A Date with Diamond Lil
Tues. June 10, 2014 ~
After making it over to Buffalo Airport just soon enough ~ and the weather holding off just long enough ~ Al Gilbert and I are able to take a ride on "Diamond Lil", the Commemorative Air Force's B-24A. This early model Liberator -- which most seasons tours alongside "Fifi", the CAF's B-29 -- has been restored and retrofitted in tribute to the later combat-confiigured models in which T/Sgt Alex Gilbert flew in 1944, as a Flight Engineer & Waist Gunner with the 485th Bomb Group in Italy.
(Gallery includes an article from the CAF's monthly magazine The Flyer, which this June journey had inspired.)
Many thanks to flight supervisor Greg Trobridge, his son Chris (tour coordinator), pilot Al Benzing, and flight desk manager Cheryl Hilvert for all the help ~ both in the air and on the ground.
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Read MoreAfter making it over to Buffalo Airport just soon enough ~ and the weather holding off just long enough ~ Al Gilbert and I are able to take a ride on "Diamond Lil", the Commemorative Air Force's B-24A. This early model Liberator -- which most seasons tours alongside "Fifi", the CAF's B-29 -- has been restored and retrofitted in tribute to the later combat-confiigured models in which T/Sgt Alex Gilbert flew in 1944, as a Flight Engineer & Waist Gunner with the 485th Bomb Group in Italy.
(Gallery includes an article from the CAF's monthly magazine The Flyer, which this June journey had inspired.)
Many thanks to flight supervisor Greg Trobridge, his son Chris (tour coordinator), pilot Al Benzing, and flight desk manager Cheryl Hilvert for all the help ~ both in the air and on the ground.
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