Thunderbird (B-17)

Thunderbird is the name given to a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. It is one of the few surviving flyable B-17s, and is the largest aircraft housed at the Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Galveston, Texas.

The demonstration aircraft, originally B-17G-105-VE 44-85718, is painted to replicate a noted veteran World War II bomber of the 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, based at RAF Molesworth, England.

"Thunderbird"'s history

The aircraft represented was also a B-17G, serial number 42-38050. It was a B-17G-25-DL manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California, and flew 112 combat missions with the 303rd Bomb Group. It was accepted by the USAAF in November 1943 and arrived in the group on January 18, 1944, at RAF Molesworth, England.

On January 23, 1944, it was assigned to the crew of 1st Lt. Vern L. Moncur, of Rupert, Idaho and Bountiful, Utah, which had six previous missions in other bombers. After that crew completed its tour on April 10, it was used as a “new crew” aircraft, used to break in replacement crews, although eight of the missions were flown by the crew of 1st Lt. Richard K. Marsh between April 11 and June 2.

It flew its first mission on January 29, 1944 (Frankfurt, Germany), and its last on March 22, 1945 (Gelsenkirchen, Germany), after which it was retired as "war weary". Returned to the United States after the war, it was sent to Kingman, Arizona, where unlike its LSFM counterpart, it was scrapped. It reputedly was crewed by 538 different airmen, none of whom suffered an injury aboard "Thunderbird".

The original "Thunderbird" was literally immortalized by being the subject of a 25 foot high by 75 foot wide mural in the World War II Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall entitled "Fortresses Under Fire", completed 1975-1976. The artist, Keith Ferris, depicted "Thunderbird" on its 70th mission at 11:45 AM, 15 August 1944, over Trier, Germany, on its return to Molesworth following a mission to bomb Wiesbaden, and is historically accurate in the encounter portrayed. cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | url = http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Air_Power/B-17_29/AP28G3.htm| title = Fortresses Under Fire| format = | work = | publisher = Centenniel of Flight| accessdate = 22 Apr | accessyear = 2007]

Ferris used "Thunderbird" as the centerpiece of two other paintings, "Retirement Party for Old Thunderbird" (1965 for the Air Force Art Collection), showing it on its 112th and last mission, and "Schweinfurt Again", depicting the bomber on its 76th mission in October 1944. cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | url = http://www.303rdbg.com/thunderbird/ferris.html| title = Thunderbird Art| format = | work = | publisher = 303rd Bomb group Assn| accessdate = 22 Apr| accessyear = 2007 This site also lists every mission and crewman making an operational flight on "Thunderbird", among other data.]

Notes

ources

*O'Leary, Michael. "Thunderbird", "Air Classics", August 2004. Challenge Publications, inc.
* [http://www.303rdbg.com/thunderbird/index.shtml B-17 Thunderbird.com memorial site]