Second World War bombers fly over Sault as Algoma Aviation Week starts (16 photos, video)

Second World War veterans took a sentimental journey Monday, flying over Sault Ste. Marie in a vintage United States Air Force B-17 bomber.

The bomber, somewhat appropriately, is nicknamed 'Sentimental Journey' adorned with an image of blonde bombshell 1940s American actress Betty Grable on its sides.

The B-17, along with a Second World War U.S. Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomber, arrived at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport to kick off Algoma Aviation Week, which continues through to Sunday.

The two planes will be on hand for public tours, which cost $10 (Canadian). 

Actual flights on both planes will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The fees for flights are considerable but worth it for aviation and history buffs looking for a memory that will last a lifetime.

A flight in the B-17 Bombardier seat costs $850 U.S., a flight in the Gunner/Radio Room seat $425.

To book a flight on the B-17, email [email protected] or call (778) 668-0417.

A flight in the B-25 Front Seat costs $650, a spot in the Back Seating area costs $395.

To book a flight on the B-25, email [email protected] or call (218) 343-0611.   

Media members were treated to a flight aboard the B-17 by the plane's volunteer crew, accompanying local veterans Frank Neilson, Jim Scotland and Harold Soderlund, while other veterans and members of both Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 and Sault, Michigan's American Legion Post 3 paraded, mingled and watched from the ground at the Sault Airport.

The three veterans aboard the bomber were clearly enthralled as they gazed out over the city of Sault Ste. Marie during the 20-minute flight, standing at the aircraft's windows, still mounted with no-longer-operational but well-preserved machine guns. 

"I thought about the dangers that they (World War II Allied airmen) faced, those gunners who used those guns to defend themselves and the terrible risk, and how many of them died fighting for us…these were great planes but mostly we owe our thanks to the people who served and gave their lives," Soderlund told SooToday.

"I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had a ride in an airplane like this that did such a great job in the war," Soderlund said.

Soderlund, 94, a Saskatchewan native who worked for many years in Northern Ontario before retiring in the early 1980s and settling in Sault Ste. Marie in 2006, was an RCAF Bristol Beaufighter fighter-bomber pilot who was shot down by an enemy plane over the Mediterranean in 1944 and survived the ordeal of being transferred to one prisoner of war camp after another before safely returning to Canada at the end of the war.

"It was a nice flight over the city, but I'm just glad I wasn't flying in one of those during the war, I appreciate what they (Allied airmen) did," Neilson said.

"My message is 'stay out of wars, don't fight with people,'" Neilson said.

Neilson, 92, is a Sault native who served as a Flying Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and piloted a Douglas DC-3 transport plane on dangerous supply flights to Allied troops fighting the enemy in the China-Burma-India theatre of war.

"There are a lot of memories which you never forget," Scotland said.

"The thing I feel so bad about is I was in Normandy but we left a lot of young men there who are buried there, a lot of people lost their lives," Scotland said.

Scotland, 91, a longtime Sault resident, is a Toronto native who joined Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1943 and served as a ground-based radio operator in France in a valuable support role for Allied air forces flying overhead as they continued to pummel enemy territory after the D-Day landings in Normandy.

The B-17 and B-25, known as 'Miss Mitchell' and also in terrific flying condition, are based at American 

Commemorative Air Force (CAF) flight museums in Arizona and Minnesota respectively and are on a summer tour of over 30 airshow locations across North America.

The tour is billed as The Flying Legends of Victory Tour.

The Sault is one of five Canadian stops on the tour, the planes having flown in Monday morning from Thunder Bay (where the two planes were on display for a week) before they move on to Sudbury, Barrie-Orillia and Hamilton.

The crew, most of them retirees, are dedicated volunteers, as are most of the people who work at the CAF flight museums in Arizona and Minnesota.

The B-17 is piloted by Jim Kimmel (a former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot) and a crew of four including loadmaster John (J.J.) Jackson.

"Our goal is to keep history alive," Jackson told SooToday.

"Our World War II veterans, they're in their 90s…most of them came home and didn't talk about the war."

"Back then, they just sucked it up and went about their new, postwar duties and didn't want to talk about it," Jackson said.

"They saw too many of their buddies blown to bits, it's bound to leave a scar, and they're finally starting to talk about it some, but they're not going to be around too much longer."

Which, of course, makes it even more crucial to preserve as many planes, trucks, tanks, ships, uniforms, weapons and decorations as possible to remind future generations of the sacrifices they made to preserve our freedom in the Second World War.

"I'm always excited to see kids come and go through the airplane because to me crawling through a B-17 and touching it and seeing what those guys went through will stick with them a lot more than looking through a picture and a textbook."

"Kids must remember, history's important, if you don't remember your history you're doomed," Jackson said.

 In wartime, B-17s, also known as 'Flying Fortresses' had 10-man crews.

The 'Sentimental Journey' B-17 was constructed late in the Second World War and never saw combat duty in the European theatre of war, but rather went on to the Pacific theatre where it performed various non-combat roles before being sold to the U.S. Forest Service, to be used as a water bomber.

Acquired by the CAF in Arizona, volunteers worked for years to get it back in shape for air shows.

An equal amount of tender loving care and money (most of it from flights offered to the public at air shows) went into the B-25.

Algoma Aviation Week at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport, August 8 to 14, will also include static displays of several other aircraft, including a Bell 47 helicopter, a Harvard World War II RCAF trainer, three home-built local aircraft and model airplanes.

Both the B-17 and the B-25 will be onsite for the duration of Algoma Aviation Week and can be toured as a static display from 10 a.m. through 9 p.m. daily for a $10 fee.

Local pilots who are members of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Sault Ste. Marie Flight 66 (the Sault COPA chapter), will be on hand to offer free flights to pre-registered children and youth aged eight to 17 Saturday August 13.

The rain date for COPA Flight 66 flights for children and youth over the Sault is Sunday August 14.

The free flight is the climax of a two-and-a-half hour introduction to flight for young people, beginning with a close-up look at an aircraft, a brief lesson focusing on the different parts and functions of an aircraft, accompanied by a question and answer session.

Registration is now full for the COPA for Kids event, according to the COPA website.