The White Falcon - 19.09.1975, Page 3

Page 3
September 19, 1975
WWII veteran struggles homeward
Photos bv J01 John Wood
The B-24 was taken to Duxford Air
Field, the home of the Imperial War Mu-
seum. "They fixed up the plane at Dux-
ford and we left it there until this
summer," Tallichet said.
The first of September, the B-24 left
Duxford and flew to Prestwick, Scotland.
There she met a mishap. A nose wheel
collapsed when she was landing and did
quite a bit of damage. It took nine
days to get the plane ready for flight.
Two days before the B-24 would be
ready, Tallichet's American crew resign-
ed and went home. "I called Don Bullock
and he was there in six hours," comment-
ed Tallichet.
The other two crewmen flew to Prest-
wick from London. "I didn't know I was
going until shortly before the flight,"
Denwood said. "I just left my wife a
note."
After delays because of bad weather,
the B-24 finally made it to Keflavik.
Late in the afternoon, the same day
she landed, the B-24 took off for Green-
land. How long it will take before the
plane finally reaches California, its
destination, is anyone's guess.
Story by J03 Glenna Houston
At first it was just a speck above
the mountains, then a faint hum was add-
ed. It grew larger as it wobbled to the
landing strip, bucking the 20 knot winds
coming straight at it. It is not unusu-
for an airplane to land at Keflavik
rport, but last Thursday an unusual
lane landed here. The plane was the
only B-24 in the world that is still
airworthy.
In September 1944, the same plane
landed here on her way to England. She
was delivered to the Royal Air Force.
The B-24, now known as a GRB Liberator 4
(ground reconnaissance bomber), was tak-
en to India to be used as a part of the
Royal Air Force South East Asia Command.
The B-24 was flown by David Tallichet
who collects World War II airplanes. He
was in the Army Air Corps during WW II.
"The first time I was in Iceland was in
1945. I was flying a B-17," he said.
The co-pilot was Donald Bullock, a
ferry pilot. Robert Denwood, a crew
member, was a wireless operator and air
gunner on a B-24 during World War II.
He was in the Royal Air Force Coastal
Command. The other crewman was Richard
Hladlik, the flight engineer.
The B-24 was abandoned by the British
the end of the war and it was taken
over by the Indian Air Force. The In-
dians flew the plane on coastal patrol
until 1968.
David Tallichet acquired the plane in
autumn of 1972, but it was not in flying
condition. The plane was located at an
Indian Air Force Base in Poona, about 90
miles from Bombay. It took 18 men who
flew 600 miles from Bangalore to Poona
to repair the B-24.
"We really didn't want to fly across
the Atlantic that time of year," com-
mented Tallichet. "So we agreed that we
would pick it up next summer. We were
told that September would be best be-
cause of the monsoon season."
"When September finally came, no one
had serviced the plane for nine months,
so they sent the same crew of 18 men
from Bangalore to work on her."
A month later she took off and made
it as far as England. "With the weather
and the winds, no de-icing equipment and
no navigator we decided to wait for an-
other summer," Tallichet said.
^Eighth Day*:
Kef loss,
Jax gain
Danny and the Nosejobs are having a
going-away party tomorrow night at the
Midnite Sun. Spider, Spike, Weed, Gene
the Machine and Fungus Malone invite all
their friends to join the fun. Danny
and the Nosejobs are actually members of
the VP-16 band, The Eighth Day.
The Eighth Day is leaving soon and
tomorrow's performance will be their
last in Iceland for awhile. Anyone who
goes to Jacksonville, Florida, in the
near future may see them together again.
All the members of the band: rhythm
guitar Rick Lyles; bass guitar Dan
Rudolph; lead guitar and singer Pete
Baker; pianist Ken Klein and drummer
Bill Schrader express thanks to all the
people who made their tour a happy one.