Boeing B-17
Flying Fortress
Staying with the theme of
aviation in the Southwest, all of the following Flying Forts
have some connection with the area.
B-17G-55-BO 42-102715
Black
Hills Aviation operated B-17s from Alamogordo Airport in
New Mexico for many years. Some of the
photos in this series were taken by me at Alamogordo
between 1976 and 1980. I must apologize for
the quality, as most were shot on the archaic C126 format
and the old Instamatic cameras did not provide the best
quality. But they were cheap...
This
aircraft
flew as N66573, (Black Hills Aviation number 10) until she
crashed in Montana during July, 1979. The second
photo shows her with the Sacramento Mountains in the
background, the area she usually worked during the fire
season.
This
series
shows the red wing tip markings carried by all aircraft, the
bombay area with the slurry discharge and the Wright R-1820
engines that powered the B-17.
B-17G-90-BO 43-38635
Carrying
the markings of the 94th Bomb Group, "Virgin's Delight" is on
display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, CA in August,
1989. The 94th BG had been commanded by Col. Frederick
Walker Castle prior to his command of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing
and promotion to Brigadier General. On December 24, 1944 General
Castle was killed while
leading an Air Division of B-17s over Liege, Belgium. He
was awarded the Medal of Honor for this mission and Castle AFB
was later named in his honor.
I first visited Castle AFB with a friend in August, 1989,
photographed the museum and aircraft of the 93rd Bomb Wing. The
93rd is long gone and my friend passed away in January, 2017. I
finally returned in September, 2019 and happily found that
things were as I remembered tehm. This is still a great museum
and enjoyable to visit. (CB)
B-17G-50-DL 44-6393
Shown on display at the March Field Museum in August, 1989
6393 was going through a major restoration. By March, 2007
that restoration was complete. In 2014 she received a new
paint scheme and rechristened "Starduster", the name she
carried when used as a personal transport for General Ira
Eaker. By September, 2019 she had been repainted in a silver
scheme. (CB)
B-17G-85-DL
44-83512
Displayed on the parade ground at Lackland AFB,
many an Air Force Recruit has paraded in front of this B-17 over
the years. This photo was taken on a rainy miserable day in
May, 1980. (CB)
B-17G-85-DL
44-83514
44-83514 is
registered as N9323Z and flown by the Arizona Wing of the
Confederate (sorry, now that is "Commemorative") Air Force out of
Mesa, Arizona. A star at many airshows, she is shown here at
Biggs Army Airfield in the late 1980s and at War Eagles Air
Museum, Santa Teresa, NM during September, 2007.
"Sentimental Journey" is operated by the Arizona Wing of the CAF and is
based at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. (CB)
B-17G-85-DL 44-83525
Sporting the registration N83525 that matches
the last digits of her serial, 525 is shown arriving at the
March, 1980 Davis-Monthan open house. Sold to Kermit Weeks
in 1985 she was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in August,
1992 and is still (2022) awaiting restoration in Florida.
(CB)
B-17G-85-DL 44-83546
B-17G
44-83546 operated by TBM inc. (#68) as N3703G until 1981.
She is now part of the Military
Aircraft Restoration Corporation. Photographed at ELP in 1980.
(Bill Spidle)
B-17G-85-DL
44-83575
N93012
arriving at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico airport for a visit to
the War Eagles
Air Museum on April 15, 2009. This aircraft has a
long and varied career. After entering service and
conversion to a lifeboat carrying SB-17G this Flying Fortress has
survived everything from being nuked*, to a long career as a
fire bomber and even a disastrous crash. She now flies as
Nine-O-Nine with the Collings
Foundation. Unfortunately she was destroyed with
seven fatalities at the Bradley International Airport, Windsor
Locks, CT on 2 October, 2019. The aircraft was almost entirely
consumed in the post crash fire (more details will be added as
they become available). (CB)
* 575 was
used as a test subject during a three nuclear shots in the Operation Tumbler-Snapper
series in 1953. The aircraft suffered damage severe
enough to be considered a write-off. After a "cooling off"
period she was offered for sale in 1964. On May 14, 1965
she was flown from Yucca Flats, NV to Mesa, AZ. It was not
until 1975 that 575 joined the tanker fleet where she served
until 1985. Destroyed 2019.
B-17G-90-DL 44-83684
83684 has been
with the Planes of Fame
Air Museum at Chino, CA for many years and prior to that
at the Ontario, CA airport.. Christened "Picadilly Lily II" she was
one of the stars of the 1960s television show Twelve O'clock
High. The first photo shows her still carrying her
registration of N3713G when based at The Planes of Fame museum
at Ontario. Within a few years the museum moved to Chino.
Why does this photo look like it was taken by a child? Well, it
was! I took this picture when my I visited the museum with my
dad in June, 1970. I had seen the airplane at Biggs AFB when I
was about ten and had fond memories of that. So I took a bad
photograph with a Kodak Brownie when I had a chance. When the
next two photos were taken in March, 2007 she was in the midst
of a long term restoration that is still ongoing as of
September, 2019. The final five pictures were taken in
September, 2019 and the work is progressing slowly, but it is
progress never the less. (CB)
B-17G
44-83814-95-DL was operated by Black Hills Aviation as N66571
(#09). After retirement she went to the National Air and
Space Museum and was stored at Dulles for a number of years. B-17G-95-DL 44-83814, which had at
one time been # 09 (N66571) with Black Hills Aviation. This
photo was taken when she was stored at the Pima Air & Space
Museum in Tucson during the early 1980s, before she was flown to
Dulles to become part of the National
Air & Space Museum. In 2009 she was shipped to the
Mighty Eighth Air Force
Museum in a trade with the National Museum of the United
States Air Force. In return the NASM will eventually get "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" and the
NMUSAF got "The Swoose".
(CB)
B-17G-95-DL
44-83872
44-83872, is another CAF
bird. She is operated as N7227C and has been another great
airshow bird. The single wheeled flyby is part of the "Tora,
Tora, Tora" routine put on at many airshows, in this case
the 1981 Amigo Airshow in ELP. Texas Raiders finally got
back in the air on October 14, 2009 after a seven year rebuild to
address an FAA Airworthiness Directive relating to B-17 wing
spars. This has been a long awaited event! (CB) Sadly,
Texas Raiders was destroyed in a mid-air collision with P-63F
43-11719 [N6763] Saturday 12 November, 2022 during the Wings
Over Dallas airshow resulting in the deaths of six individuals.
They are identified by the B-17 Texas Raiders org as: Terry Barker of Keller, TX; Craig Hutain of
Montgomery, TX; Kevin “K5” Michels of Austin, TX; Dan Ragan of
Dallas, TX; Leonard Root of Ft Worth, TX; Curt Rowe of
Hilliard,OH. A preliminary
report by the NTSB was released at the end of November, 2022,
but it will be some time before the investigation is complete
and a final report issued.
This B-17G-100-VE (44-85599) sat derelict at the Abilene, Texas
airport for many years before being restored as 42-38133 and
placed on display at Dyess AFB Linear Airpark. This is a great outdoor airpark with
many well restored and displayed aircraft. Unfortunately,
due to the current heightened state of alert the airpark is
currently closed to visitors. (CB)
B-17G-105-VE
44-85718
Part of the Lone Star Flight Museum and
registered as N900RW, 718 is another airworthy example.
Named "Thunderbird" it
is a common sight at airshows. She is seen in the above
photos at the Dyess AFB open house in May, 2008. (CB)
B-17G-105-VE
44-85734
Owned and operated by the Liberty Foundation
"Liberty Belle" is seen
at the 2005 Luke AFB open house. Sadly, "Liberty Belle"
was destroyed by fire on 13 June, 2011. There was however
happily no loss of life. (CB)
B-17G-105-VE 44-85738
This airplane has been on display at Tulare, CA since
flying into the Mefford Field on August 4, 1958. Sponsored by
AMVETS (American Veterans) Chapter 56 she has had her ups and
downs. In 1971 she was moved from this site before returning in
1981. At one time she was hit by an errant truck, ravaged by
vandals and stripped of an interior, but in the last few years
she has had some TLC applied that at least cosmetically improved
her appearance. After delivery she was known as "Preston's
Pride", today she carries the markings of the 58th Wing. The
Fortress was a drone director aircraft during the atom bomb
tests at Bikini Atoll and continued in testing until retired.
The series of photos were taken during September, 2019. (CB)
B-17G-105-VE
44-85778
"Miss Angela" seen basking
in the sun outside her home at the Palm Springs Air Museum
on a nice spring day in March, 2007. And undergoing
maintenance in March, 2013
B-17G-110-VE
44-85813
B-17G-110-VE
44-85813, which operated as N6694C (#12) until crashing in
April 1980. Parts of her remains have gone to other B-17
restorations.
B-17G-110-VE
44-85828
This Flying
Fortress had been operated by Black Hills and Aeroflite inc.
among others before being restored and placed on display as
42-31892 "I'll be around" in the 390th Bomb Group
Association building at the Pima Air & Space museum.
This aircraft is immaculate inside and out, surely one of
the best restored B-17s. The best single word I can
think of is gorgeous, like a beautiful woman. Anyone
visiting Tucson should take the time to tour Pima and view
this airplane. (CB)
And a few Flying
Forts that are outside of the Southwest...
B-17D 40-3097
"The Swoose"
is the oldest surviving B-17 and believed to be the only AAF
aircraft to serve from the beginning of America's entry into WW II
until VJ day. The aircraft is currently (August, 2009) under
restoration at the National
Museum of the United StatesAir Force, which is expected to
take several years. (CB)
B-17F-10-BO 41-24485
The
"Memphis Belle" is
often stated to be the first B-17 to safely complete twenty five
missions in the ETO. While that feat is disputed she is
still an important artifact and is treated almost with
reverence. This is another airframe that will require a
great investment of time and resources to restore. As the
artwork had been repainted several time over the years, the
first time being during War Bond tours during WW II, so it
will be striped and repainted during final restorations.
In these August, 2009 photos there is still a long way to
go. There has been some talk of placing this B-17 on
display at the NMUSAF
and finishing restoration while on exhibit. (CB)
B-17F-70-BO 42-29782
This
B-17F named "Boeing Bee"
was photographed at Boeing Field near Seattle, WA in October,
1999. (CB)
B-17G-35-BO 42-32076
"Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby"
is another veteran of combat. She was discovered in France
after have been abandoned for years and was transported to Dover
AFB in 1978 where volunteers spent the next ten years breathing
life into her. In 1988 she was flown to the Air Force
Museum.
During
her service in World War Two she sported a natural metal finish,
but due to the many areas that needed reskinning a decision was
made to paint her in olive drab over neutral gray for
display. In the near future she will move to the National Air and Space Museum
for display. The above photos were taken in August,
2009. (CB)
B-17G-85-DL 44-83546
This B-17 played the part of "Memphis Belle" in the 1989
movie of the same name. She is seen during
March, 2013 while on
a fuel stop in El Paso while on a trip to the West coast.
(CB)
B-17G-85-DL 44-83559
Displayed
outdoors for many years at the Strategic Air Command Museum at
Offutt AFB 559 came indoors and was restored when the museum
moved to Ashland, NE and became the Strategic Air and
Space Museum. The first photo was taken in October,
1995 prior to the move. The balance of the photos give a
good idea of the work put into bring the bomber back to her
prime. (CB)
B-17G-95-DL
44-83690
Named Miss Liberty
Belle, 690 is displayed at the Grissom Air Museum.
Though
displayed
outdoors she appears to be structurally sound in the August,
2009 photos. In late 2015 she was relocated to the Museum
of Aviation, Robins AFB, Georgia. (CB)
B-17G-95-DL 44-83868
The RAF
Museum at Hendon has B-17G 44-83868 displayed among a
number of other important airplanes. With in the halls of
the museum are a B-25, B-24, Lancaster, Vulcan and the remains
of a Halifax B Mk.II (W1048) recovered from Lake Hoklingen in
Norway. This museum along with its sister museum at RAF
Cosford is one of the world's great aviation museums and are
among my personal favorites. (CB)
B-17G-110-VE 44-85829
With
the background of trees and clouds "Yankee Lady" looks like she could be at any
bomber base in England during 1944. In reality she is at
here home at the Yankee
Air Museum in Yipsilanti, MI in June, 1996.
Registered as N3193G she is another active airshow
participant. (CB)
A
pair of B-17s in their natural element.
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05-23-2002
Modified
05-13-2023
Clifford Bossie
