<VV> Referred to as she

[Kirby Smith]

At the risk of appearing to diminish Tony's outstanding story by adding 
a prosaic comment, I would note that in standard English, the pronoun of 
personification always takes the feminine gender, with, of course, some 
exceptions, such as when referring to something deliberately 
masculinized, e.g., Father Time.  And ships were "shes" before there 
were automobiles or aircraft, at least as far back as the Romans.

kirby

Tony Underwood wrote:
> 
>  From time to time, there are people who become attached to machinery, 
> sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity.
> 
> Once upon a time there was a B-17 bomber, an early "D" variant built 
> before WW-II had begun.   It there for was not as fully configured and 
> capable as the later variants with heavier armament, armor, larger fuel 
> tanks, better avionics, improved engines (although this B-17 would get 
> the better engines as time passed) and combat-tested airframe 
> improvements.   It was a pre-runner that entered the war rather 
> unprepared and somewhat less than capable in  its original form, and it 
> paid the price as it entered the Pacific Theater of Operations, being 
> damaged several times in combat (once severely enough to render the 
> airplane no longer combat-worthy), battered by harsh landings on 
> airfields which were barely more than plowed pathways through the 
> jungle, shot up by enemy aircraft, and also suffered from the elements 
> via corrosion which, when added to the wear and tear, sidelined the 
> battered bomber and nearly ended its career, almost becoming a "hanger 
> queen" to be parted out.  Add to all this the fact that this airplane 
> was already technically obsolete 6 months after the war had begun, 
> already having been proceeded by two later variants (the E and F models) 
> which were much more capable warplanes, particularly the F model.   
> Still, it fought on.
> 
> The airplane was salvaged and repaired, mainly by a very dedicated crew 
> who scrounged through the parts and pieces they were able to turn up, 
> and got the airplane airworthy again.   It served the remainder of its 
> tour as an executive transport, having been deemed not combat-worthy due 
> to excessive wear and tear and damage, as well as not being technically 
> up to the challenge of mounting bombing missions with much chance of 
> surviving, what with no self-sealing fuel and oil tanks and inadequate 
> armor and defensive guns etc.   However, with its uprated engines and 
> external gun turrets and observation blisters removed, the old 
> airplane's airframe cleaned up nicely and it proved to be rather fast 
> for an ex-bomber and in fact, while serving as a transport plane for an 
> Air Force General, and flown by Capt Frank Kurtz, the old bomber, which 
> by now had been named "The Swoose" (half swan, half goose, after a 
> popular WW-II era song) actually set several speed records for flights 
> between various Pacific Theater area locations.   Kurtz flew The Swoose 
> for a considerable time and he and his crew became quite attached to the 
> war weary bomber, which by now was only about 70% original, having had 
> much of its original airframe replaced with patches and repair parts, 
> including all four engines (several times over).   Eventually, not long 
> before the end of the war, Kurtz flew The Swoose back to the USA, making 
> it the first B-17 to return stateside from the PTO, and in fact the 
> *only* B-17 bomber to enter combat the day after war was declared, 
> served throughout the war, and survive to return home.
> 
> Shortly after the war concluded, "The Swoose" was declared surplus and 
> sent to Kingman AFB to be scrapped.   Frank Kurtz had been keeping up 
> with the old airplane, went to Los Angeles and convinced the city to buy 
> the airplane for scrap value (which in 1946 was 350 dollars) whereupon 
> Kurtz went to Kingman, readied the old bomber for transport and then 
> flew it to a storage facility in California to await refurbishment and 
> display.   Things changed, the proposed memorial display deal fell 
> through, and Kurtz once again came to the rescue of "The Swoose", making 
> a deal with Paul Garber, curator of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum 
> and once again "The Swoose" was recommissioned, fueled up, and after 
> several "jump flights" eventually flown to Texas to a storage facility 
> where it was parked beside the B-29 "Enola Gay" which had already been 
> acquired by the Smithsonian.  There it remained until it was finally 
> decided to fly the old bomber to Andrews AFB which was "trucking 
> distance" to the Smithsonian storage facilities.  During the trip to MD, 
> the tired "Swoose" had two engines fail halfway there, and it finished 
> the remainder of the trip not unlike several of its combat missions, 
> with a pair of engines "feathered".   And, like one of its combat 
> missions, shortly before entering the approach path at Andrews AFB, a 
> third engine failed and "The Swoose" had to stagger the rest of the way 
> to the air field on ONE engine.   If the third engine had failed several 
> minutes earlier, "The Swoose" wouldn't have made it and would have crashed.
> 
> Following the final flight, "The Swoose" and "Enola Gay" were dismantled 
> and trucked to the Smithsonian's Paul Garber storage and restoration 
> facility near Silver Spring MD.   "The Swoose" remains there today, 
> awaiting restoration and eventual display.
> 
> Among its accomplishments:
> 
> It made the first nonstop flight by a land-based military aircraft from 
> the USA to Hawaii.
> It flew the second bombing mission of World War II.
> It flew the first night-bombing mission.
> It was the first US bomber to shoot down an enemy  aircraft (Japanese 
> Zero fighter plane).
> It broke several speed records, including the trans-Tasmanian Sea speed 
> record.
> It helped Gen Douglas MacArthur evacuate from the Philippines.
> It made a forced-landing in a farmer's field in Australia with a young 
> Lt Lyndon B. Johnson on board.
> Returned from the war zone to the United States (first combat bomber to 
> do so).
> 
> After finishing his tour of flying Generals around in "The Swoose", 
> Frank Kurtz received some leave time stateside and then was transferred 
> to the ETO and flew B-17G's in combat.   Nine months later, his daughter 
> was born.    He named her Swoosie...   Swoosie Kurtz, Hollywood  film 
> and Broadway stage actress was named after a B-17D bomber.
> 
> 
> "The Swoose", last time I saw it, was in the Garber Restoration facility 
> in MD (had to make an appointment to see the airplane; the Garber 
> facility is not open to the public) and was awaiting restoration, will 
> need a lot of work.   The facility people said they'd like to get the 
> airplane back to its pre-war condition which means chasing down a number 
> of B-17D parts which were model-specific to replace the later vintage 
> replacement parts which were all that were available at the time.    It 
> certainly deserves recognition, and holds the distinction of being the 
> world's oldest surviving B-17.
> 
> * * * * * * * * * *
> 
> The "trend" for guys to become attached to a piece of machinery to a 
> bizarre level perhaps started with WW-II veterans returning home, guys 
> who depended on an airplane to get them to and from a mission in one 
> piece.   These men came to love their airplanes like a brother, cleaving 
> unto them as if to a lover, and when the time came for the fleet of 
> B-17s to be decommissioned (the ones that managed to survive the war and 
> return home) and scrapped, groups of men would gather along the fence 
> atop the hills overlooking Kingman AFB, many of them wearing their 
> flight jackets, crying and sobbing out loud as they watched the breakers 
> cut up the B-17s to be recycled...
> 
> ...into Corvair engines...   among other things aluminum.
> 
> They loved their airplanes.   It's this sort of affection for things 
> mechanical that seems to remain in many men to this day, particularly 
> cars.    They become "old comfortable shoes" which their owners are 
> bound and determined to never throw away.   They get maintained, 
> resurrected, refurbished, restored, re-restored, ad nauseam.   As long 
> as someone with this mental disorder remains and can hold a screwdriver 
> and a wrench, there will be resurrections of all things mechanical.
> 
> They become revered objects, examples of Man's triumph over the 
> elements, his victory over the sidewalks.   We ride, we do not walk.   
> And when it's because of the sweat of our brow and the prowess by which 
> we wield tools, it becomes so much more satisfying.   During these 
> exercises, the morality of the effort becomes evident.   The worth (not 
> necessarily the value) of the vehicle increases.   The esteem of its 
> owner grows.
> 
> 
> The result is an object that others may look upon and wonder why anybody 
> bothered.  But to those who know and understand, it's not only well 
> worth the bother, it's sometimes worth starting a fist-fight over, 
> should someone find fault in the reasoning of those who undertake such 
> endeavors.   More than one black eye has resulted in someone's making a 
> smart remark about someone else's car...  not unlike the fierce pride 
> displayed by air crews who would bristle and posture should anyone say 
> anything bad about their airplane.   And it was indeed *their* 
> airplane.   The War Department may have paid for it and the military may 
> have held title, but the airplane belonged to THEM.    It's this same 
> sort of mentality that infects many people today, making them assign 
> status to mechanical objects such as gender...  it's all good.     Even 
> airline pilots tend to address their airplanes in feminine terms...  
> "baby", "sweetheart", and sometimes "Bitch!" when it mis-behaves... all 
> the while knowing that they will either be forgiven or killed by the 
> object of their affections.   But the love is there.
> 
> Some of the Corvairs that get resurrected required love....  rational 
> thought would have dictated they go the way of the recycler's.   But 
> somebody came along and saw merit in a car that really needed someone to 
> love it.
> 
> It's these cars that we see at shows, being oogled by people who would 
> never consider resurrecting an old car, and whose first impulse is to 
> wonder how much money was tied up in the vehicle.
> 
> They just don't get it.   But that's OK.   There are others who do.
> 
> 
> tony..    

>