came off the assembly line. "Most military aircraft built at the very end of the war were flown directly to the scrap yard," says Kwiecien, "but Texas Raiders was given a reprieve. On July 16, 1945, the U.S. Navy selected 20 brand new B-17s for re-designation as PB-1Ws, the first successful form of Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft. "Starting in 1946, these aircraft served as first line RADAR early warning platforms, and Texas Raiders was one of the very first aircraft in the world to serve in that capacity, keeping watch from bases on the East Coast and Hawaii in the early days of the Cold War," Kwiecien continues the story. "She was retired from the Navy in 1955. In 1957, the Litton company's Aero Service division purchased Texas Raiders and used the aircraft as a high-altitude mapping, survey and photographic platform. In 1967 a deal was struck with the fledgling Commemorative Air Force, and Texas Raiders came to the CAF in south Texas." Warbirds fly in to Arkansas Air Museum FAQ Warbirds Weekend WHEN — 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 5-7 WHERE — Arkansas Air & Military Museum at Drake Field in Fayetteville COST — $25 for a family, $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger INFO — 521-4947; arkansasair andmilitary.com FYI — To book flights on the B-29 or the B-17, v isit b29doc.com/rides or B17TexasRaiders.org. "They are both bombers, with the same 'job description,'" Nancy Kwiecien, executive officer of the Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing, says of the B-17 Flying Fortress (left) and the B-29 Superfortress (right). "The B-29 is a newer, much more sophisticated aircraft. It's pressurized, and carries more advanced weaponry and is much larger. The B-17 has a 104-foot wingspan, the B-29 wingspan is 141 feet. Although designed only five years after the B-17, the B-29's advanced design allowed it to remain in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, while the B-17's were obsolete by the end of the war. The B-17 served primarily in Europe, the B-29 primarily in the Pacific." (Courtesy Photos) See Warbirds Page 4