Former riveters to fly in WWII warplanes
Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:50 am
I work in radio news, and stumbled across this on the AP newswire this morning. Neat story! I'm assuming the planes are the Collingss birds.
SN
Former riveters to fly in WWII warplanes
NEW YORK (AP) - As young women more than a-half century ago,
they helped build the American warplanes that helped win World War
II. And today, they'll finally get a chance to fly in them.
Six women who were among the fabled "Rosie the Riveters" of
that bygone war effort will be climbing aboard a B-17 Flying
Fortress and a B-24 Liberator today at an airport on New York's
Long Island. During the war, Republic Aviation had a factory there.
Anne King, who turns 85 tomorrow, was just 19 when she left a
$12-a-week job in a five-and-dime to go to work as a mechanic and
riveter on warplanes. She says she's "not the least bit nervous"
about flying.
At 86, Georgette Feller says she wants every "good experience"
she can have, and says riding in one of the planes she helped
build, sounds like a good one to her.
SN
Former riveters to fly in WWII warplanes
NEW YORK (AP) - As young women more than a-half century ago,
they helped build the American warplanes that helped win World War
II. And today, they'll finally get a chance to fly in them.
Six women who were among the fabled "Rosie the Riveters" of
that bygone war effort will be climbing aboard a B-17 Flying
Fortress and a B-24 Liberator today at an airport on New York's
Long Island. During the war, Republic Aviation had a factory there.
Anne King, who turns 85 tomorrow, was just 19 when she left a
$12-a-week job in a five-and-dime to go to work as a mechanic and
riveter on warplanes. She says she's "not the least bit nervous"
about flying.
At 86, Georgette Feller says she wants every "good experience"
she can have, and says riding in one of the planes she helped
build, sounds like a good one to her.
Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:04 am
You'd think that they might at least metion the organization that is making this possible.
Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:44 am
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/31/rosie. ... index.html
They did recognize the folks that made it possible on CNN.com, but as usual, had some fun with the facts. Check out the last paragraph, with the commentary on the B-17's history... unless I'm completely wrong, Collings' B-17 didn't fly 100 missions in the ETO, did it?
Oh well. I'm just glad that there is some positive coverage of warbirds in the mass media. Way to go Collings!
kevin
They did recognize the folks that made it possible on CNN.com, but as usual, had some fun with the facts. Check out the last paragraph, with the commentary on the B-17's history... unless I'm completely wrong, Collings' B-17 didn't fly 100 missions in the ETO, did it?
Oh well. I'm just glad that there is some positive coverage of warbirds in the mass media. Way to go Collings!
kevin
Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:49 am
I really wish they would lay off the "only flying B-24" out of 18,000. A lot of people, myself included have put in alot of hours on Ol' 927, and that is just not right.
From CNN...
Real 'Rosie the Riveters' to fly on WWII planes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Anne King was 19 and earning $12 a week in a dime store when she was recruited in 1942 to learn how to make airplane parts. She worked at Republic Aviation on Long Island as a mechanic and riveter on P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and other aircraft.
Women who helped build B-17's like this one during World War II will get to fly on one on Friday.
King and five other women who performed wartime factory work were to gather Friday at what is now Republic Airport in Farmingdale and take rides in a B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-24 Liberator "as a tribute to their war efforts," said Hope Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the American Airpower Museum on the grounds of the airport.
Exhibitions by vintage aircraft are holiday fixtures at the museum, but this is the first time any of the women, the "Rosie the Riveters" who helped build World War II aircraft, have had a chance to fly in them, Kaplan said.
King, who turns 85 on Saturday, said she was "not the least bit nervous" about her first flight in a vintage bomber.
"I'd like to ride in the B-24," said Josephine Rachiele, 82, was also scheduled to take a tribute flight. "My friend Bernadette's father was a waist gunner on a B-24 and I would like to tell her what it's like."
Rachiele recalled that when she first went to work as a riveter at Republic in 1943, "I didn't know a rivet from a nail, and it was so noisy that I was really frightened. The rivet guns shooting rivets and the drill press stomping on metal -- it was pandemonium."
At war's end, she said, the women were given the choice of staying or leaving so that returning servicemen could have the jobs. Rachiele quit, but returned in later years to Republic, where she was known both as "Josie the Riveter" and "Rosie the Riveter."
Georgette Feller, 86, said she was "already one step ahead" when she joined Republic Aviation as a riveter. "My father was an excellent mechanic, and I already knew how to use a rivet gun, and I could tell aluminum from steel," she said.
"It was a great job, but I had trouble with the man who was my first partner -- he said he wasn't happy working with a dizzy broad."
Feller knows Friday's flight is a great opportunity. "I'm at the end of my days and I want every good experience I can have," she said. "That sounds like a good one for me."
While the actual number of women employed in defense plants is uncertain, historians say the war brought about 6 million women into the work force for the first time. They almost always made less money than men working at the same tasks.
In 1943, a promotional film using an actual riveter named Rose at Michigan's Willow Run bomber plant as its model popularized the "Rosie the Riveter" image. A song furthered the cause, as did a Saturday Evening Post cover by illustrator Norman Rockwell, depicting Rosie with her feet resting on a copy of Adolf Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf."
According to the Collings Foundation, a nonprofit "living history" organization based in Stow, Massachusetts, which owns the two bombers, the B-24 Liberator is the only one of 18,000 built during the war that remains in flyable condition today. Its B-17 Flying Fortress, which flew 100 missions over Europe including 18 raids on Berlin and was rescued from a salvage yard, is one of 14 still flying among 12,000 built. About a third were lost in combat
From CNN...
Real 'Rosie the Riveters' to fly on WWII planes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Anne King was 19 and earning $12 a week in a dime store when she was recruited in 1942 to learn how to make airplane parts. She worked at Republic Aviation on Long Island as a mechanic and riveter on P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and other aircraft.
Women who helped build B-17's like this one during World War II will get to fly on one on Friday.
King and five other women who performed wartime factory work were to gather Friday at what is now Republic Airport in Farmingdale and take rides in a B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-24 Liberator "as a tribute to their war efforts," said Hope Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the American Airpower Museum on the grounds of the airport.
Exhibitions by vintage aircraft are holiday fixtures at the museum, but this is the first time any of the women, the "Rosie the Riveters" who helped build World War II aircraft, have had a chance to fly in them, Kaplan said.
King, who turns 85 on Saturday, said she was "not the least bit nervous" about her first flight in a vintage bomber.
"I'd like to ride in the B-24," said Josephine Rachiele, 82, was also scheduled to take a tribute flight. "My friend Bernadette's father was a waist gunner on a B-24 and I would like to tell her what it's like."
Rachiele recalled that when she first went to work as a riveter at Republic in 1943, "I didn't know a rivet from a nail, and it was so noisy that I was really frightened. The rivet guns shooting rivets and the drill press stomping on metal -- it was pandemonium."
At war's end, she said, the women were given the choice of staying or leaving so that returning servicemen could have the jobs. Rachiele quit, but returned in later years to Republic, where she was known both as "Josie the Riveter" and "Rosie the Riveter."
Georgette Feller, 86, said she was "already one step ahead" when she joined Republic Aviation as a riveter. "My father was an excellent mechanic, and I already knew how to use a rivet gun, and I could tell aluminum from steel," she said.
"It was a great job, but I had trouble with the man who was my first partner -- he said he wasn't happy working with a dizzy broad."
Feller knows Friday's flight is a great opportunity. "I'm at the end of my days and I want every good experience I can have," she said. "That sounds like a good one for me."
While the actual number of women employed in defense plants is uncertain, historians say the war brought about 6 million women into the work force for the first time. They almost always made less money than men working at the same tasks.
In 1943, a promotional film using an actual riveter named Rose at Michigan's Willow Run bomber plant as its model popularized the "Rosie the Riveter" image. A song furthered the cause, as did a Saturday Evening Post cover by illustrator Norman Rockwell, depicting Rosie with her feet resting on a copy of Adolf Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf."
According to the Collings Foundation, a nonprofit "living history" organization based in Stow, Massachusetts, which owns the two bombers, the B-24 Liberator is the only one of 18,000 built during the war that remains in flyable condition today. Its B-17 Flying Fortress, which flew 100 missions over Europe including 18 raids on Berlin and was rescued from a salvage yard, is one of 14 still flying among 12,000 built. About a third were lost in combat
Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:46 pm
Ol 927 is a nice airplane, but face the facts, its still an LB-30. It represents a -24, but its not a genuine -24.
Its the same as a Cessna Skymaster painted to represent an O-2, when you separate the wheat from the chafe, its a lamb in wolfs clothing.
Its the same as a Cessna Skymaster painted to represent an O-2, when you separate the wheat from the chafe, its a lamb in wolfs clothing.
Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:45 pm
Ut-oh! Here it comes!
Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:55 pm
I've riveted before, and for a lot less than $12 a week! Where do I sign up???? 
Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:15 pm
Look at all dem worms in dat can dat DZ just opened !! 
Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:56 pm
At least they are being honored.
Sat Sep 01, 2007 12:37 am
Stumbled across this on one of Ol' 927's oil tanks:
Scott
Scott
Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:31 am
skymstr02 wrote:Ol 927 is a nice airplane, but face the facts, its still an LB-30. It represents a -24, but its not a genuine -24.
Its the same as a Cessna Skymaster painted to represent an O-2, when you separate the wheat from the chafe, its a lamb in wolfs clothing.
More like an 0-2 modified in to a 337, being fixed back up in to an 0-2! It is a genuine -24A!
Steve
Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:03 pm
God Bless these ladies; they certainly deserved this honor for their contributions to the war effort.
Some photos of the ladies of North American Aviation and B-25s.
Some photos of the ladies of North American Aviation and B-25s.
Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:59 pm
Great color pics. And taken on sheet film, too.
Sun Sep 02, 2007 3:25 pm
skymstr02 wrote:Ol 927 is a nice airplane, but face the facts, its still an LB-30. It represents a -24, but its not a genuine -24.
Its the same as a Cessna Skymaster painted to represent an O-2, when you separate the wheat from the chafe, its a lamb in wolfs clothing.
Face the facts? So if an O-2 was converted into a Skymaster and then reconverted back into an O-2, then it's not really an O-2?
Sun Sep 02, 2007 6:46 pm
skymstr02 wrote:Ol 927 is a nice airplane, but face the facts, its still an LB-30. It represents a -24, but its not a genuine -24.
Guess ya need to check your facts before posting....927 most certainly IS a B24, not an LB30