Gene Roddenbury......Decorated B-17 pilot.

[Rogue]

Yes the man that is Star Trek.
Does anyone know what 17 he flew?
(Enterprise?)
Pics?


Gene Roddenberry led a life as colorful and exciting as almost any high-adventure fiction. He was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1921, spent his boyhood in Los Angeles, studied three years of policemanship and then transferred his academic interest to aeronautical engineering and qualified for a pilot's license. He volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps in the fall of 1941 and was ordered into training as a flying cadet when the United States entered World War II.

Emerging from Kelly Field, Texas, as a Second Lieutenant, Roddenberry was sent to the South Pacific where he entered combat at Guadalcanal, flying B-17 bombers out of the newly-captured Japanese airstrip, which became Henderson Field. He flew missions against enemy strongholds at Bougainville and participated in the Munda invasion. In all, he took part in approximately 89 missions and sorties. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

[tom d. friedman]

up to now i had no interest in him.....that's changed. thanks

I thought he flew B-24s in the Pacific.

[hang the expense]

I knew he flew B-17s but I always thought it was in europe. Thanks for setting me straight. Anyone Know the name of the 17s he flew?

[Randy Haskin]

This is seriously fertile ground for urban legends here...

Via Google, I've seen it reported so far that he was a:

(quotes below are collected from the various pages I saw)

- B-17 pilot

"Roddenberry and Jefferies had something in common: they both flew B-17's in WWII — Matt in Europe, Gene in the Pacific."

"Gene Roddenberry himself was a decorated war veteran, having flown the B-17 Flying Fortress on many sorties in the Pacific conflict of WW2"

"Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (1921–91) Writer, and film and television producer, born in El Paso, Texas, USA. He joined the Army Air Corps and served as a bomber pilot (1941–6) and as a crash investigator (1946–9). As an airline pilot (1949–53), he survived an aircrash in the Syrian desert."

"He qualified for a pilot's license and served in the United States Air Force from 1941 to 1945. He flew a B-17 Flying Fortress on eighty-nine missions, including Guadalcanal and Bougainville, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and several other decorations."

- C-46 pilot

"Gene Roddenberry (d), USAAF, C-46/C-47 pilot 8th AF"

"Gene Roddenberry, USAAF C-46 Pilot, 8th AF"

"In 1943 while a US Army Air Corps pilot, his plane crashed on takeoff due to a mechanical failure, killing two crew members:"

- USAAC Fighter Pilot

"A decorated WWII fighter pilot and former commercial pilot before becoming a sergeant with the L.A.P.D., Roddenberry graduated from composing speeches for the LA police chief to writing episodes of..."

- Pan Am pilot

"Worked as a Pan American World Airways airline pilot for four years"

[CH2Tdriver]

[quote="Randy Haskin"]This is seriously fertile ground for urban legends here...

I heard he had a Scottish flight engineer on the B-17.
"Captain...she can't take much more of this.....I've got to shut down and feather number 3!!!!"

--or--

"Flying a daylight bombing mission with no fighter escort is illogical captain."

[systemofadown1162]

I always heard he was the bombardier.

[Cking]

I heard that he was a civilian flight engineer, therefore almost as good as a ground engineer consiquently almost worth listening to!!
Whatever he was he wrote a good story and created some good charecters
"Ye cannie change the laws of phyisics"
"It's worse than that, he's dead Jim"
and my favourite, that I wish to you all
"Live long and prosper"

Rgds Cking

[corsair166b]

And they're getting ready to re-cast the Satr Trek pics and do the over again for a new generation of folks....quite a legacy for an old WWII plane pilot (since no one seems to know what EXACTLY he flew)...

His ideas of what the future COULD look like if we got serious about space travel are inspiring....yet we continue to launch satellites only capable of broadcasting "Ishtar" 24 hours a day...what a waste of talent.

Mark

Better "Ishtar" than "Yentl".

But, I found this:

"In the Air Force, from 1941 to 1945, he piloted a B-17 Flying Fortress on 89 missions, including Guadalcanal and Bougainvillea. Among his several decorations were the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. As a pilot for Pan American after the war, Roddenberry crashed his plane in the Syrian desert. Only eight of the flight's 46 passengers survived."

After all, I read it on the Internet so it's gotta be true - right?

[David_Aiken]

1985 issue
5th Bomb Group Reunion Association address book:

EW "Gene" Roddenberry; 394th Bomb Squadron
213-274-2858
10615 Bellagio Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90077

Yes, of Star Trek Fame...
Cheers,
David Aiken

[Mark Allen M]

Found the photo below and was trying to figure what B-17 it was. It's B-17E 41-2463 'Yankee Doodle' Of The 394th BS, 5th BG
More info here:
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/41-2463.html
"On August 2, 1943, piloted by Lt. Roddenberry, this B-17 attempted to take off from Guadalcanal (other sources state Espiritu Santo). Suffered an aborted take off (or mechanical failure) and crashed at the end of the runway. Two of the crew were killed in the crash: bombardier Sgt John P. Krueger and navigator Lt. Talbert H. Wollam.

Fellow B-17 pilot Leon Rockwell wrote in his diary on August 2, 1943:
"Approx 6:00 AM while at the Canal heard an explosion and ran from my tent to end of the Bomber Strip to see B-17 burning. It was piloted by Lt Gene Roddenberry. . . said he couldn't get takeoff air speed thus aborted the takeoff ran off the end of the runway into coconut palm tree stumps - Wiped out the undercarriage & nose of B-17 - Everyone got out except Sgt Krueger Bombardier and Lt. Wollam Navigator. Wollam was a good friend of mine. He had a wife and family in the States, had orders to go home but volunteered to replace Roddenberry's navigator who for some reason couldn't make the mission."

The Individual Aircraft Record Card for this B-17 notes the aircraft was condemned on August 13, 1943, but apparently the B-17 was indeed repaired and flown, probably one of at least three SOPAC B-17Es modified as transports along with B-17E 41-2487 when the 5th Bomb Group transitional entirely to B-24 Liberators.

Finally, during November 1944 (?) this B-17 was destroyed on the ground at Morotai (probably Pitu Airfield) by Japanese bombs. A photograph in the 307th Bombardment Group archives shows the burned-out wreckage of this B-17 on Morotai in November 1944, a victim of a Japanese bombing raid."







Lt. Roddenberry and crew

[p51]

If Trek fans had enough skills to commit violence, I would have been killed at a sci-fi con in the early 90s. I tied up Gene Roddenberry about his B-17 time and Deforest Kelly on his time making movies for the Army in WW2. Each were delighted to talk about anything other than Trek! Roddenberry even leaned in and said, "Thanks, I hadn't thought about those days in a while and nobody ever asks about that."
A good pal further drove the Trekkies nuts at the same event by asking Roddenberry about his time as a cop...

[JohnB]

They say Matt Jeffries, designer of the space Enterprise was a long time pilot.
The NCC-1701 serial on the Enterprise was inspired by his Stinson's N-number.
Whether he had that when they were used/cheap aircraft or whether it was later when they were "antiques" I don't know.

Anyone know more about him and his aircraft?

Last edited by JohnB on Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[wendovertom]

If Trek fans had enough skills to commit violence, I would have been killed at a sci-fi con in the early 90s. I tied up Gene Roddenberry about his B-17 time and Deforest Kelly on his time making movies for the Army in WW2. Each were delighted to talk about anything other than Trek! Roddenberry even leaned in and said, "Thanks, I hadn't thought about those days in a while and nobody ever asks about that."
A good pal further drove the Trekkies nuts at the same event by asking Roddenberry about his time as a cop...

HAHA - that is funny! I'll bet they really remembered that convention opposed to every single other one!

Tom P.