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We're including this page as an update point for B-17 news. We'll post information garnered from any variety of sources, and notate that source at the end of the item. If anyone has anything they'd like to add, please let us know.

B-17 Tour Information

The Collings Foundation B-17G Nine-O-Nine, 44-83575 (N93012), is touring again. Tour dates with the B-17, B-24, and P-51C, are posted. For June, they are heading north out of California into Oregon, Washington, and into Utah. For July it's into Colorado and into the midwest. For the most current information, jump to here for schedule information.
The Commemorative (ex-Confederate) Air Force's B-17G Texas Raiders, 44-83872 (N7227C), remains in maintenance until further notice due to the B-17 Airworthiness Directive issued by the FAA. Jump to here for the most current information. See also this informative WIX topic. It may be back up in 2009!
The CAF's other B-17G, Sentimental Journey, 44-83514 (N9323Z), has a summer western tour posted. The Arizona Wing's page can be found here for the only Wing information posted for Sentimental Journey.
The Experimental Aircraft Association's B-17G Aluminum Overcast, 44-85740 (N5017N), is still touring and heading east toward the upper midwest, ending up at Oshkosh by the end of July. In August it heads towards the east. Check out the most current information here.
The Liberty Foundation tours with this most recent B-17 restoration, Liberty Belle, B-17G 44-85734 (N390TH). The airplane has dates posted in Illiois and Minnesota in June. Check out the current schedule here.
The Yankee Air Force out of Willow Run, Michigan, operates the magnificent B-17G, 44-85829 (N3193G), Yankee Lady. The museum is still reeling from the devestating fire that destroyed the hangar facilities but fortunately spared both the B-17 and B-25. Plans are underway to rebuild. The B-17 has appearance dates posted for the rest of 2009, with the upper midwest in June and July, including an appearance at Oshkosh. Jump to here for their most current information.
New to the B-17 ride business is the Lone Star Flight Museum's Thunderbird, 44-85718 (N900RW), based at Galveston, Texas. The museum was devistated by Hurricane Ike in 2008, disrupting operations to say the least. The B-17 has appearance dates set for the rest of 2009, including Oshkosh in late July. Check out the schedule right here.

June 2009

Progress continues on getting B-17G 44-83872 (N7227C) back into the air. Anyone following this continuing saga has to be impressed by the dedication of this CAF wing at Houston to get this B-17 back in the air. All four engines and props are hung and they all run at the same time! Here is a May 24 photo of the airplane with all four turning:

But for more fun, check out some of the You Tube videos of this B-17 going through some engine runs like the one here
These guys are getting closer.
Tommy Clementzlor sent in a photo of one of the Swedish airliner B-17s from his collection:

This was a 94th Bomb Group veteran interned in Sweden in April 1944, then later turned over to the Swedish government for conversion to an airliner. It remained in service until 1948 when it was scrapped.
Roger Cain attended a little event at the Schellville Airport in Northern California on April 13 that featured B-17G 44-85734 (N390TH) and it would be just wrong not to post a few photos:

And though this is technically not a B-17, it is one great looking P-40N that did some escort duty:

And, here are the B-17 perps now: left is Don Brooks, center is Ray Fowler, and right is Tom Wilson, who must have in hog heaven what with B-17s and P-40s about, eh? Yo, Tom!
Should mention the publication of a new book on the RAF B-17s that looks interesting. It is called Allied Wings 7: Boeing Fortress Mk. I which were the twenty B-17Cs passed on to the RAF in November 1940. Don't have a copy yet but I plan to.

And here is a link to the webpage where it is offered. Forty pages long, it appears to take a good look at a fairly obscure use of the B-17 and its first real combat.
Larry Johnson sent in this September 1979 photo of B-17G 44-85813 (N6694C) taken during its tanker days that I thought needed posting:

It was taken in Wyoming while being operated by Black Hills Aviation. It crashed the next year fighting a fire in North Carolina. Parts of it are being incorporated in the in-progress restoration at Urbana, Ohio.
Posted recently on the WIX forum was a link to an Air and Space Magazine site with an unearthed Defense Department film that included details about Operation Snapper. Snapper was a 1952 atomic test series held in May and June 1952 at the Nevada Test Site (more details here) using fairly low yield nuclear weapons with part of the test used to determine blast effect on various parked aircraft. This test series is well known (not really) to extremely dedicated B-17-o-philes because a number of B-17s, including two surviving airframes, were used as targets in the test. Those two would be 44-83575 (N93012) now flying as Nine-O-Nine and 44-83722 not flying as anything but parts of which are being used to rebuild 44-85813 at Urbana, Ohio. Here's a view of the Urbana airplane after the tests:

It would appear that this B-17 is seen in the DOD film as the nuclear blast hits, showing the tail feathers being shredded. The other B-17, 44-83785, fared a bit better and was bought as scrap in 1965 by Aircraft Specialties, who rebuilt the airplane to ferry condition and flew it to Mesa, Arizona, where it eventually became an air tanker. The rest is history and can be well-found in Final Cut. All the other scrap, including the other B-17s, but also including some B-29s, P-47s, and other types, was also sold as scrap in 1965 and presumably smelted into ingots. Here is one view of the scrap, this one including 44-83722:

And here is a shot of the 44-83575 being rebuilt in 1965:

One wonders if any of the passengers flying these days on Nine-O-Nine know their ride was once the subject of four nuclear blasts and then abandoned as irradiated scrap. Should be okay.

April and One Half 2009

Two little goodies have come to light that deserver some airing. The first is this photo sent to me by Tommy Clementzlor:

Tommy found the image on the web, not sure where, but this photo answers a couple of long-held questions about some B-17 parts held by the Yankee Air Force and Tom Reilly. This, evidently, is the rest of the story. The above photo depicts a surplus B-17G displayed at the Cooley Service Station at Heron Lake, Minnesota, probably in the late 1940s. The number on the nose almost certainly indicates this is B-17G 44-6237 as also suggested by the "BA-237" marking on the aft fuselage (this being a buzz code applied by the AAF in 1946 with "BA" being the code for B-17, and "-237" being the last three digits of the airplane's serial). There isn't another B-17G serial with the sequence of "6237" in it. A look at the listing provided in the Freeman/Osborne book The B-17 Flying Fortress Story tells that the aircraft record card for 44-6237 shows it delivered from Douglas in June 1944, then serving with several base units throught its service. Its last operational station was at Smoky Hill AAF, Kansas, in July 1945, then going to the RFC for disposal at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, in November 1946.
If that account is correct, that is actually a bit of a late arrival at Walnut Ridge for RFC disposal, as by that late date the RFC had been supplanted by the War Assets Administration, and the thousands of stored aircraft at Walnut Ridge had already been sold to a smelting contractor months earlier in July 1946. (I would suspect an trnascribing error here: was the airplane actually at Altus??) In any event, the U.S. government was done with the airplane, and it should have been scrapped with 99.9% of its bretheren. But, here is where the story gets interesting. Based on some other evidence, 44-6237 was either purchased or made available on loan for display purposes by the WAA to the owner of a gas station at Heron Lake. The price paid was reported as $450, a bit low for either transfer given other similar transfers (such as Art Lacey's B-17 at Milwaukie, Oregon). It was disassembled and trucked to Minnesota and reassembled at the Cooley Service Station. Presumably, Mr. Cooley is the gentleman to whom the airplane was transferred, and an internet search suggests that the Cooley name is quite prominent in the Heron Lake and Jackson County area of Minnesota, located about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. (The population of Heron Lake in 2000 was 768 people.)
So, the available evidence indicates this airplane was displayed for a number of years at the gas station. After it wore out its welcome there, it was hauled off to a nearby farmer's field where it sat, quite neglected, and slowly lost parts and pieces. By 1984, it was just a shell of an airplane. The aft fuselage, from the about the radio room bulkhead to the tailwheel, was cut out of the airplane and went to a family for use as a storm shelter. The rest of the airplane was evidently scrapped shortly thereafter, though this is not confirmed.
The family buried the fuselage section several feet underground and used it for six or seven years as a storm shelter. Where exactly this was is not clear, but in the early 1990s, D. Troy Westum heard about the fuselage section and was able to obtain and recover the rather large section of B-17. He and his dad stood by while the previous owner dug the fuselage section back out of the ground with a backhoe and help load it on a trailer. This fuselage section eventually went to Tom Reilly at Kissimmee, Florida, where it was doubtlessly used in a B-17 restoration, probably that of B-17G 44-85734 that now flies as Liberty Belle. I'll need to ask Tom Reilly about where this section ended up because that really would be the rest of the story.

In the aftermath of the recovery, D. Troy Westrum wrote a short account of the recovery that appeared in the January/February 1992 issued of Air Progress Warbirds International. Also, the Yankee Air Force mined Heron Lake area for B-17 parts and reportedly came up with some smaller assemblies and control surfaces that might have ended up in B-17G 44-85829 that flies today as Yankee Lady.

By the way, the Westrum article notes that the only ID they could find on the part was the code "BA-23" on the outside of the fuselage section, obvious to me that the third digit "7" didn't make the cut (literally) when the fuselage was cut. Also, he notes that the number "1588" was found (on tags?) at two separate locations on the inside. The Douglas msn for this airplane is 22460, so I am presuming the "1588" is a subcontractor number for the section built by it.
Thanks to Tommy Clementzlor for bringing this to light, and also to Todd Hackbarth for some other details provided years ago.
The other item of interest is that, as noted in the April 2009 update below, the identity of the B-17B used as Mary Ann in the 1943 film Air Force was close at hand. It is now known that one (of either one or two) used as Mary Ann was s/n 38-584. Dan Johnson gets the credit on this one, and is based on a screen shot he pulled off the film, enhanced a bit and filled in:

Okay, filled in like this:

Now, I know the New York Times is not going to pick this story up, and when I tell people about this exciting bit of information they look at me a little funny. It is either they are hiding their own excitment really well or they don't understand. As a recap of what has been going on at the Aero Vintage Forum for the last year or so, is that this airplane carries a ficticious serial number in the movie, purportedly B-17D 40-5664.

One can only presume the use of the higher serial number for a B-17D was an attempt to throw off any attempts by the enemy to gather information and also make it appear that more B-17Ds were built than otherwise suggested. In any event, the actual identity of the airplane has eluded serious B-17-o-philes, especially since the airplane is usually called a B-17C. It would appear that the Dan Johnson's identified scene above was shot either before the number was repainted on the airplane or the bogus number was only painted on the right side of the tail.
I would be remiss, by the way, if I didn't point out that in way back the June 2007 update I thought I identified the B-17B as 38-583, so I was only off by a brush stroke. Bummer. The Times would have been coming to me instead of Dan Johnson. I smelled Pulitzer but now only smell, but not badly. But I digress.
Bottom line it that there is now a great deal of information about this B-17B, other B-17Bs, some B-17Cs, and the film Air Force spread over four or five topics at the forum site, all topics worth reading for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. A prime mover of this whole subject is a gentleman known to me as Dan K. (forum name "pokryshkin") who has taken information developed by Anthony J. Mireles (forum name "C-47B") and also Bill Stanczak (forum name "DryMartini") and run with it, pressing forward until Dan Johnson (forum name "Dan Johnson") finally got a definitive answer. There were others who contributed to this topic, some might call it a cult, but it is a nice result of some serious study. Thanks to all and I'm sure we are going to see more on this subject. Aero Vintage, now known as the place for information on obscure B-17 films made sixty-six years ago. Buy a book.
As a final note, there is more to gather about this film, particularly the role Paul Mantz had in the filming and a time line on the production. I'm sure some other contributors, including the likes of aviation film historian Bruce Orriss, will fill in some details along the way.

April 2009

Sorry to say my computer burped a few weeks ago and I lost about five months of emails, including some items I was hoping to use here. Lost in cyberspace, as it were. Anyway, we do have some stuff and here it comes...
Let's start the update off with information of the release of a unique catalog of new B-17 Parts available from Bill Stanczak and Mike Kellner, they of the restoration team putting together B-17E 41-2595 at Morengo, Illinois. Bill and Mike have been working on creating a supply of materials that, granted, will go into the B-17E but also will prove useful to anyone desiring to accurately restore a B-17, particularly those that might be flying again someday. Take a look at the catalog, linked below as a .pdf file, as it contains a growing number of extrusions listed by their "BAC" (Boeing Aircraft Co.) reference number. Yep, built to Boeing specs and will fit just like the original, airworthy to boot.

Slide the old damaged and corroded longeron out, slide the shiny new longeron in, rivet the bugger together and away we go. How about a new nose window frame for your restoration project: check out page 5. The last page has parts that are under development, like new wing spars. This is "gotta have" stuff for your B-17.
Okay, speaking of Bill Stanczak, I would be remiss as an human being if I did not point out the drawing he posted to the Aero Vintage Forum page of the B-17C escape hatch that fits above the cockpit.

This held the aircraft commander's observation bubble and was mounted on the B-17B, B-17C, and B-17D in different configurations. Got a bit bigger and turned into a Sperry A-1 top turret on the B-17E. The aircraft commander had to find somewhere else to sit also. Now, if you have a really big magnifying glass and a great deal of talent, you can build yourself a B-17C escape hatch from these plans. Be the only guy on your block with one. Folks, you're just not going to find website content like this anywhere else so you should buy a book. What else can I say?
Well, I have a lot more to say, sorry. Bill also reports that the engineering for the forms to make B-17C Bulkhead #10 for The New Build B-17C is underway. What new build B-17C, you might ask? Well, I say you haven't been paying attention. Scroll through months past and get with the program. Bulkhead 10 is an aft fuselage bulkhead at the forward end of the horizontal stabilizer. Now, you get Bulkhead #10 and connect it with Bulkhead #11 aft and Bulkheads #1 through #9 forward with a bunch of longerons and cover it with aluminum alloy skin and you have a B-17C fuselage. It might be a bit more difficult than that but that's the general idea.

Toward that end, Bill is looking for the following items to help in this regard: Search is on for 2017 or 2024 1.75" square tubes, I guess otherwise known as BAC1501-6898 and BAC1501-6902 and BAC1501-2921.
Now, maybe I'm mining that B-17C hole too far, but I would be seriously remiss as a B-17-o-phile if I didn't post this photo that Bill Stanczak ran on the Aero Vintage forum.

Bill received the photo from Nick Veronico, who pulled it from his files and why didn't he send it to me also, I'd just like to know? Anyways, isn't this just a cool photo? It is a view from the aft fuselage (why, I believe that would be just forward of Bulkhead #10) looking forward. Good view of the waist gun installations and the lower gun emplacement. The forward bulkhead is between the waist area and the radio compartment, with the main entrance door on the right just aft of the bulkhead. The ladder is neatly stowed on the left side just aft of the bulkhead. This has to be a factory photo, given the pristene nature of the airplane. Someone noted on a forum posting that it looked as if the interior was painted, possibly silver paint. Maybe it is the type of film used or the lighting, but it does look like its painted. Anyone have information on how these airplanes were delivered, as far as the interior finish?
Steve Birdsall sent in several items of interest. Among the first was this view of B-17G 44-8959 he sifted out:

The particular B-17 is shown here in India on May 1, 1945, with Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, and presumably was his personal transport. Stratemeyer was commander of the Army Air Forces in the China Theater with headquarters at Chungking from April 1944 until March 1946. The B-17G was delivered to the AAF in mid-February 1945 but details of its service are sketchy. One reference shows the airplane going the Navy in 1946, which is doubtful unless it was as spare parts support for Navy PB-1Ws. Anybody have the record card, per chance?
The other photo Steve sent in was this one of B-17F Amarillo Avenger, an as-yet unidentified B-17F.

Steve relates that "the photo is a clipping from the November 1943 issue of The American Pilot. It's one of the early B-17Fs, but that's all I have." As Steve is the worldwide expert on early B-17Fs, I would not presume to dig into my scant files but will hope that someone out there might have a bit of information about this airplane. From the caption, though, I am going to guess that this was a "Class 26" B-17F sent to a technical school (at Amarillo, eh?) for work by budding aviation mechanics. I would also venture a guess that this was a 'returned from combat' B-17F that had a different name in service, that was badly damaged enough to be pulled from combat in the summer of 1943, patched together, and returned to the U.S. for assignment to a training role, re-evaluated and determined to be in too poor condition for that service, and then assigned to technical training at Amarillo ("AM"???) where it spent the rest of the war until it was scrapped. Just a guess, though.
A Wikipedia entry for Amarillo AFB notes "The field, one of the largest installations in the Western Technical Training Command, was established for training of air crew and ground mechanics to service B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. From 1943 to 1945 basic training and special courses of instruction were conducted, and the school was later designated to train technicians for B-29 aircraft in addition to the B-17 technical training."
Stephen Houseknecht gave me a heads up on this photo, copied from this Shorpy site (what is a Shorpy?), and is apparently of the Boeing production line circa 1943:

It is "Shop 301" somewhere, and I'm sure someone out there knows. I haven't seen this view before. Production line shots are always interesting. Note the olive drab tails on the nearly completed B-17s in the background.
Brought forward on a WIX posting was this little fascinating bit about locating the crash of what is believed to be a B-17G, as yet unidentified, in an Icelandic glacier. Granted, this is not new news....this airplane was located in 2006....but a reminder of what is out there. Here is a link to the posting and here is a quote from that posting:
Here are some photos of B17G Cloister Easy which crashed into Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland in 1944. They were on a ferry flight, heading for England, loaded with mail. Aperently they drifted off course and hit the glacier at an angel so all the 10 men survived the crash. The aircraft fuselage broke in two and left wing broke off and caught fire. The men left the wreack and shought shelter by rock formation close by. After they fire died out, the went back to the wreck and tried using there Gisbson girl radio to call for help, without luck.
The bombadeire blew the sabotage charge in the Norden Bombsight. In the night time they saw lights in a distance (a farm close by) and desided to climb down the glacier using parachute cord to tie themselfs together.
All the men were rescued and stayed in Army hospital for some time. Back in 1995 I contacted 4 out of the 10 men, including the Captain, who was living in retirement in Texas.
After the crash, the wreackeg snowed over and was not seen again until 50 years later. The global warming is melting the Ice in the glaciers, cousing the glacier "to return what it has taken" The wreakage has be mangeled by the ice.

Now, at the risk of enraging the internet gods, I also post one photo from that posting, completely and unquestionably sourced to that site, which I will take down if the enraged owners feel I should do so:

I wouldn't plan on putting this one back together.
I should point out the continuing and fascinating series of postings contained in three topics lines under the Warbirds and Such Things forum on the Aero Vintage forum site. These concern the identity of the B-17B starring as the Mary Ann in the 1943 movie Air Force. There are several very detail-oriented sleuths that have been posting material about the film, about B-17B and B-17C serial numbers and aircraft history, and making some well-thought out conjectures about the identity of this B-17B. We've covered the topic a few times in months past here on the News pages, but here are a few highlights: It's always been "known" that the Mary Ann was a B-17C but now we know that it was actually a B-17B upgraded to the B-17C configuration. There was a Y1B-17 used in the film as one of the ten or so B-17s.
A summary, offered by Dan K., was posted as follows in early April:

To sum up what we know so far: 1:The film "Air Force" uses mostly modernized B-17B aircraft (and a single YB-17 in the opening flightline sequence as a backdrop for John Ridgely's walk out to his aircraft as well as in the initial takeoff sequence ), and was shot at Hendricks/Sebring between June and August 1942.
2:Aircraft seen in various sequences: "02", "05"(YB-17), "05"(B-17B), "07/"8261", "08"." "09", "10"/'05564'\????", "12", "15"/"9001", "16", "18"/"8211".
3: B-17B Aircraft known to be at Sebring/Hendricks during filming, June through August, 1942: 38-211"18", 38-212, 38-259, 38-260, 38-261"07", 38-262, 38-269, 38-270, 39-001"15", 39-003("10?"), 39-007("10?") ...and B-17D 40-3065, at Sebring from 6/20/1942 to 11/07/1942 plus a YB-17, (36-158 or 36-161) likely withdrawn to Class-26 in June.
4: B-17B aircraft lost after filming: 38-211"18" fatal accident 10/1942 38-262"??" fatal accident 4/1943
5: B-17Bs in non-fatal accidents : 38-269"??" accident 10/1942
6: YB-17s and B-17Bs to Class-26 Amarillo and dates sent there:
YB-17s: 36-149, to Amarillo 11/02/1942
36-151, to Amarillo 11/21/1942
36-154, to Amarillo 11/12/1942
36-155, to Amarillo 11/12/1942
36-158, to Amarillo 10/13/1942. possibly flightline "05"?
36-159, to Amarillo 11/19/1942
36-160, to Amarillo 11/19/1942
36-161, to Amarillo 10/09/1942, possibly flightline "05"?
B-17Bs: 39-003, to Amarillo 09/14/1943, possibly "10" "Mary-Ann"? 39-007, to Amarillo 07/16/1943, possibly "10" "Mary-Ann"

This view from the film, a screen shot posted on the forum, shows to good advantage the over-painted markings on the number four engine cowling, the scalloping no doubt the remnants of squadron markings carried earlier. These are the kinds of clues these aerial detectives are using.
There is also evidence that a second B-17B may have been used to fill in for Mary Ann during the filming, based on scenes where the airplane either does or doesn't have a white stripe on the tail and other small variances. The jury is still out on that one. I confess I am intrigued not only to find the identity of the airplane but also the interest this has generated. As this all boils down to the essence, I will update the Air Force movie page carried on the site.
Another point of interest is a Desert Rat, otherwise known as B-17E 41-2595, newsletter that is being produced by Bill Stanczak and Mike Kellner. Here is what the first one looks like:

If you want to get added to the email list that receives the newsletter, jump to the Aero Vintage post and email Bill from there....that avoids some of the pesky spam issues.
By the way, the gist of the update is that work is progressing on the horizontal stabilizers for the B-17E as they are being rebuilt to airworthy standards. The B-17 horizontal stabilizer, as noted on the update, is wider than that of a T-6 wingspan. Big airplane, many rivets.

February and One Half 2009

Okay, just got some photos I can't wait six weeks to post. These are from the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, courtesy of Brenda Elmgren, Chief Administrative Officer, who was kind enought to send them along. The first shows moving the airplane around a bit, the second and third show B-17G 44-83814 being reassembled inside the museum. See February below for more information about this airplane, etc.
Speaking of new B-17 Parts (I wasn't, but am now), Bill Stanczak sent along an email detailing that the new B-17 Carry Through Spars he has been diligently working on for many months have been completed. Here is the gist of the message he sent along:

Yes, we finally have the carry through spars! We picked them up from the inspection firm this week, and are in the hanger. For those of you who did not opt for the cleaning/priming of the spars, we can now discuss how to get the material to you. For the rest, we are in the process of setting up for cleaning/priming, and should be ready for pick up in the next week or two.
This did take a little longer than planned, with the economy playing a part in it (as well as a furnace problem with the heat treater), but this is a bright day in the future of all B-17s.

So, if you ordered some B-17 Carry Through Spars from Bill, they are ready. And if you didn't, well, here's a bit a peak at the behind-the-scenes goings-ons in the world of B-17s.

February 2009

Before we get started, I presume everybody has made the appropriate comment to the TSA about the Large Aircraft Security Program. If so, bravo! If not, well, for shame, for shame. This is an important thing or, as we say around the Aero Vintage Books head office, this is a very important thing. See my clever and extended comments in the 2008 B-17 News under December and also note what Benjamin Franklin thought of the TSA plans or just jump right to the government site to read all about the TSA plans to infringe on American Liberty here and take the time to make a comment here. What else can I say except don't be a weenie and the deadline is February 27. If you haven't commented by then, frankly, you can't complain when these onerous rules are implemented. I could say more but I'm kind of shy.
Well, here we are in 2009. And we are starting the year off with notable news...another B-17 has emerged from long-term storage and will be placed on static display. The airplane is 44-83814, which last held the civil registration of N66571. The B-17G has been held in storage with the National Air and Space Museum since 1984, but was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum at Savannah, Georgia, in January 2009. The airplane has been physically moved by truck now, with the fuselage arriving at Savannah on January 14th. It is now being reassembled and prepared for indoor static display with the non-profit museum.
Here is a photo of the airplane as it was lately stored by the NASM:

And here is a photo of the airplane arriving at the museum in mid-January:

The museum has been trying to acquire a B-17 since it first opened, as the type is synonymous with the focus of the musuem: the Eighth Air Force in service from England during World War II. The museum's president, Dr. Walter Brown, noted in an interview that the intent is to allow "school kids to get in it and see what it felt like for 10 men to get in a B-17 bomber for 10 hours." Hmmm. We shall see if a B-17 interior can withstand such punishment. Flak, yes, bubble gum, maybe not so much.
Also announced was that the airplane will be "returned to its original olive drab paint scheme." Well, aside from the fact that this particular airplane never was adorned with an olive drab paint scheme, Brown indicated it will be christened as The City of Savannah for the display. Cost of the restoration effort is estimated at $250,000 to $350,000 and take several months. The museum had another challenge in making a big enough opening in a wall of the building to get the fuselage and wings inside, where the parts will be put back together again. In summary, the good news is 1) the airplane is out of storage; 2) it is good and loving hands of a musuem that reaalllyyy wants a B-17; 3) it will be displayed indoors and protected; and 4) the focus of the museum well warrants a B-17 on display. By the way, the score sheet now shows five B-17s in long-term storage and four under restoration for static display.
Okay, okay, so now everyone is muttering under their breath wondering about the history of this particular B-17, 44-83814. Where did it come from? How did it survive? What's for lunch? Okay, maybe not the last one, but it should be noted that this newest B-17 to emerge from the bowels of storage is actually one of the first civil B-17s that emerged out of the post-war storage yards. As well documented in Final Cut (Book Plug #1), this airplane was in the last batch of B-17s built by Douglas and accepted by the AAF on June 20, 1945 (five weeks after the end of the European war). It was flown directly to storage at Altus, Oklahoma, and turned over to the Reconstruction Finance Corp. for disposal. It was transferred by the RFC to a school district in North Dakota for educational purposes and was probably used at a school at Hazen, ND. It was "sold" by the school district to Owen Williams of California-Atlantic Airways. As a technicality, the school district didn't actually own the airplane (the feds held title) which they did not know but Mr. Williams did know. He also bought four other B-17s the same way, and managed to get civil registrations reserved from the CAA, with 44-83814 getting N66571 assigned. There were a series of lawsuits to determine ownership, but Williams sidestepped the one on this airplane when he sold it to Kenting Aviation at Toronto, Canada, in early 1953. With Kenting, a survey company, the airplane became CF-HBP and it began a near-two decade utilization as a survey aircraft. And, here is a photo from that period:

In April 1971, the survey role for CF-HBP ended, and the airplane was sold to Arnold Kolb, owner and operator of Black Hills Aviation at Spearfish, South Dakota. The FAA reassigned the old civil registration of N66571 to the B-17G. Kolb operated a number of B-17s as air tankers through the years and this airplane was also converted to the tanker configuration. Here is a 1978 view of the airplane operating as Tanker 09 at Omak, Washington, from the files of Mr. Tanker, Milo Peltzer.

Kolb eventually moved his operation to Alamogordo, New Mexico, and long about 1981, he traded N66571 to the National Air and Space Museum, getting a pair of Navy surplus P-2s in return. N66571 went on temporary display at the Pima Air Museum, Tucson, Arizona, until 1984, when it was delivered from Tucson to Dulles Int'l Airport by Arnold Kolb and his son. And then it was mothballed and rolled into the bowels of the NASM, never to emerge again until January 2009 when it was rolled right out of the bowels and then rolled right on down Interstate 95 to Savannah. Happy ending.
Speaking of said Owen F. Williams, is there anybody out there who knows anything substantial about this guy? He was a major player in the 1950-1955 time period not only with B-17s but other future warbirds also. He owned and ran California-Atlantic Airways at St. Petersburg, Florida, during that period and it is confirmed, as per Final Cut (Book Plug #2), that six B-17s passed along through his company: N66568, N66570, N66571, N66573, N66574, and N67974. Most of these B-17s were rounded up in the 1950-1952 period from schools that had received educational transfers from the RFC in 1946 and 1947. Very little is known about either Williams or his company. Those who might be able to fill in a few holes can contact me.
Coincidently, Dave Hatfield has been in contact with me as his father flew another of the Kenting airplanes, this one being B-17E 41-9210 (CF-ICB), during the summer of 1960 doing photo survey work in the Arctic for topograhic charts.

Dave passes along a bit of information on Kenting and their B-17s, thus:

Kenting Aviation, a Canadian aerial survey company, operated a number of WWII aircraft up until the late 1960s, including this B-17G, as well as a B-17E. This photo was taken in the Canadian Arctic in about 1960, when the aircraft was based at Thule, but often ended up on the gravel strips more prevalent at the time. It's duties involved photo runs at up to 32,000 ft, which was a strain on the engines and crews -- the B-17E changed 10 engines that summer, and the crews sometimes got the bends. The surveying was remarkable in that often there were no maps for the Navigators to use to plot the photo lines. Only the coastlines were charted. They had to make rough sketch-maps as they went in order to establish a method of paralleling the track on a 9-mile grid -- sketching maps in order to make maps! It was pioneering work. And demanding, too: the IAS at 32,000 ft was only about 110 kts, and the controls on a Fort are on no way boosted. The headings and bank angles had to be kept accurate to within a degree, and some missions went over 10 hours. The Autopilot was of no value up there, at the "edge of the envelope". All hand-flown."
While we are on the subject of B-17E 41-9210, now registered as N12355, Ralph Pettersen recently passed along to me some photos he took at Arlington, Washington, in September 2005 while parts of the airplane were on nominal display at the Flying Heritage Collection facility. The B-17E flew to the Arlington in May 1999, rolled into a hangar and then disassembled for a complete restoration. The museum has since moved to Paine Field at nearby Everett but the actual location of the B-17E is thought to still be at Arlington. I tried on several ocassions to contact anyone connected with Vulcan Warbirds (owner) or the museum in trying to update Final Cut (Book Plug #3) last summer but no one would talk to me. Seems kind of like the Punk Works to me but, hey, I'm not paying the bills. Anyway, Ralph took some great photos of an incredible rebuilding effort. These parts appear to be better, far better, than new.
Steve Birdsall recently dropped in an interesting Duane L. Zemper photo of brand new B-17G 42-32051 being delivered to the 457th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force in England in early 1944.

A great photo in and of itself, it also is of interest as this airplane came down the Boeing line at Seattle a day or two before 42-32076, it being 25 airplanes newer. The latter airplane is, of course, the vaunted Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, displayed at the NMUSAF at Dayton since 1988 but destined soon enough for the NASM. Steve's point is that this is what Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby looked like upon delivery as one of the first unpainted Boeing-built B-17Gs. It's been a bit of a chew for many that the airplane was finished in the AAF olive drab and grey camouflage, as this finish is grossly incorrect.

At the time, the public word was that the restoration process on Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, with all the skin patching required, necessitated it to be painted. That was then (mid-1980s) and it is doubtful such a decision would have been made today. However, it is also interesting to note that several of those involved in that restoration recall a bit more of the story. In this fuller version, one of the wartime pilots of the airplane, then Lt. Paul McDuffee, was consulted extensively during the restoration. According to him and his memory of some forty years earlier, the airplane was finished in OD camouflage as was named Shoo Shoo Baby (two "Shoo"s and not three), despite photographic and other evidence to the contrary. Like this one, courtesy of Steve Birdsall:

For whatever reason, his views prevailed and the result is what we have today. It is also rumored that the airplane was actually finished as Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby by the original artist (Tony Starcer) after it was painted, but as a concession to McDuffee, the third "Shoo" was covered up by an OD panel until after he passed. We salute and respect Lt. McDuffee for his wartime service, but it is too bad the airplane lost a bit of its displayed authenticity to what can only be ascribed as a faulty memory. Enough said, maybe too much.
Speaking of Steve Birdsall, he lent his files and expertise to an effort by Justin Taylan, he of Pacific Wrecks, to create a DVD documentary telling the history of B-17F 41-24521, otherwise and better known as Black Jack. This particular B-17 is of interest as it is a combat veteran that survives to this day, though it happens to be underwater near Boga Boga in Papua New Guinea. The airplane ditched after a combat mission on July 11, 1943. This DVD is very informative and I'll feature a review of the DVD on my Review page at some point in the future. Meanwhile, to whet your appetite, Steve passed along this photo:

Steve describes the photo as follows:

Here's a photo that might be of interest - it shows the bulky Arriflex 16mm camera and housing that Russell Galloway used to film Black Jack. Russell shot almost all the underwater footage, but safety considerations restricted him to one dive with about 15 minutes bottom time per day. To maximise use of the equipment, divers Pat Manly and Bradley Strohfelt also shot some film, mostly detail shots in and around the old plane. The photo was taken by Lyn Manly.

Yep, that's a B-17F. Probably not gonna be a flyer, for those pre-loaded to recover such artifacts. Better left where it is, in my humble opinion which, granted, no one asked for. Still, this is one gotta-have DVD for all that read these pages. Here is what the front of the DVD looks like:

May I suggest to one and all that they jump to this Black Jack's Last Mission page for more information about this DVD.
Okay, for those on the active and realism side, have we got a deal for you. The Collings Foundation has announced a World War II Crew Fantasy Camp. Now, for starters, this has nothing to do with Betty Grable. Okay, but have you ever dreamt of becoming part of a bomber crew and flying a mission? This, buddy, is your chance. During the weekend of May 26th and 27th, the Collings B-17G 44-83575 (N93012), otherwise known as Nine-O-Nine, and that other airplane (the B-24) are going to based at Stockton, California, and particpate in a fantasy weekend. The chosen few who have chosen to sign up will undergo a training session for each of the crew positions (gunners, navigator, bombardier, pilots (sort of)), and then get the opportunity to fly a mission with an escort of a P-51C and under the attack of an Me-262. Real bombers with gun turrets and machine guns, bombsights, interphones, yelling, oxygen masks, cold air, turbulence, squinting into the sun, bandits and bogies, maybe even C-Rations. No real bullets or blood, though. Reality and fantasy....gotta keep 'em separated, you know. Right now the Collings group says only the -24 is participating but we think the -17 will be there too. For more information, you need to check out this Collings web page or call 800-569-8924. Say hi for me.
By the way, the Collings Foundation is selling the brand new third edition Final Cut (Book Plug #4) on the tour that just started. Shows the kind of good judgement the group has, eh? I'm so funny.
Using my magic time machine, we now go back, way back, to October 2008 when this was posted on B-17 News:
The second one shows what might be B-17G 44-8467 undergoing some maintenance with, again, date and location of photo unknown. The record card for serial 44-8467 shows the airplane operating domestically after its September 1944 delivery. It was out of service by January 1946 and scrapped at Walnut Ridge. The "BA-467" buzz code on the aft fuselage was part of a system adopted in October 1945. That would rule out the airplane being 43-38467 (lost in February 1945), the only obvious other serial number that might cover the airplane. The insignia near the belly hatch appears to be Eighth Air Force and the airplane appears to be marked as The Volunteer. Any other information out there?

Well, Bob Tally sends via email an interesting observation based largely on factual fact:
Concerning a picture "Dan" sent in which everyone thinks the serial number ends in 8467; is actually 3467. Looking at the top of the number you can see that the left side angles down sharper then the right side. Also, the middle line stops before reaching the end of the picture. The top left of the "3" will look like the top right side of the "6". Hope this helps in identifing the aircraft.
Well, Bob, we thank you for your eagle eye and letting us know, because it probably is "3467" ....but everybody should note that I was, in fact, right about the "467" part. The airplane might , in fact, be 44-83467. That particular airframe servied in various base units at Peterson Field, Colorado; McDill Field, Florida; Ft. Worth, Texas; Kelly Field, Texas; and Tinker Field, Texas. The airplane was salvaged by March 1949. Beyond that, no information, but this could certainly describe this airplane. The history of this airplane is courtesy, by the way, of the fabulous Freeman/Osborne book The B-17 Story.
Nick Veronico passed along a neat little photo taken at NAF Litchfield Park, Arizona, during the filming of Lady Takes a Flyer around 1958. In the background is a surplus Navy PB-1W, serveral of which can be seen in the completed film. This film is a bit unique for the time period it was shot and features a USAF VB-17G in the opening scenes, plus the stored PB-1Ws, plus the assorted surplus PB4Y and B-25. Catch it if you can...

Those are stars Jeff Chandler and Lana Turner in the foreground (Lana has the scarf on; it was probably hot) but I'm pretty sure the photographer took the photo because of the PB-1W. Pretty sure.
Bill Stanczak and Mike Kellner have come up with a cool little idea: they have been able to construct a wooden model vary similar to the one being used by B-17 engineer Ed Wells as depicted in the first photo. Bill is considering offering these wooden models for sale to those B-17 aficinados who want something a bit different. Plus, if things work our right, some of the profits from the sales would help support the restoration of the B-17E 41-2595, otherwise known as Desert Rat.

(Modeled by Mike Kellner)

Planning is in process, but consider it. If anyone wants more information, email Bill via the Aero Vintage Forum. Here is the posting that offers this model and the possibilities. Coo-ol!
The Smithsonian's Air & Space website has a feature article (from the November 2008 issue...okay, I'm slow) on the NMUSAF's restoration of B-17F 41-24585, better known as the Memphis Belle. Nothing really new in the article....at least for those in the "know." As usual, the article incorrectly states that the B-17 was bought in 1946, this time by the mayor of Memphis. I defy anybody to find any one case where any one B-17 was sold as surplus by the U.S. government for $350. The $350 was the transfer fee charged by the RFC to allow a city or educational institution to get a B-17 for display or other uses, and this is verified by numerous documented cases and is in the RFC regulations themselves. Title was retained by the U.S. government, which is why the NMUSAF could go to Memphis and say "Hey, we want the plane back. Sorry." Thanks to Pat Carry for the head's up.
Speaking of articles, would I be remiss to mention the February 2009 issue of FlyPast Magazine on the Fulton Skyhook B-17G, 44-83785 (maybe) now held by the Evergreen museum at McMinnville, Oregon? I won't say who wrote it but he's pretty close at heart.
That article elicited the provision of this current photo of the airplane as it is displayed, courtesy of Don Arner, a docent at the museum:
Along the same lines and in regard to the "Spook" B-17s (which is what the article in Flypast was about), comes this excerpt, also provided by Don Arner, from the newsletter of the Air Force Navigators Observers Association (cleverly named DR AHEAD) and written by Eugene Scalise detailing another little secret mission undertaken with B-17s during the Korean War:

Another little piece of the puzzle comes to light, eh?
Step back, if you will, into my time machine again for this photo of the United States Air Force Museum in an earlier era, back when it was on the other side of the base, back in the late 1950s or early 1960s, back when vintage airplanes were just old airplanes, back when they were mostly outdoors, back when....well, you get the idea. Great photo, and yes, that is a B-17 at the right, specifically DB-17P 44-83624 not far removed from the flight line at Eglin AFB, Florida. It now resides, by the way at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover AFB, Deleware, as clearly outlined in Final Cut (Ooopps.. that would be Book Plug #5 :
Okay, too cool not to post, even if it is "borrowed" from the WIX forum:

Yep, a gen-you-ine B-17B, Boeing built and Boeing backed. Back at March Field in 1940, back when men were men and, uh, well, I guess airplanes were airplanes. Anyway, a bunch of good color is surfacing from beneath the morass, coming from the files of Life Magazine. Double Cooo-oool! What else can you say?
Well, that's it for another month, but isn't that enough? Two questions in a row. Bummer.