Warbird Information Exchange

I was recently told about a B-17 that was apparently recovered from Eastern Canada (maybe the Maritimes) but the Canadian Government prevented the export of the airplane to the United States. From what I was told it was a similar case as the Connie going to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, but that the B-17 is still in crates in Ontario.

Sorry if it's all old news, but it's the first I've heard of it.

Does anyone know about this, or could this be confused with the B-24 that they were trying to recover from over there? And would this have been the B-17 44-83790?

Could somebody help me out?

Cheers,

David

44-83790 was recovered and is now in Douglas, Georgia, undergoing a long-term restoration. Sounds more like the B-24 story.

I remember hearing a story about ten years ago about a B-24D recovery from somewhere in the Maritimes. I think Weeks was backing the operation. The story said the wreck was crated and ready for shipment, but when the Canadian authorities got wind of it, they impounded the aircraft, citing a law forbiding the removal of historical artifacts from the country. I never heard anything more about it, but I would assumed the plane (or wreckage) is in storage somwhere.


SN

Considering that the National Aeronautical Collection in Canada already has a Liberator that can only be described as pristine, the B-24D in question really should be allowed to move on to the US where hopefully it could receive the kind of support and care required instead of moldering away in a crate in some warehouse - or worse. Sounds like some do-gooder, dimwit bureaucrat has his head up his a--.

Thanks for all the input. I wonder how someone would go about tracking down the airplane. I imagine that if it's still in storage, any museum in Canada would be more than happy to take it in. Hmmm....

Gotta love our Canadian government.... sigh... They all seem to be tangled in a big ball of red tape.

Cheers,

David

hey dave, there has been some fairly recent posts on this subject. have you tried doing a wix search yet? i believe that the b24 in newfoundland is really just the remains of a nose section that appears to be stored outside. the b17 is of course the labrador b17 project. try a google search on this and you should find a pretty good site on the recovery and dismantleing of this plane. if you cant find the site i should be able to dig a link up somewhere for you. there was also recently posted an article about a b24 that has recently been discovered at the bottom of a lake in newfoundland. this is supposedly in pretty good shape but it is in very deep water. most of this stuff has been listed in the last few months so you should be able to find it in the archives with a little digging around. hope this helps. sim.

This the one?:

www.b17labrador.com

yes, thats the one!