World War II B-17 bomber visits Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – World War II featured many air raids from both sides of the battle.

For the Allied cause, the B-17 Bomber was their main aviation advantage over the Axis threat.

Most of those planes were shot down or severely damaged during their runs, but one that survived has made a pit stop at the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport.

“Other than maybe the B-52, I think this is the most famous, most popular and most successful bomber ever built,” said Ray Fowler, a pilot of the B-17 Ye Olde Pub, one of 12 bombers still airborne today.

Ye Olde Pub has a well-documented war-time story to tell.

This specific B-17 pays tribute to the story of a young American crew on a bombing mission in Germany.

Their extremely damaged airplane was making its way back to base, only to be confronted by an enemy pilot. Except they weren’t shot out of the sky like most of their counterparts.

“A German fighter actually came in, swooped down to the airplane to shoot it down and finish it off and noticed how crippled it was,” said Fowler. “Instead of shooting it down, it actually chose to escort it out of enemy territory.”

Half of the 10-man crew ended up wounded or dead, a similar fate that many American crews endured during their dangerous raids.

“There was a huge price they paid in day-time bombing,” added Fowler. “Every time one went down, a crew of 10 went down with it.”

The B-17 bomber became known as the “Flying Fortress” because of all the weaponry it carried with it on board – whether it was bombs or the 11-plus .50 caliber guns on the exterior of the aircraft.

“The Luftwaffe pilots feared this airplane mightily because of the firepower,” said Bud Sittig, the other pilot of Ye Olde Pub.

Without the impact made by these flying fortresses, the Allied forces may have never won the war.

“This was such a strategic component in the air war in Europe,” Sittig said. “It’s hard to imagine that we would have won that war.”

Sittig said crews back then got to vote and choose what they would name their bombers.

He likes to think Ye Olde Pub got its name because the crew spent their free time in some of the local British pubs when they were on the ground.

The visit from the historic aircraft is part of the Liberty Foundation’s “Salute to Veterans” tour, an initiative that was started to honor the men and women who have served this country and to tell the stories of a generation that is disappearing all too quickly.

“It paid an incredible price for our freedom,” said Fowler. “We never pass up the opportunity to say thanks.”

Tours of the B-17 Ye Olde Pub are free to the public and will run every day this week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the airport.

On Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., patrons can take a ride in the plane at a cost of $475 per person.

Guests can also soar through the skies in a P-51 Mustang for $1,195 per person for a ten minute flight or $1,995 for a 20 minute flight.

For more information about the tours and the history of the plane, visit the B-17 Ye Olde Pub site.