w

A Visit to the Schenectady Air Museum

Mrs. Carrozza and I decided to take a visit to the Schenectady Air Museum because they were having a visit from some WWII airplanes. No B-26, but there was a B-17, a B-24, and a fighter.

Anne standing on the catwalk of the bomb bay of the Fortress. Notice the bombs are the same size as my 5′ 0″ wife!

Sometimes Frank Carrozza had to assist in arming the bombs. This involved walking that narrow catwalk and pulling the pins from the bombs. Better save those pins. If they couldn’t be dropped they had to be reinserted to disarm the bombs for landing.

Carl Carrozza looking at the B-17.

Frank Carrozza was a side gunner and radio operator in his B-26. Here I am in a position very similar to the one in his plane.

It occurred to me that this was a scary and uncomfortable place. Imagine flying at 10,000 ft with two large open windows on either side of you. It must have been very windy, cold, and flak bursts that could kill you directly or take down your plane at any moment.

I’m guessing the radio operators post on a B-26 is a lot like this one. There is a telegraph key just out of the picture that my finger is on.

Morse code travels much further than voice. Message were often coded on top of Morse code.

 

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.