WWII Bomber Camp Stockton, CA (photos)

Outstanding stuff Taigh .... Congrats ....

[JDK]

So far all of the "Cadets" have had nothing but great praise for the camp. Although they all were very pleased and several have said that they are going to sign up again, there are many things I will change to make it better.

After having gone through a full camp I have re written the schedule of events and will add several activities for the students. They will also have choices to make as to what activities they would prefer to participate in as several things will be going on at a given time for both the training and mission preparation phases.

Hi Taigh,
That's great to hear! (Thanks for the return PM, BTW.)

Just to clarify, in case I didn't make sense - I wasn't thinking of the programme of the event, I reckoned you had that under control, and improvements/developments underway...

One of the interesting things I was taught in my training days was it was often useful to establish at the get-go what people wanted (probably covered - but sometimes there's an interesting, and often incorporateable item without any major effort) and what they expected - get that captured (recorded, written down) and then match it to the same questions (and their answers) at the end. Often, it's interesting the stuff this throws up as a result that would otherwise be missed - nothing different, usually, but spotlights something (usually interesting) that might otherwise be overlooked.

Beyond the obvious, as we've discvussed, if I was talking to your candidates, my main question would be 'how was it different to what you expected?', and secondly 'what was a surprise?'.

Anyway, great idea, fascinating stuff.

[Tim L]

This is something that needs to be a History Channel (or PBS) documentary. Document the repairs/upgrades when it's 909s turn and then follow the experiences of the members of the next fantasy camp. Include a few veterans talking about their experiences and finish it up with the aerial action.

Tim

[Taigh Ramey]

I should also mention, that without our excellent photo plilot, Jerry Anderson, who also has a good eye for phoptography and what were looking for during air to airs, we couldn't have gotten the shots and video that we got. A big thanks goes to Jerry.

Hey Roger,

I agree with you; Jerry is the first person I have ever let fly any of my Beech 18's. In fact he was the first person besides me to fly my old RC-45J.

I flew formation with Jerry in the RC-45J for the "What Not To Wear" TV episode and that was the first time I actually got to see it fly...from the outside that is. What a treat.

Last year we took two Beech 18's to Oshkosh and Jerry was flying John Hannigans Beech. He is not only a good stick but he is also an all around nice guy too!

[warbird1]

So any chance we are going to see more video footage of this on television?

If not, can we buy a DVD of the footage?

[Taigh Ramey]

Sorry that we don't have any good quality video or our recent Bomber Crew Camp. We will have a dedicated video crew next time.

The best that I could suggest would be the PBS documentary that we participated in a while ago called Warplanes. We used the same Norden to drop 100 pound practice bombs from a B-25 called Old Glory. In this one I had a WWII pilot/bombardier and a Viet Nam Bombardier (VO-67 the last group to use the Norden in Combat) drop bombs.

We also fired the 50's out of the ball turret and had the B-29 Central Station Fire Control turret system running.

There are four episodes on the DVD and we are in the second episode. It is a good series and is worth the price.

Here is a link where you can buy it at PBS if you like:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warplane/episode2.html

[Tim L]

Sorry that we don't have any good quality video or our recent Bomber Crew Camp. We will have a dedicated video crew next time.

The best that I could suggest would be the PBS documentary that we participated in a while ago called Warplanes. We used the same Norden to drop 100 pound practice bombs from a B-25 called Old Glory. In this one I had a WWII pilot/bombardier and a Viet Nam Bombardier (VO-67 the last group to use the Norden in Combat) drop bombs.

I saw that episode, great job. No apologies necessary for the video quality of the bomber crew camp, I'm happy with whatever you wish to share.

Tim

[Taigh Ramey]

Hey Roger,

Did you get a photo of Jerry flying the Beech? I understand he was slunking down (technical term) in the pilots seat to look out the picture window in the side of the Beech to fly formation with the B-24.

I would love to see a shot of him in that position. It isn't easy to be in a lead position and to fly formation on an aircraft that's behind you.

[warbird1]

Sorry that we don't have any good quality video or our recent Bomber Crew Camp. We will have a dedicated video crew next time.

The best that I could suggest would be the PBS documentary that we participated in a while ago called Warplanes. We used the same Norden to drop 100 pound practice bombs from a B-25 called Old Glory. In this one I had a WWII pilot/bombardier and a Viet Nam Bombardier (VO-67 the last group to use the Norden in Combat) drop bombs.

We also fired the 50's out of the ball turret and had the B-29 Central Station Fire Control turret system running.

There are four episodes on the DVD and we are in the second episode. It is a good series and is worth the price.

Here is a link where you can buy it at PBS if you like:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warplane/episode2.html

Thanks for the info, Taigh! Like the above said, no need to apologize for the video quality. I'm just ecstatic that you even decided to share it with us! I saw that episode on PBS, it was fantastic!

Now, you guys only need to buy a 109 or 190 to add with the 262. That could make it the ULTIMATE experience. Wow, it would be hard to imagine the 262 with a Flug Werk 190, both attacking the B-17 or B-24 and firing real working blanks from those .50's on the waist. What a unique experience!

When the next bomb camp comes up, be sure to let the forum know, as some of us (me) might want to participate next time!

I'm assuming this will be an annual event?

Thanks!

[Holedigger]

Even a dressed up T-6 doing a head on pass would look enough like a 190 to give 'em a thrill! With that kind of closure rate!! Here he comes..there he goes! Just the coordination of the flight would get more difficult. It's not exactly formation flying!
The more birds added, the more it costs though, it has to come out in the green, that is one of the big parts of the operation.

[warbird1]

Even a dressed up T-6 doing a head on pass would look enough like a 190 to give 'em a thrill! With that kind of closure rate!! Here he comes..there he goes! Just the coordination of the flight would get more difficult. It's not exactly formation flying!
The more birds added, the more it costs though, it has to come out in the green, that is one of the big parts of the operation.

True, but the more realistic it is, the more money people will be willing to pay and the greater interest and numbers signing up. I realize this is only true up to a point, after which you hit the "point of diminishing returns".

I have an idea - what about Harold Kinsvater's Buchon 109? Isn't that at Clovis? I believe that's pretty close to where the bomb camp was doing it's thing. Or has that plane been sold?

[Roger Cain]

Last I saw Kindsvater's 109 was for sale with Courtesy, it may be gone now. Only person that flew it regularly here was Skip Holm.

Taigh,

As I was busy shooting out the window at you guys, didn't really notice Jerry's position during the shoot, just when we would talk about each pass and positioning. Here's one I took as we were heading back for Stockton, and Jerry's sitting on an extra seat cushion. That's WIXer Jim Harley in the white shirt.



and of course, note Taigh's stature in the same Beech.

[Taigh Ramey]

Jim Harley just sent me some of the photos that he took from the Beech 18 photo ship.

Here is the shot I was looking for. Imagine Jerry flying formation while looking over his shoulder out the right side main cabin windows at the B-24. Not an easy feat and yet he kept it nice and steady for the photographers.



Jim also has an awesome eye when it comes to capturing the moment in amazing photographs. I can't wait for his coffee table book to come out.





Thanks for sharing your pictures Jim!

[rclausen]

Taigh got for me a "TM 10-412 Army Recipes" dated 1944 that I will be using for the meals. Yes, we do strive for authenticity. For those who were there last year, I suspect it would be way better than going to the terminal or heading for Taco Bell or something. I mean, you're at a bomber training camp and you have to go to Applebees for your meals. Not this time... For those who are coming, please bear with me as I will be doing this for the first time.

Ricky
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Last edited by rclausen on Mon May 17, 2010 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

[cco23i]

Remember Rick, SOS in the morning and I am happy!!!

Scott