The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, six miles (9.7 km) northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display. The museum draws about a million visitors each year, making it one of the most frequently visited tourist attractions in Ohio.
A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the South African Air Force Museum Historic Flight.
The Memphis Belle is a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress used during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress and the 1990 Hollywood feature film, Memphis Belle. It was one of the first United States Army Air Forces B-17 heavy bombers to complete 25 combat missions, after which the aircrew returned with the bomber to the United States to sell war bonds. In 2005 restoration began on the Memphis Belle at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio where, since May 2018, it has been on display. The B-17 used in the 1990 feature film is housed at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York.
The Florence Air & Missile Museum was an aviation museum previously located at the entrance to the Florence Regional Airport, in Florence, South Carolina. The museum closed at the end of 1997.
Sally B is the name of an airworthy 1945-built Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. At 76 years old, she is the only airworthy B-17 based in Europe, as well as one of three B-17s preserved in the United Kingdom. The aircraft is presently based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, in eastern England. Sally B flies at airshows in the UK and across Europe as well as serving as an airborne memorial to the United States Army Air Forces airmen who lost their lives in the European theatre during World War II.
Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, originally Shoo Shoo Baby, is a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II, preserved and currently in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, awaiting transfer to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. A B-17G-35-BO, serial number 42-32076, and manufactured by Boeing, it was named by her crew for a song of the same name made popular by The Andrews Sisters, the favorite song of its crew chief T/Sgt. Hank Cordes. Photographs of the bomber indicate that a third "Shoo" was added to the name at some point in May 1944 when the original aircraft commander completed his tour of duty and was replaced by another pilot.
The Swamp Ghost is a Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress piloted by Captain Frederick 'Fred' C. Eaton, Jr, that ditched in a swamp on Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, after an attack on ships at Japanese-occupied New Britain on February 23, 1942. While flying over Rabaul, it was intercepted and eventually, having run out of fuel, had to force-land in a remote swamp near the north coast of New Guinea. All of the crew survived the crash landing and arduous trek out.
The Kissimmee Air Museum was located at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Kissimmee, Florida. It housed vintage aircraft from World War II to the Vietnam War including an outdoor showroom. It was a working museum that restored vintage aircraft. In 2021, the Kissimmee Air Museum closed when the associated Warbird Adventures, Inc moved their operation to Ninety Six, South Carolina.
The Grissom Air Museum is a military aviation museum at Grissom Air Reserve Base near Peru, Indiana with over twenty aircraft on display.
This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing-designed B-17 Flying Fortress. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances. A few documented drone attrition cases are also included.
FIFI is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. It is one of two B-29s in the world flying as of 2022. It is owned by the Commemorative Air Force and is based at the Victor N. Agather Hangar at Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas, Texas.
Yankee Lady is a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, owned by the Yankee Air Museum of Van Buren Township, Michigan. Originally delivered to the U.S military in 1945, the plane did not see combat action; it was used by the United States Coast Guard for over a decade. Purchased by the museum in 1986, it has since been restored to a World War II configuration and is flown for flight experience rides and airshow appearances.
The 3205th Drone Group is a discontinued United States Air Force unit that operated obsolete aircraft during the 1950s as radio-controlled aerial targets for various tests. It was the primary post-World War II operator of surplus Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress aircraft, and also operated Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and a few Boeing RB-47 Stratojet bombers that were converted into drone aircraft during the early years of the Cold War. It was last active with the Air Proving Ground Center, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where it was discontinued on 1 February 1961.
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress No.44-83690 is a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber currently undergoing restoration at the Museum of Aviation near Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. It was built as a B-17G-95-DL by the Douglas Aircraft Company and delivered for use on May 9, 1945. It was flown to Grissom Air Force Base for display as a museum piece in 1961. The plane was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It was moved to the Museum of Aviation in August 2015.
Champaign Lady is the name of a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress that was delivered to the U.S. military near the end of World War II and did not see combat action. The plane is currently undergoing restoration at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio, by the Champaign Aviation Museum.
