Memphis Belle

[mooneyman]

The Memphis Belle restoration opened to the public today at The National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio. I was able to see it this afternoon. They did an amazing job with the restoration and the exhibit! You can literally get underneath the plane and see the bomb bay and turrets up close. Its an excellent tribute to the brave men who served and a great addition to an already great museum! 

[xcrmckenna]

I love the B-17...


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[MyNameIsNobody]

I was at Wright Pat in February.  Sadly missed her.  Saw some of my favorites though.

[Yooper Rocketman]

I got some time in the third cockpit seat, right behind the co-pilot.  What an amazing experience to fly in one.  It's every bit worth the cost for the once in a lifetime memory.  It's also the last airplane ride I had with my father, 3 months before he passed.

Tom

Semper Fi Pops!

[BKlott]

I had the opportunity to meet Colonel Morgan at Sun N Fun in 2004. He had booth and was selling his book, “The man who flew the Memphis Belle”. He was wearing his leather jacket and autographed the book for me. He wasn’t real talkative, preferring to answer any questions with “read the book”, but it was still a treat to meet him. He died in May of that year.

[smccray]

This always makes me think of my wife’s family.

The Memphis Belle movie featured the B17 currently at the Boeing museum. See the history of that airplane here: http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/boeing-b-17f-flying-fortress

From that link:

“On November 5, 1945, it was withdrawn from service and shipped to Altus, Oklahoma, for disposal.

There 42-29782 sat until 1946, when the War Assets Administration transferred the airplane to Stuttgart, Arkansas, for display as a War Memorial. Stripped of its turrets, guns, and other war-making items, it nested in a small park for the next five years. With only "Great White Bird" painted on the nose, the plane sat derelict until 1953 when the U.S. Government turned over title to a pair of brothers for $20,000. Now a civil aircraft, the Biegert brothers received the new serial number N17W. The plane was completely overhauled into flying condition and converted to an aerial sprayer. Among other things, the ex-bomber was used for spraying DDT.”

The Biegert brothers that bought the plane were my wife’s great uncle and her grandfather. Her great uncle is still living and I love hearing him talk about his old airplanes.  

A couple good photos of the airplane from this old popular mechanics: https://books.google.com/books?id=sdwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA114&dq=max+Biegert+b17&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN4ay5oY7bAhVJeawKHeZFCBIQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=max Biegert b17&f=false

[neilpilot]

I saw the Memphis Belle at it's Mud Island pavilion shortly after I moved to Memphis in 1994.