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On a summer day more than 60 years ago, Arnold T. Millner, then a cryptographer for the U.S. Army Air Forces, watched parachutes flutter in the distant sky as a B-17 aircraft crashed into an Italian mountainside.
OnTuesday, Millner got to look down from the same type of airplane - a B-17 Flying Fortress - as it soared over the safer skies of the Sacramento Valley.
"I had a wonderful view," he said after the flight. Millner, 83, was one of about 40 local residents who got to fly in the B-17 on Tuesday. About 40 more will fly today. The plane, owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association, is on a West Coast tour and has stopped at Mather Field to raise funds for the local and national chapters of the EAA.
The Flying Fortress has a storied history in American warfare. About 13,000 of the bombers were produced, and many saw action in Europe. Almost 5,000 were lost during combat.
The B-17 has made appearances in Sacramento before, said Don Griffay, president of Sacramento Chapter 52 of the EAA. While the plane does raise some funds for the local group, much of the money goes right back into keeping it in the air. The B-17 will use about 1,200 gallons of fuel during its visit here, Griffay said.
"It's to bring education to people," Griffay said. Area World War II buffs were given the chance to fly in the airplane for 25 minutes for about $425. Millner's son heard the plane was coming to town and signed his dad up.
It was the first time Millner had been in a B-17 in more than six decades.
Millner was a member of the 87th Fighter Wing of the 12th Air Force during World War II. He started out in Casablanca, made it to Tunisia, headed up to Corsica, and, by 1944, wound up in Italy.
As a cryptographer, Millner was one of a select few who knew how to use code-breaking machines. If a machine near Millner malfunctioned, he had standing orders to take whatever transportation necessary to get to it and fix it.
A lot of times, the best transportation available was a B-17.
But Millner's most memorable interaction with a Flying Fortress came during the summer of 1944.
Millner's unit supported fighter planes, which had to be close to the front lines in case an infantry or tank unit needed quick air support. On the fateful day, Millner was posted in Italy's Apennine Mountains.
Millner would often hear B-17s flying over in the morning on their way to missions in Romania. This day was no different.
But a few hours later, Millner saw one of the planes coming back. Something was wrong.
"The engines were cutting out," Millner recalled Tuesday. "All of a sudden the parachutes started coming out. I forget how many - five or six."
The aircraft " hit the side of the mountain," he said, and he jumped in a jeep. "We were the first ones to find the plane."
The B-17 was a mess, but no one was badly hurt, though the pilot had to crawl out of the broken fuselage with a broken ankle.
The rest of the crew had parachuted to safety. Millner later learned that the plane had likely been damaged by anti-aircraft fire and almost made it back home before crashing.
That was the memory Millner took with him as he stepped into the B-17 Tuesday. This ride went much more smoothly.
"They moved me up," he said, "behind the pilots."
The B-17 will fly again today at Mather Field from around 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. It's free to come watch the plane take off and land. For $6 after the last flight, between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., spectators can walk inside the plane.
About the writer:
The Bee's Phillip Reese can be reached at (916) 321-1137 or preese@sacbee.com.
OnTuesday, Millner got to look down from the same type of airplane - a B-17 Flying Fortress - as it soared over the safer skies of the Sacramento Valley.
"I had a wonderful view," he said after the flight. Millner, 83, was one of about 40 local residents who got to fly in the B-17 on Tuesday. About 40 more will fly today. The plane, owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association, is on a West Coast tour and has stopped at Mather Field to raise funds for the local and national chapters of the EAA.
The Flying Fortress has a storied history in American warfare. About 13,000 of the bombers were produced, and many saw action in Europe. Almost 5,000 were lost during combat.
The B-17 has made appearances in Sacramento before, said Don Griffay, president of Sacramento Chapter 52 of the EAA. While the plane does raise some funds for the local group, much of the money goes right back into keeping it in the air. The B-17 will use about 1,200 gallons of fuel during its visit here, Griffay said.
"It's to bring education to people," Griffay said. Area World War II buffs were given the chance to fly in the airplane for 25 minutes for about $425. Millner's son heard the plane was coming to town and signed his dad up.
It was the first time Millner had been in a B-17 in more than six decades.
Millner was a member of the 87th Fighter Wing of the 12th Air Force during World War II. He started out in Casablanca, made it to Tunisia, headed up to Corsica, and, by 1944, wound up in Italy.
As a cryptographer, Millner was one of a select few who knew how to use code-breaking machines. If a machine near Millner malfunctioned, he had standing orders to take whatever transportation necessary to get to it and fix it.
A lot of times, the best transportation available was a B-17.
But Millner's most memorable interaction with a Flying Fortress came during the summer of 1944.
Millner's unit supported fighter planes, which had to be close to the front lines in case an infantry or tank unit needed quick air support. On the fateful day, Millner was posted in Italy's Apennine Mountains.
Millner would often hear B-17s flying over in the morning on their way to missions in Romania. This day was no different.
But a few hours later, Millner saw one of the planes coming back. Something was wrong.
"The engines were cutting out," Millner recalled Tuesday. "All of a sudden the parachutes started coming out. I forget how many - five or six."
The aircraft " hit the side of the mountain," he said, and he jumped in a jeep. "We were the first ones to find the plane."
The B-17 was a mess, but no one was badly hurt, though the pilot had to crawl out of the broken fuselage with a broken ankle.
The rest of the crew had parachuted to safety. Millner later learned that the plane had likely been damaged by anti-aircraft fire and almost made it back home before crashing.
That was the memory Millner took with him as he stepped into the B-17 Tuesday. This ride went much more smoothly.
"They moved me up," he said, "behind the pilots."
The B-17 will fly again today at Mather Field from around 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. It's free to come watch the plane take off and land. For $6 after the last flight, between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., spectators can walk inside the plane.
About the writer:
The Bee's Phillip Reese can be reached at (916) 321-1137 or preese@sacbee.com.
