Looking
for His 'Old Flame'
Wartime
Pilot of Famed B-29 Visits with Tail Gunner Here
After
six years, Steve Franko, wartime pilot of the famed
B-29 "Boeing-Wichita 1000," is still "carrying
the torch."
Actually,
Franko who visited at Boeing's Wichita division Sunday
is not the marrying kind for he falls in the eligible
bachelor classification. The closest ever came to getting
"hitched" was in World War II and that was
to an airplane-Boeing-Wichita 1000 in which be flew
28 mission against the Japanese.
The
31-year-old flier took an immediate shine to the sleek-looking
Superfortress and they spent many hours together in
the Pacific skies.
The
parting came in December 1945, when Franko returned
to the states for discharge and the bomber, the 1000th
B-29 to roll off the Boeing-Wichita assembly lines,
remained behind.
But
now-after six years of separation Franko is being recalled,
to active duty in the air force reserves and is hunting
for his "old girl."
The
last report he received on her whereabouts came In May
of 1949 when she turned up for modification in final
assembly of Boeing-Wichita's Plant II.
Only
the air force knows of her present address, but Franko
is going to leave no stone unturned in his search. The
two were introduced at Herington airbase in early in
1945 and were constant companions until Frauko's discharge.
The
well known pilot, who next week will be wearing his
1st lieutenants bars again stopped in Wichita to see
Joe Fair, 2130 South Water, a former crew member on
Boeing Wichita 1000th. Fair who was Franko's tall gunner
on all of his missions, is an electrical assembler at
Boeing's Plant II.
The
visit was a surprise to Fair who had not seen his old
skipper for more than 2 years. Franko a senior in civil
engineering at Youngstown (Ohio) college is enroute
to Rudolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas where he will be
assigned to duty with the B-29 combat crew training
school.
In
reliving their wartime adventures, the spirit of Boeing-Wichita
1000 was back in the Pacific, flying from Guam and Iwo
Jima-dumping lethal loads of bombs over Tokyo and Nagoya-and
staving off enemy fighters -a thousand miles from home
base.
Boeing-Wichita
1000, known in the Pacific during the war as "The
Antagonizer" is one of the most famous of the 1,644
B-29 Superfortresses produced at Boeing -Wichita plants.
She was delivered to the air force in the presence of
many high ranking military and Boeing officials and
more than 20,000 Company employees on Feb. 14, 1945.
Plastered
on the wings and fuselage of the plane during this historic
delivery ceremony was $10,343.38 in currency and coins
- voluntary contributions of Boeing employees toward
the national infantile paralysis fund. Standing beside
the B-29 during the ceremony and delivered at the same
time was the 10346th and last, equivalent Boeing Kaydet
primary trainer to be built here. The little Kaydet
$218.65 plastered on its fuselage.
After
Japan was defeated - and with 33 missions to her credit
Boeing-Wichita 1000 was flown back to the United States
and its identity was lost among the hundreds of B-29's
placed in reserve at various storage depots around the
country until it was flown back to Boeing for modification.
But
one thing is certain - that Lieutenant Franko will be
on the lookout for his "old flame" wherever
he goes. Pilots have a way of looking at airplanes and
girls in much the same way - there are those he likes
to run around with until the special one comes along.
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