Last warrior

Air Classics, Sep 2001 by O'Leary, Michael

WE GO FOR A FLIGHT WITH THE EAA'S B-17G ALUMINUM OVERCAST AND COLONEL HAROLD WEEKLEY THE LAST WWII FORTRESS PILOT STILL COMMANDING A B-17 AND AN AVIATOR WHO HAS HAD THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCE Of PILOTING B-17s OVER THE SPAN OF TWO CENTURIES

On 25 April, George Hulett and I were in the camerea Bonanza turning lazy circles over the Pacific near Santa Barbara, California. The sun was starting its long slide toward the ocean and the coastal haze was turning gold with the lowering rays. We were orbiting and waiting for our intended target --- a B-17G Flying Fortress. During World War Two, the skies over southern California were alive with a huge variety of combat aircraft being test flown prior to delivery to the military. Many of those aircraft were B-17s. Down in Long Beach, Douglas was churning out Forts and the same was being done at Lockheed's Vega Aircraft division in Burbank. The aircraft for which we were waiting was built by Vega and is one of just a dozen B-1 7s still flying.

The B-17 barely made it into the US military. Many in the government favored the obsolescent Douglas B-18 Bolo and the more sophisticated B-23 Dragon since more of these twin-engine aircraft could be purchased than four-engine B17s. Major contracts were issued for the portly Bolo while the B-17 received much smaller contracts that, fortunately, allowed for a limited run of early models to be delivered to squadrons. As the war in Europe progressed, it became apparent that the Bolo and Dragon could not be deployed in combat and the flood gates opened for B-17 orders.

Trouble was, Boeing could not build all the B-17s required by the military and in April 1941, the government contacted Lockheed and Douglas to see if they would be interested in building the bomber under license from Boeing. At this point, the orders were very welcome and the BoeingVega-Douglas (BVD) pool was formed to construct the bomber. A B-17E was flown to Burbank to serve as a pattern aircraft while all the necessary blueprints were duplicated and transferred. Vega started churning out Forts with B17F-1-VE (the V standing for Vega) s/n 42-5705 which took to the air on 4 May 1942 - some 30 days ahead of the company schedule and an astounding 180 days ahead of the military's schedule. Vega would go on to build 500 F models and 2250 G models up until contracts were canceled on 28 July 1945. Vega would also become a model of war-time aircraft production by achieving the lowest man-hours required to build a B-17.

What was unusual about this photo mission was that the aircraft was being captained by Colonel Harold "Hal" Weekley who had flown B-17Gs in combat during WWII and, on one of his missions, had nearly become a "guest of the Germans." As far as we know, Hal is the only WWII veteran who is still flying the type of equipment he operated during the war. Copilot for the flight was Bob Davis who also has a huge amount of experience with the B-17 and many other large propeller-driven airplanes.

HAL AND BOB

Hal Weekley had always been captivated by aircraft so being accepted into the USAAF seemed like a natural progression. As a Boeing B-17G pilot, Hal was assigned to the 398th Bomb Group, 601st Bomb Squadron, operating out of Nuthampstead in Britain. Today, the airfield is still there although most of the buildings have been knocked down but a few light aircraft still inhabit the area. On a recent trip to the field, we walked around the ramp areas where the Forts were parked and noticed that many of the GIs had inscribed their names and hometowns in the concrete when it was wet - wouldn't it be great if one of these areas was lifted out and put on display at the USAF Museum? A rustic pub named the Woodsman was located right next to the ramp area and its interior is filled with photos from when Nuthampstead was a USAAF base. Standing under the shade of the B-17's wing while parked at Santa Barbara, I asked Hal if the pub was a regular destination for pilots and crews. "Not exactly," said Hal, "we were so tired after the long missions to Germany that we just wanted to get to bed after a debrief. We would have a few drinks at the O-club and then hit the sack. While the missions were being flown, we rarely got off base."

Hal and the B-17 became as one and the big bomber became a favorite aircraft, carrying he and his crew through their missions. However, it all came to an end one day when the Fort was riddled with enemy fire and went down over France. Hal got out of the bomber and over the weeks managed to evade the Nazis and the pro-Nazi French, finally managing to escape with the help of the underground. After the war, Hal had a distinguished career in the Air Force that included everything from instructing jet pilots to developing the Fairchild C-119 Packet into the deadly AC-119 gunship for use in Vietnam. Retiring as a colonel, Hal went on to another lengthy career with the FAA. When he retired from that

position, he kept his hand in flying a variety of aircraft but piloting Aluminum Overcast is just about his favorite. "We visit a lot of shows and towns," states Hal, "where veterans come out and tell us about their experiences with the B-17 during the war. Many of them become quite emotional. Also, we have many young people and children interested in the B- 17 and we always take extra time to show them what the plane is all about and what it was like to fly and fight in the Second World War."