By Steve Fry
Harry Theobold was enthusiastic as he stepped out of "Witchcraft," a restored B-24 Liberator, soon after the heavy bomber landed on Wednesday at Philip Billard Municipal Airport.
Theobold was a 20-year-old tail gunner when he last flew in a B-24 — almost 67 years ago during World War II.
"I had a wonderful trip," said Theobold, 87. Sitting in the radio man's seat, he recognized landmarks as the craft flew at 1,000 feet.
Theobold and his wife, Ula, of Yates Center, flew from Wichita to Topeka.
The B-24 flight was part of the Wings of Freedom Tour of 110 cities, a fundraiser by the Collings Foundation to pay the operating costs of the group's aircraft, said Ken Miles, foundation director.
Aaron Malone, ride coordinator, said the goal of the nonprofit foundation is to educate the public about what the American flyers did in the war and how they preserved the freedoms Americans enjoy today.
Theobold flew 19 bombing missions in a B-24 and 16 missions in a B-17, all without ever being attacked by enemy aircraft. Theobold was stationed for two weeks at what is now Forbes Field before he was shipped to England in March 1944.
On Wednesday, a B-17 Flying Fortress, a heavy bomber called the "Nine-O-Nine," was to have flown to Topeka, but it was grounded at Fort Collins, Colo., where an engine was being replaced.
Basil Hackleman, 90, who piloted the original "Nine-O-Nine," drove from his home in Springfield, Mo., to see the B-17.
Hackelman pulled a worn photograph from his wallet showing three bullet holes punched through the front windows of his B-17 by a German fighter's machine guns. One bullet passed between his left arm and body, punching holes in his leather jacket, Hackelman said. He flew 30 missions over Europe in five months, the last on April 29, 1944.
"You always had some damage from German fighters or their 88mm antiaircraft guns," Hackleman said. On one occasion, his bomber lost three engines and had to land on a beach after skimming over the English Channel.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Clusters, and the Presidential Unit Citation for the part the 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron, played in bombing Oschersleben, Germany, on Jan. 11, 1944.
At Oschersleben, "every time you looked up, the windshield was full of German fighters," Hackleman said.
Of 166 American bombers sent, 42 were shot down, according to a 91st Bomb Group website.
"Our gunners shot down 125 German airplanes, and we hit on target," Hackleman said. Hackleman, a first lieutenant, was 22 at the time.
Topekan Beattie Dixon, 88, also watched Wednesday as the B-24 landed.
Dixon, a technical sergeant, flew 32 missions with the 401st Bomb Group, the 614th Squadron, as an engineer and top turret gunner.
On one mission, shrapnel struck the radio operator in the throat, killing him, and on another, the B-17 made a belly landing after it ran out of gas, spinning around after a wing tip dug into the ground.
Dixon found the pilot slumped over his seat where he had fainted.
"He saved our lives," Dixon said.
On yet another mission, Dixon fired his machine guns at an ME 262 jet, disabling the aircraft, he said. The jet was lobbing anti-tank cannon fire into the B-17 formation, he said.
"I opened up on the thing," Dixon said. "Armor-piercing stuff was hitting it. Every time it did, it flashed."
The restored B-24 was built in August 1944 at the Consolidated Aircraft Co.’s plant in Forth Worth and eventually was transferred in October 1944 to the Royal Air Force, where it saw combat in the Pacific Theater.
At war’s end, the aircraft was abandoned restored to duty by the Indian Air Force, abandoned and finally purchased in 1981 by the Collings Foundation.
On September 10, 1989, after more than 97,000 hours of labor, the B-24 returned to the air.
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