Was the last B-17 mission in 1962?

[FlyingFortB17]

http://bss.sfsu.edu/fischer/IR%20360/Readings/Skyhook.htm

To save you some time, basically the story is about Operation Coldfeet - a secret CIA mission over Russia.

28 May 1962 In Operation Coldfeet, Maj. James Smith, USAF and Lt. Leonard A. LeSchack, USNR parachuted from CIA B-17G N809Z (44-83785 c/n2426) into the abandoned Soviet arctic ice station NP 8. After searching the station, they were retrieved using a Fulton Skyhook system installed on the B-17, piloted by Connie Seigrist and Douglas Price, on June 1st.

I was curious to know if anyone could point out a later date in which a B-17 was involved in action.

[Ztex]

I thought there were some sort of B-17 missions in South East Asia in the mid 60's. Seems like I read that somewhere....and I remember seeing a photo of a black painted B-17 along with the story..Air Forces magazine? @ 20 years ago...?


Z

Last edited by Ztex on Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

[FlyingFortB17]

I thought there were some sort of B-17 missions in South East Asia in the mid 60's...

I know B-17s were used as VIP transports early in the Vietnam War, but as far as flying actual missions I am uncertain.

[Ztex]

More...What did the Evergreen bird do between the time it was in Thunderball , 1965 and when it was firebombing in 1969?

I found this little thing on-line. It talks about 3 B-17's being shot down over China @ 1959 while being flown by Taiwan...I've never heard that before!
Cool
It has the photo if the black B-17 I was talking about
http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/speccoll/Leeker/b17.pdf

[FlyingFortB17]

Good find!

[King]

I've got several analysis reports in our archives that discuss several different ways to perform this pick-up procedure, including the example above. Most of the reports are dated late 40s through later 50s.

One of the really interesting tests, that was used succesfully, was to have the pick-up person standing with harness in a open field and the retreiving aircraft comes in and begins to orbit over him. A weighted line is dropped down and naturally settles to the center of the orbit. The pick-up person grabs the line and hooks in and then the aircraft leaves it orbiting pattern pulling the pick-up peron into the air and then he is winched in.

[gilt]

King-

If not the originator Nate Saint probably was the first to put the stationary bucket on the end of a rope procedure to use, his name was rather well known in the post war era......................http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Saint

Tom-

[FlyingFortB17]

Can you imagine this thing scooping up a human?

[TEXANTOMCAT]

IIRC - watch the Bond movie Thunderball and it does just that!

TT

[Swiss Mustangs]

speaking about the Evergreen bird....

[aerovin]

The last non-drone USAF B-17G was retired in August 1959. The last USAF drone B-17 was destroyed, as far as I can determine, in 1960. The last USCG PB-1G was retired in October 1959. The last active USN PB-1W was, I believe, in 1955. Any post-1960 U.S. government operated B-17Gs were by the CIA or other non-military organizations.

[Swiss Mustangs]

question

the South East Asia contracts of Fairchild Aerial Surveys in the late 50's - were they also government assignments ?

here a photo of N66573 at Seno Airport Laos in 1957




http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17regis ... 02715.html

[Ztex]

This airplane's entry in the registry has always puzzled me.

There is a line in the registry Litigation filed for ownership, $10,000 payed to Federal Government to relinquish it's claim on the title. that is curious. Was this an ownership dipute from 1946 or did it have to do with the contractor status of the company and the airplane?


I also have always been curious about the crash and destruction of this airplane. Where in the heck is Cayuse Saddle (I've looked at USGS maps and can't seem to find it) Is the crash site still evident? What does the entry Mountain Flying Museum, Missoula, MT, 1998.
- Acquired parts. mean? does some of the aircraft remain?
Just questions...not meant to hijack the thread.

[JimH]

The last B-17 Mission has not yet been flown.

Jim Harley

[Nathan]