Last warrior

Air Classics, Sep 2001 by O'Leary, Michael

"He's my hero," said Randy Sohn when speaking of Hal. Randy has flown just about every type of Warbird in the world and when a group photo was taken off all the pilots that volunteer to fly Aluminum Overcast, Randy pointed to Hal in the photo and said "he's the only bona fide 13,17 pilot in the group. He flew 'em when people were shooting at him. The rest of us are just weekend warriors." Randy has hundreds of hours in Aluminum Overcast and views the B-1 7G as probably the best of the surviving airframes. "It's a real sweetheart to fly and the EAA is very, very professional about its upkeep and operation."

When not bucking rivets on his Globe Swift restoration project, retired United Air Lines pilot Bob Davis finds himself busier than when he was a captain on the airline. Today, pilots that can master the big pistons are a rare breed and Bob is always in demand for Aluminum Overcast. A member of the US Aerobatic Team, Bob also enjoys competition aerobatics. In fact, as we were putting this article together we got Bob on his cell phone just as he was boarding a DC-3 for a flight from Colorado to Oshkosh. The aircraft had been donated to the EAA by the estate of the late Michael Chowdry who had died in the crash of an L-39. Bob has an affinity for the old Gooney Bird and flies many of the restored examples on the airshow circuit. "It's a real honor to fly with Hal," states Bob. "He knows the B- 17 intimately and he is a gentleman of the old school always willing to answer questions about the Fort and give people a tour of the airplane."

THE AIRCRAFT

The aircraft that would decades later become famous as Aluminum Overcast was built by the Vega Division of Lockheed Aircraft at Burbank, California, and delivered to the USAAF on 17 May 1945 as B-17G105-VE s/n 44-85740. The war was nearing completion and there would be little to no need for the Flying Fortress in the Pacific Theater so the virtually new aircraft, along with many other B17s, was flown to a storage depot. Originally stored at Syracuse, New York, the bomber was declared surplus to needs at the surrender of Japan. It was then made airworthy and flown by a ferry crew to Altus, Oklahoma, on 7 November 1945. Altus was one of 27 fields across the United States where, through the War Assets Administration, buyers could inspect the former military aircraft and offer bids for purchase. The planes were open to all who wanted to pay a relatively small amount (compared to the original construction cost) to purchase anything from a small trainer to a four-engine bomber or transport. Unfortunately, the majority of bids came from scrap dealers and in a short period of time the world's most powerful air force was chopped apart and fed into smelters to reclaim aluminum and other metals. It must be remembered that nearly 200 aircraft a day were being declared surplus to needs by the end of 1945.

However, the military felt there might be a future need for the nearly new aircraft. While combat veterans and training machines were set up for sale or scrapping, the newer aircraft had white gas run through the engines to purge lead deposits and then were pickled. Plexiglass and fabric surfaces were covered with preservative material while tires were also coated with a preservative. Engines were enclosed in canvas covers while exposed components such as gear legs and propellers received a coating of grease. It took six men a whole day to prepare a B- 17 for long term storage. By the middle of 1946, the futility of this work was realized and an order was given not to preserve any more aircraft and to start cutting off the engines to make the planes non-airworthy.