The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying 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 American four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the German multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
AirShow San Diego formerly Wings Over Gillespie is primarily an air show usually held the first weekend in June at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California. It is conducted by the San Diego wing of the Commemorative Air Force. It is a regular stop for many "warbirds" that make the airshow circuit each year, including the CAF's B-17 Flying Fortress Sentimental Journey. In recent years the air show has shown a larger number of flying demonstrations at what was at one time a mostly static air show. The June 2016 event will not be held and will return June 2017.
Liberty Belle was a popular name for United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft during World War II; over two dozen known individual Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators used the name.
Thunderbird was a high mission-tally Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress of the 303rd Bombardment Group during World War II. The original plane, serial number 42-38050, was scrapped at the end of the war and no longer exists. The name also appears on a later B-17G delivered at the end of the war, serial number 44-85718, which remains airworthy and is painted to replicate the earlier Thunderbird.
Piccadilly Lilly II is a B-17 Flying Fortress currently on display at the Planes of Fame air museum in Chino, California. Built in 1945 as a B-17G and assigned serial number 44-83684, this plane was possibly the last aircraft assigned to the Eighth Air Force / 447th Bomb Group, but perhaps not delivered. It was the last active B-17 in the United States Air Force, and retired in 1959 after nine years as a DB-17P drone director. Following its military career, the plane appeared in various television shows and movies.
Sally B is the name of an airworthy 1945-built Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. At 78 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.
Aluminum Overcast, B-17G-105-VE, s/n 44-85740, civil registration N5017N, as of November 2022, is one of only nine presently airworthy Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 48 complete surviving airframes in existence. It never saw combat, and it escaped the fate of many aircraft that were scrapped after World War II. It is owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and, as of 2022, it is still touring the United States and Canada offering flight experiences.
Texas Raiders was an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-17G-95-DL built by Douglas Long Beach. In 1967, it was purchased by the Commemorative Air Force's Gulf Coast Wing "Texas Raiders" group, which maintained and flew the aircraft out of Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in Conroe, Texas. The aircraft was destroyed on November 12, 2022, by a mid-air collision with a P-63 Kingcobra at an air show at Dallas Executive Airport, Texas, that killed all five occupants and the P-63 pilot.
This is a list of United States Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces, including variants and other historical information. Heavy bomber training organizations primarily under II Bomber Command in the United States and non-combat units are not included.
FIFI is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. It is one of two B-29s in the world flying as of 2023. It is owned by the Commemorative Air Force and is based at the Victor N. Agather Hangar at Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas, Texas.
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.
The 3215th Drone Squadron is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last active with the 3205th Drone Group at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, where it was discontinued on 22 December 1958.
The 3225th Drone Squadron is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last active with the Air Force Missile Development Center, based at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was discontinued on 25 October 1963.
The 3235th Drone Squadron is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last active with the 3205th Drone Group, based at NAS Point Mugu, California. It was discontinued on 1 January 1957.
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.
