The B-17 Panoramic

WWII HistoryWar Stories
Written By John Slemp

During my stroll around the grounds at Duxford last month during the Battle of Britain airshow, I came across a fellow by the name of Chas, an avid historian of the war. His B-17 Mobile Training Unit, which he drove quite a distance to the show, is the only one in existence. Traveling around the various airfields in East Anglia, it was used by Boeing advisors to keep maintenance personnel up to speed on new changes to the aircraft as the war progressed.

In the Bomber Boys book there is a large panoramic print of a group shot of the 401st Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group, brought to me by a family member from Iowa. Having never seen this image before, I was quite surprised when I saw it again as a large print at his display. It's in the lower left corner of the above image.

When I mentioned it to him, he showed me the back of the print, which detailed the fate of the pictured aircraft just four days after this image was made. Apparently it was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-17 during the bomb run on their target, and tragically all 20 air crew were lost.

Chas was quite proud of his jacket, and I was happy to sign a book for him.

Although I probably shouldn’t have been, I was surprised that there was more to the story.

John Slemp

John’s 30 year career has seen him create images for a wide variety of advertising, corporate, and editorial clients worldwide.

After almost 11 years in the US Army, John attended Atlanta’s Portfolio Center, and later assisted established commercial photographers for five years.

Oscar winners, Olympic champions, astronauts, musicians, artists, pilots, veterans and regular people have all been captured by John’s lenses.

An experienced, innovative, and award winning commercial photographer, he deftly brings studio techniques to location work.

John is increasingly involved in showcasing his work through galleries and museums, and is currently writing a book about WWII “bomber jackets.”

Past clients include: The Company of Others and Innis Maggiore ad agencies, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Epps Aviation, Goodyear Aviation Tires, EAA’s Sport Aviation magazine, General Aviation News, Smithsonian Air & Space magazine, Jet Support Services International, Avfuel, The Lindbergh Foundation, and Women in Aviation International.

A long-time member of the American Society of Media Photographers, John served 5 years on the national board, and twice as the Atlanta/SE chapter president.

http://www.johnslemp.com
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