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AERO VINTAGE BOOKSThe RFC and WAA Educational Or Memorial B-17s: A Listing |
Provided below is a listing of those B-17s that were released by the U.S. government's Reconstruction Finance Corp. or, later, the War Assets Administration for non-flying display or educational purposes. The provisions for these transfers were contained in Surplus Property Administration Regulation Number 4, in a subpart entitled "Disposals for Educational and Public Health Purposes," issued in May 1945 and applied primarily to technical training programs. Receiving institutions had to pay transportation fees and a nominal disposal cost to obtain the aircraft. However, pricing policy provided a B-17 for as little as $350 and a new Pratt & Whitney R-4360 for $10. Central to the transfer of the aircraft was that the receiving institution had to sign a statement that the aircraft was for non-flight purpoes and had to be rendered non-airworthy or dismantled prior to disposing of the aircraft when the institution completed its use of the material. In December 1945, the program was expanded to include a wide variety of public institutions that enabled local municipalities to obtain aircraft for memorial use. In all cases, the agreements retained the scrapping provision that restricted any further transfers of the aircraft unless it was scrapped. Title was retained by the U.S. government.
In many cases, these airplanes were later "sold" by the institutions, who forgot about or ignored the scrapping provisions. The new owners usually then had to make large payments to the federal government to actually gain the legal title. There were dozens of such B-17s (and lesser numbers of other types, i.e. P-51s, B-24s) transferred, many of which disappeared from sight in the early 1950s. This listing is an attempt to put together a comprehensive listing of these obscure aircraft.
| State | City | Series | Serial | Use | Fate | Remarks | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Stuttgart | B-17F | 42-29782 | War Memorial | (N17W) Storage, Seattle, WA | From Altus, OK; 1946-1953: City of Stuttgart; then purchased as a civil aircraft |  |
| California | Los Angeles | B-17D | 40-3097 | War Memorial | Under restoration with NMUSAF, Dayton, OH | From Kingman, AZ; 1946-1949: City of Los Angeles; to NASM in 1949; to NMUSAF in 2008; Ole Betsey; The Swoose |  |
| California | Santa Maria | B-17F | 42-6073 | Educational | As CP-686, crashed in Bolivia 1968 | 1946-1954-USC Hancock College of Aeronautics; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |
| Illinois | Cahokia | B-17G | 42-102829 | Educational | Probably scrapped circa 1950 | From RFC at Altus; 1946-1950?: Parks College, Cahokia |  |
| Illinois | Polo | B-17G | 42-102715 | War Memorial | As N66573, crashed in 1979 | From Altus, OK; 1947-1952: Boy Scout Troop 67, displayed asat Hamilton Airport as Polo Queen; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |
| Iowa | Sioux City | B-17G | 42-102542 | War Memorial | As N5845N, destroyed 1955 | From Altus, OK; 1946-1952: American Legion Post 64; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |
| Kentucky | Paducah | B-17G | Unknown | War Memorial | Unknown; scrapped? | 1945-1950?: Four Rivers Boy Scouts Council for local Air Scouts; gone by 1950 |  |
| Michigan | Croswell | B-17G | 44-85794 | War Memorial | Unknown; scrapped? | 1947-1950?: a few parts later salvaged by YAF |  |
| Michigan | Flushing | B-17G | 43-39304 | War Memorial | Crashed 12/49 | 1946-1949, First Group Michigan Wing, Civil Air Patrol; to France as F-BDAT. 12/49 |  |
| Minnesota | Heron Lake | B-17G | 44-6237 | Gas station display | Scrapped, some parts recovered | Displayed until 1950s? derelict until 1984, then scrapped. Aft fuselage recovered after use as a storm shelter; later incorporated into B-17 restoration (44-85734?). |  |
| Minnesota | Minneapolis | B-17E | 41-9210 | Educational | Storage, Arlington, WA | 1946-1952: University of Minnesota; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |
| Minnesota | Stanton | B-17F | 42-30921 | Educational | As CP-571, destroyed by crash in Bolivia, January 1962 | 1946-1950: Carleton College (Northfield, MN) and parked at Stanton Airfield; then to Jack Lysdale (1950), then exported to Bolivia as CB-71 and CP-571 as a civil aircraft |  |
| Montana | Bozeman | B-17F | 42-3470 | Educational | As HK-580, crashed in Colombia c. 1962? | 1945-1953: Montana State College; then purchased and flown as civil aircraft |  |
| North Dakota | Hazen | B-17G | 44-83814 | Educational | Storage; NASM | From Altus, OK; 1945-1951; North Dakota Public School District #3; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |
| Oklahoma | Claremore | B-17G | 43-38322 | Educational | As CP-936, crashed in Bolivia in 1972 | 1946-1948: Oklahoma Military Academy; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft | |
| Oregon | Corvallis | B-17G | 43-38978 | Educational | Scrapped for parts; still registered (N4960V) | From Altus, OK; 1946-1955: Oregon State College; then purchased as a civil aircraft | |
| Oregon | Milwaukie | B-17G | 44-85790 | Display | Still there | From Altus, OK; 1947-current: display at Art Lacey's Gas Station |  |
| Pennsylvania | Williamsport | B-17F | 41-24487 | Educational | Scrapped; nose art at Mighty Eighth Museum | From Altus, OK; 1945-1954: Williamsport Technical Institute;Eager Beaver |  |
| Tennessee | Memphis | B-17F | 41-24485 | War Memorial | Under restoration with NMUSAF, Dayton, OH | From Altus, OK; 1946-2004: display; Memphis Belle |  |
| Washington | Clarkston | B-17F | 42-6107 | Educational | As N1340N, crashed in 1970 (turboprop B-17) | From Altus, OK; 1946-1953: Washington State University; then purchased and flown as a civil aircraft |  |