srgalahad
Charter Member 2022
Many, many months ago the ever-mysterious Flight 19 landed at a small strip in Ontario, Canada. After the usual post-flight beverages the crews dispersed - and vanished!
Searches (some more diligent than others) turned up no trace of the intrepid aviators. Weeks turned into months and those stretched to nearly a year with no sign of survivors.
One day last week I was sitting in the long grass of the abandoned WWII airbase at Hobbs, NM (NM83) when a fellow walked up and said 'hello' (with an odd Brit accent). To my surprise it was one of the 'lost' Flight 19 crew. Chatted for a bit and then we decided to see if the moldering hulks of a couple of B-17s sitting on the field had any value. LO and behold they could be made flyable so we applied the duct tape and poured oil in places and headed out. We got as far as KBRO (Brownsville TX), thinking the parts could be sold across the border wall, but overnight, two MORE Fortresses showed up. Scrap and salvage was quickly forgotten as it was realized that 4 heavy bombers with operating .50 cals could attract some revenue.
So, for the first time in 11 months Flight 19 has assembled and set off on another adventure (Srgalahad, Moses03, Tako-Kichi and the 'sorta-rookie' Falcon409)
Photos, 2 enroute to KBRO and the assembled 'mission' departing south out of Texas.
Searches (some more diligent than others) turned up no trace of the intrepid aviators. Weeks turned into months and those stretched to nearly a year with no sign of survivors.
One day last week I was sitting in the long grass of the abandoned WWII airbase at Hobbs, NM (NM83) when a fellow walked up and said 'hello' (with an odd Brit accent). To my surprise it was one of the 'lost' Flight 19 crew. Chatted for a bit and then we decided to see if the moldering hulks of a couple of B-17s sitting on the field had any value. LO and behold they could be made flyable so we applied the duct tape and poured oil in places and headed out. We got as far as KBRO (Brownsville TX), thinking the parts could be sold across the border wall, but overnight, two MORE Fortresses showed up. Scrap and salvage was quickly forgotten as it was realized that 4 heavy bombers with operating .50 cals could attract some revenue.
So, for the first time in 11 months Flight 19 has assembled and set off on another adventure (Srgalahad, Moses03, Tako-Kichi and the 'sorta-rookie' Falcon409)
Photos, 2 enroute to KBRO and the assembled 'mission' departing south out of Texas.
