Man of Steel

By Herb Foreman, In Flight USA On-Line

At the San Carlos Airport, we call Bob Borrmann the "Man of Steel." He purchased what is now Borrmann Steel in East Palo Alto after his discharge from World War II. There are other good reasons for this title, however.

Bob Borrman as a highly decorated young Army Air Force Cadet.

Borrmann completed 52 combat missions in North Africa and Italy. His B-17 was hit by flak and small arms fire in 25 of those missions. After one mission to Ploesti, mechanics counted 1,200 holes in the airframe. He was discharged with the Air Medal and 7 Oak Leaf Clusters.

This incredible man has been flying since his Army Air Force Cadet days in 1942, 59 years and still going strong. How did it all happen?

Borrmann was born in beautiful San Francisco, Dec. 15, 1918, only months after the end of World War I. He received his early education at St. Ignatius High School. After passing a two-year college equivalency test, he did his primary training at Moffett Field in Santa Clara County with basic training at Taft, Calif. He went on to advanced training in fighters at Luke Air Force Base.

If you have ever served in the Armed Forces, you know you needed to be ready for surprises. Borrmann's biggest surprise was his assignment to Moses Lake and Walla Walla, Wash., to continue training, not in fighters, but the powerful B-17. After three hours that began under the hood, he became a certified four-engine pilot. After another nine hours, he was assigned as PIC in a brand new plane.

He was quickly sent on a night flight from Walla Walla. His was the last plane of the flight to leave the ground. The tower crew turned off the field lights and headed for coffee, not knowing one of Borrmann's engines had failed as he left the ground. On the first go-around, he tried to guess where the runway was and let down over a line of parked B-17s. On the second pass, his aircraft came to a grinding halt near the crest of a hill adjacent to the runway. All the crew and a hitch-hiking mechanic left the plane before it was consumed by fire.

This was only the beginning of his love affair with aviation, the B-17 and a host of other aircraft. He was soon at Casa Blanca in North Africa. He went on to Tunis as commander of the train he rode on to get there. After a number of flights, which included checking himself out in the A-20 attack bomber just to see how it flew, he climbed aboard a DC-3 for Foggia, Italy, and assignment to the 97th Bomb Group.

Three of his 52 missions were to bomb the oil fields at Polesti in Romania. Polesti was the largest oil producing area in Axis Europe. Heavily defended by the Germans with fighters, anti-aircraft and smoke installations, the Air Force lost 223 heavy bombers in one five-month period. With 10 crewmembers to each B-17, it became a terrible loss of men and material. In that same period of time, the Germans lost 188 fighters and attack aircraft.

There were many other targets that received his attention, including the Me-109 factory at Weiner-Neustadt in Austria. This first-line German fighter had the longest production run of any aircraft in any war – 68,000 produced by Germany or by license in Spain. Among his many other targets were the submarine pen's on the coast of France.

During his war years between 1942 and 1945, he flew 11 different planes operated by the Army Air Corps. In addition to the B-17, this included such famous planes as the P-51, B-25, A-20 and the A-26. He logged more than 900 hours in the At-6 alone, truly a "Man of Steel."

This account represents only a three-year career for this amazing man. After his discharge from the service, he has continued to fly regularly for the past 49 years. Many of his flights have taken place in Mexico and South America.

He loved the big Twin Beech Excaliber that he sold to buy, at age 78, a Beech Queen Air that once belonged to the King of Denmark. His son completely rebuilt the panel after taking out several hundred pounds of old wiring. He loves the green and orange color scheme and the beautiful pale green upholstery. He also holds a great deal of affection for the Spartan Executive he once owned, as well as the Meyers and Navion, only a few of his many chargers.

Borrmann has flown from the San Carlos Airport since its opening in 1947. He has hundreds of friends and flying colleagues, all who are proud to know him and call him the "Man of Steel."

On Dec. 15, he will be 83 years young! As Borrmann says, "Life doesn't get any better than this."