"God's Flying Fortress" ...
Mon Jun 15, 2020 4:45 pm
Sort of ....
"Following World War II, commercial flights were not readily available, so World Missions Director Noel Perkin located two surplus army planes and converted them to missionary planes. With help from young people and Speed the Light, the Assemblies of God first bought a C-46 cargo plane for only $5,000. Another $15,000 went into the conversion for civilian passenger service. It was called the Ambassador.
It was an exciting day in August 1948 when the big twin-engine Ambassador, loaded with missionaries and with WWII veterans at the controls, lifted off from the Springfield, Missouri, airport and headed toward the East Coast and eventually to Africa. It took 10 days for the Ambassador to reach Africa on its first flight. This was still much faster than traveling by boat.
After a little over a year of missionary flights, and some domestic flights, World Missions sold the Ambassador, and replaced it with a four-engine B-17 bomber, which was also converted to passenger service. Named Ambassador II, it carried fewer passengers, but the four engines — as opposed to only two on the C-46 — made it a safer plane for crossing oceans and mountains.
For two more years the converted bomber Ambassador II transported missionaries to faraway exotic places. By that time, commercial airlines were able to provide satisfactory overseas service, and the plane was sold.
Seventy years ago, the Pentecostal Evangel gave an account of the Ambassador II airplane on a return trip from Africa back to the United States.
Missionary Irene Crane reported that she left her mission station in Nigeria on Dec. 29, 1949, and traveled to the eastern side of the Niger River to join missionaries May Garner and Elsie Weber who also were traveling back to the U.S. from Nigeria.
These lady missionaries took a local flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos, and then after obtaining visas, they flew to Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana), to meet up with the flight crew of the Ambassador II, including flight director Robert T. McGlasson. After some delays, the group left Accra on Jan. 23, but had to return back after a report of heavy evening ground fog in Ouagadougou, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), which was their intended destination. After spending the night in a hotel at the airport, the plane left early the next morning for the three-hour flight to Ouagadougou.
Upon their arrival, the local missionaries happily greeted them. A number of them had traveled quite a distance to welcome them. They soon found out that five ducks had been prepared the night before for a feast, so everyone had been disappointed when the plane did not arrive on schedule and was delayed another day. Two more missionaries, Mabel M. Schaefer and Henry I. Dahlberg, boarded the plane in Ouagadougou, and the next stop was Roberts Field, Liberia. “It took us around four hours to reach the airport there,” said Crane. “The going was rough all the way because of the hot air currents.”
The group stayed in army barracks at Roberts Field on a Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning they had a nice visit with Henry B. Garlock, the AG field secretary for Africa. Later that day, the Liberian missionaries took them to visit the Firestone Plantations, which everyone enjoyed.
Leaving Roberts Field in the afternoon, they added seven more passengers to the plane. After leaving the airport, they traveled through a storm. “The ship was tossed about and for a moment fear came to my heart,” said Crane. But then she remembered the many safety devices on the plane and remembered that “hundreds of people all over the world were praying for our safety.” It took 10 hours and 40 minutes to cross the Atlantic from Roberts Field to Natal, Brazil.
Crane reported that the longest stretch of the journey went from Natal to Trinidad, which took 12 hours and 40 minutes. They stayed there only long enough to eat and refuel before taking off again for St. Petersburg, Florida. They flew all night — 10 hours. Then it was a thrill to reach American soil again. The missionaries were able to stay about 24 hours at the Pinellas Park Home where they had food and sleeping quarters.
The final leg of the journey went from St. Petersburg to Springfield, Missouri, in 5 hours and 20 minutes. A large crowd was at the Springfield airport to welcome the missionaries and the staff on board the plane. Crane shared that it was a wonderful feeling to be home at last.
This was one of the first trips made by the new Ambassador II airplane, and it gives an indication of the dangers and setbacks that had to be overcome with each flight. It took planning to map out each of these destinations in order to pick up AG missionaries needing to return home, and to make adjustments when the schedule had to be changed. It was a blessing to the missionaries that they had food and sleeping accommodations already arranged for them at each destination. The plane kept a busy schedule. In the first year of operation, the Ambassador II visited 38 countries.
The transoceanic flights of the two Ambassador airplanes lasted about three years. In July 1951, the Executive Presbytery approved the sale of Ambassador II because commercial flights were becoming more common."
https://news.ag.org/en/Features/This-We ... ay-13-1950
Nicknames
San Miguel, Ambassador II, Chateau De Verneuil
Production block number
B-17G-95-DL
Manufacturer
Douglas
Markings and paint scheme/livery
In service with Transocean Air Lines (1947-1949): Overall in natural metal finish; with 'San Miguel' on starboard nose, painted in Gothic black script and red 'S' and 'M' (as per San Miguel lager branding); with red, white and blue bands on tips of propellers.
In service with Assemblies of God (1949-1952): Overall in natural metal finish with paint applied to nose section, upper fuselage, and in a bar across vertical tail fin; with 'Ambassador II' painted on starboard nose; with civil registration number 'N68269', Assemblies of God's winged cross logo and a US Flag decal on vertical tail fin.
Current livery (2011-date): Overall painted in olive drab and neutral grey finish; with US Army Air Force (USAAF) national insignia (September 1943 pattern) painted in white and blue on fuselage and port wing; with Radio call number painted in yellow and 'Square C' (96th Bomb Group) high visibility tactical markings painted in blue and off-white on vertical tail fin.
28 May 1945 - Delivered from the Douglas Aircraft Company - Long Beach, California.
31 May 1945 - Received by the Maintenance Division, Syracuse Army Air Base, New York - placed into storage having flown 20hrs 25mins.
2 Nov 1945 - A further 35mins were flown before the aircraft was dropped from the USAAF inventory by transfer to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Altus AAF Oklahoma.
17 Feb 1947- Sold to Industrialist Colonel Andres Soriano for $13,750 on behalf of Transocean Air Lines
21 Feb 1947- Sent to Altus and accepted by Captain Samuel L Wilson
22 May 1947 - Registered to Transocean Air Lines of Oakland Municipal Airport, California as NL68269. Fitted with a seven seat lounge in the nose position, toilet, buffet with drinks cabinet, refrigerator and office. Extra fuel tanks were installed in the bomb bay and new autopilot fitted. Used exclusively for Andres Soriano on regular flights between Oakland and Manila, and on one occasion a round the world trip from San Francisco (Oakland) -
Honolulu-Wake Island-Guam-Manila-Bangkok-New Delhi-Karachi-Cairo-Rome-Bordeaux-Paris-Bordeaux- Shannon- Keflavik-Gander-New York-Oakland.
14 Oct 1949 - Purchased by General Council of the Assemblies of God Inc, Springfield, Missouri.
28 Oct 1949 - Registered to the Assemblies of God and renamed Ambassador II. (replacing Ambassador I, a Curtiss C46 Commando, having longer range and greater four engine capacity) Flew missionaries to South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The nose eventually carried names of 38 countries which Ambassador II had visited in its first year of operation.
20 July 1951 - A bill of sale to Albert J Leeward. The sale was forced by increased insurance costs caused by the Korean War and other trouble spots. Regular scheduled airline services were also improving by this time.
1952 - Sold to the office of the Air Attache French Government in Washington
30 Dec 1952 - Received by Institute Geographique Nationale in Creil near Paris, France with 1475 airframe hours. Converted for aerial survey work.
18 Feb 1972 - Grounded at Creil after flying 6808 hrs and 40mins and cannibalised for spare parts to keep other B-17s flying.
20 Nov 1973 - Offered for sale without engines, instruments or radios for 30,000 Francs (£2,860)
May 1975 - Purchased by Euroworld Ltd together with an airworthy B-17 and sent to Duxford airfield.
January 1978 - Purchased by Imperial War Museum (IWM) and underwent major re-conversion and conservation to return the aircraft to its wartime configuration and painted to represent a B-17G Flying Fortress 42-31983 nicknamed "Mary Alice".
September 2012- After a 16-month conservation project by IWM which was supported by Mr John F Bookout on behalf of the 96th Bomb Group. The aircraft was repainted to carry the tail markings and number of a B-17G of the 96th Bomb Group.
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/17081
B-17G-95-DL 44-83735 was used to fly missionaries around the world when commercial travel was rebuilding after the war. Ambassador II flew to 38 countries.
B-17G-95-DL 44-83735 currently at The American Air Museum - Duxford
"Following World War II, commercial flights were not readily available, so World Missions Director Noel Perkin located two surplus army planes and converted them to missionary planes. With help from young people and Speed the Light, the Assemblies of God first bought a C-46 cargo plane for only $5,000. Another $15,000 went into the conversion for civilian passenger service. It was called the Ambassador.
It was an exciting day in August 1948 when the big twin-engine Ambassador, loaded with missionaries and with WWII veterans at the controls, lifted off from the Springfield, Missouri, airport and headed toward the East Coast and eventually to Africa. It took 10 days for the Ambassador to reach Africa on its first flight. This was still much faster than traveling by boat.
After a little over a year of missionary flights, and some domestic flights, World Missions sold the Ambassador, and replaced it with a four-engine B-17 bomber, which was also converted to passenger service. Named Ambassador II, it carried fewer passengers, but the four engines — as opposed to only two on the C-46 — made it a safer plane for crossing oceans and mountains.
For two more years the converted bomber Ambassador II transported missionaries to faraway exotic places. By that time, commercial airlines were able to provide satisfactory overseas service, and the plane was sold.
Seventy years ago, the Pentecostal Evangel gave an account of the Ambassador II airplane on a return trip from Africa back to the United States.
Missionary Irene Crane reported that she left her mission station in Nigeria on Dec. 29, 1949, and traveled to the eastern side of the Niger River to join missionaries May Garner and Elsie Weber who also were traveling back to the U.S. from Nigeria.
These lady missionaries took a local flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos, and then after obtaining visas, they flew to Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana), to meet up with the flight crew of the Ambassador II, including flight director Robert T. McGlasson. After some delays, the group left Accra on Jan. 23, but had to return back after a report of heavy evening ground fog in Ouagadougou, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), which was their intended destination. After spending the night in a hotel at the airport, the plane left early the next morning for the three-hour flight to Ouagadougou.
Upon their arrival, the local missionaries happily greeted them. A number of them had traveled quite a distance to welcome them. They soon found out that five ducks had been prepared the night before for a feast, so everyone had been disappointed when the plane did not arrive on schedule and was delayed another day. Two more missionaries, Mabel M. Schaefer and Henry I. Dahlberg, boarded the plane in Ouagadougou, and the next stop was Roberts Field, Liberia. “It took us around four hours to reach the airport there,” said Crane. “The going was rough all the way because of the hot air currents.”
The group stayed in army barracks at Roberts Field on a Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning they had a nice visit with Henry B. Garlock, the AG field secretary for Africa. Later that day, the Liberian missionaries took them to visit the Firestone Plantations, which everyone enjoyed.
Leaving Roberts Field in the afternoon, they added seven more passengers to the plane. After leaving the airport, they traveled through a storm. “The ship was tossed about and for a moment fear came to my heart,” said Crane. But then she remembered the many safety devices on the plane and remembered that “hundreds of people all over the world were praying for our safety.” It took 10 hours and 40 minutes to cross the Atlantic from Roberts Field to Natal, Brazil.
Crane reported that the longest stretch of the journey went from Natal to Trinidad, which took 12 hours and 40 minutes. They stayed there only long enough to eat and refuel before taking off again for St. Petersburg, Florida. They flew all night — 10 hours. Then it was a thrill to reach American soil again. The missionaries were able to stay about 24 hours at the Pinellas Park Home where they had food and sleeping quarters.
The final leg of the journey went from St. Petersburg to Springfield, Missouri, in 5 hours and 20 minutes. A large crowd was at the Springfield airport to welcome the missionaries and the staff on board the plane. Crane shared that it was a wonderful feeling to be home at last.
This was one of the first trips made by the new Ambassador II airplane, and it gives an indication of the dangers and setbacks that had to be overcome with each flight. It took planning to map out each of these destinations in order to pick up AG missionaries needing to return home, and to make adjustments when the schedule had to be changed. It was a blessing to the missionaries that they had food and sleeping accommodations already arranged for them at each destination. The plane kept a busy schedule. In the first year of operation, the Ambassador II visited 38 countries.
The transoceanic flights of the two Ambassador airplanes lasted about three years. In July 1951, the Executive Presbytery approved the sale of Ambassador II because commercial flights were becoming more common."
https://news.ag.org/en/Features/This-We ... ay-13-1950
Nicknames
San Miguel, Ambassador II, Chateau De Verneuil
Production block number
B-17G-95-DL
Manufacturer
Douglas
Markings and paint scheme/livery
In service with Transocean Air Lines (1947-1949): Overall in natural metal finish; with 'San Miguel' on starboard nose, painted in Gothic black script and red 'S' and 'M' (as per San Miguel lager branding); with red, white and blue bands on tips of propellers.
In service with Assemblies of God (1949-1952): Overall in natural metal finish with paint applied to nose section, upper fuselage, and in a bar across vertical tail fin; with 'Ambassador II' painted on starboard nose; with civil registration number 'N68269', Assemblies of God's winged cross logo and a US Flag decal on vertical tail fin.
Current livery (2011-date): Overall painted in olive drab and neutral grey finish; with US Army Air Force (USAAF) national insignia (September 1943 pattern) painted in white and blue on fuselage and port wing; with Radio call number painted in yellow and 'Square C' (96th Bomb Group) high visibility tactical markings painted in blue and off-white on vertical tail fin.
28 May 1945 - Delivered from the Douglas Aircraft Company - Long Beach, California.
31 May 1945 - Received by the Maintenance Division, Syracuse Army Air Base, New York - placed into storage having flown 20hrs 25mins.
2 Nov 1945 - A further 35mins were flown before the aircraft was dropped from the USAAF inventory by transfer to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Altus AAF Oklahoma.
17 Feb 1947- Sold to Industrialist Colonel Andres Soriano for $13,750 on behalf of Transocean Air Lines
21 Feb 1947- Sent to Altus and accepted by Captain Samuel L Wilson
22 May 1947 - Registered to Transocean Air Lines of Oakland Municipal Airport, California as NL68269. Fitted with a seven seat lounge in the nose position, toilet, buffet with drinks cabinet, refrigerator and office. Extra fuel tanks were installed in the bomb bay and new autopilot fitted. Used exclusively for Andres Soriano on regular flights between Oakland and Manila, and on one occasion a round the world trip from San Francisco (Oakland) -
Honolulu-Wake Island-Guam-Manila-Bangkok-New Delhi-Karachi-Cairo-Rome-Bordeaux-Paris-Bordeaux- Shannon- Keflavik-Gander-New York-Oakland.
14 Oct 1949 - Purchased by General Council of the Assemblies of God Inc, Springfield, Missouri.
28 Oct 1949 - Registered to the Assemblies of God and renamed Ambassador II. (replacing Ambassador I, a Curtiss C46 Commando, having longer range and greater four engine capacity) Flew missionaries to South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The nose eventually carried names of 38 countries which Ambassador II had visited in its first year of operation.
20 July 1951 - A bill of sale to Albert J Leeward. The sale was forced by increased insurance costs caused by the Korean War and other trouble spots. Regular scheduled airline services were also improving by this time.
1952 - Sold to the office of the Air Attache French Government in Washington
30 Dec 1952 - Received by Institute Geographique Nationale in Creil near Paris, France with 1475 airframe hours. Converted for aerial survey work.
18 Feb 1972 - Grounded at Creil after flying 6808 hrs and 40mins and cannibalised for spare parts to keep other B-17s flying.
20 Nov 1973 - Offered for sale without engines, instruments or radios for 30,000 Francs (£2,860)
May 1975 - Purchased by Euroworld Ltd together with an airworthy B-17 and sent to Duxford airfield.
January 1978 - Purchased by Imperial War Museum (IWM) and underwent major re-conversion and conservation to return the aircraft to its wartime configuration and painted to represent a B-17G Flying Fortress 42-31983 nicknamed "Mary Alice".
September 2012- After a 16-month conservation project by IWM which was supported by Mr John F Bookout on behalf of the 96th Bomb Group. The aircraft was repainted to carry the tail markings and number of a B-17G of the 96th Bomb Group.
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/17081
B-17G-95-DL 44-83735 was used to fly missionaries around the world when commercial travel was rebuilding after the war. Ambassador II flew to 38 countries.
B-17G-95-DL 44-83735 currently at The American Air Museum - Duxford
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Mon Jun 15, 2020 4:54 pm
I've had the pleasure of seeing her many times at Duxford.
She is particularly nice since her most recent makeover.
She is particularly nice since her most recent makeover.
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:58 am
Thank you for posting Mark. Neat story.
Any pictures of her interior while in missionary support? That 7 passenger nose compartment would be interesting. A good place to watch the ground go by....
Any pictures of her interior while in missionary support? That 7 passenger nose compartment would be interesting. A good place to watch the ground go by....
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Wed Jun 17, 2020 4:11 pm
A little bit of history on that airframe at this link
http://flyingfortress.canalblog.com/arc ... 17517.html
http://flyingfortress.canalblog.com/arc ... 17517.html
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Thu Jun 18, 2020 12:56 am
Okay, we have missionaries owning a Flying Fortress.
Must have been inspired by the hymn...
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Anyone else willing to admit changing the lyrics in church to "...Flying Fortress..."?
Okay, maybe just me.
Must have been inspired by the hymn...
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Anyone else willing to admit changing the lyrics in church to "...Flying Fortress..."?
Okay, maybe just me.
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:34 am
JohnB wrote:Okay, we have missionaries owning a Flying Fortress.
Must have been inspired by the hymn...
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Anyone else willing to admit changing the lyrics in church to "...Flying Fortress..."?
Okay, maybe just me.
Followed by a rendition of "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:26 am
what colors were the dark sections, pin stripes (nacelles) and the tail art?
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:19 pm
If memory serves the trim was red, then a cream or gold colored pin stripe followed by a red pin stripe.
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:39 am
thank you!
Re: "God's Flying Fortress" ...
Fri Jun 19, 2020 3:11 pm
Shawn M wrote:thank you!
My pleasure but just one caveat. It occurs to me that the only color picture I have seen very well could have been colorized, thus you will have to take it for what it's worth.