Warbird Information Exchange

Looks like the Belle is headed to the USAFM. I think a good move to protect this artifact.


B17's move to Ohio termed 'like the loss of a landmark'
BY: Clay Bailey, commercialappeal.com
08/31/2005


Efforts to keep the Memphis Belle in the Bluff City have ground to a halt.

Local supporters said Tuesday they're surrendering their hopes of building a permanent structure for the famous bomber and will return the craft to the Air Force.

That will mean moving the World War II B17 Flying Fortress to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, Andy Pouncey, president of the Memphis Belle Memorial Association, said.

Pouncey said the move could come as early as October. The last appearance for the Belle, which is in parts in a Millington hangar, will be at the Mid-South Airshow Oct. 1-2.

"To the community, it's like the loss of a landmark," Pouncey said. "This plane is a landmark in time for folks.

"... It won't be forgotten, but now, it's gone."

The Belle was famous for being the first B17 Flying Fortress to complete 25 bombings runs over Europe while keeping its crew intact.

The late Col. Robert Morgan piloted the bomber and named the Belle after his wartime girlfriend, Margaret Polk of Memphis. The airplane came to the city in 1946 after local leaders resurrected it from an Altus, Okla., "bone yard."

"There were Memphians on both sides of this issue (of moving it), and we thought the community should have time to hold a real discussion on the Memphis Belle's future," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., whose district includes parts of eastern Shelby County.

Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., said he had worked with local, state and federal officials to try to keep the Belle in Memphis and is "saddened" that the airplane will be leaving the city after almost 60 years.

"This historical treasure meant a lot to Memphis," Ford said, "and I trust that it will continue to be preserved and revered by the United States Air Force."

Pouncey said after the hours of volunteer work put into the Belle by supporters, mechanics, history buffs and citizens, the move is "an emotional loss."

"We know it is going to a place where it will be well taken care of and a place where more people can see it," Pouncey said.

--Clay Bailey: 529-2393

Staff reporter Bart Sullivan contributed to this story.

With the Belle going to Dayton, I worry/wonder about the "Shoo Shoo Baby"'s fate.
I hope it doesn't get shuffeled off to some second/third rate museum like the NMUSAF did with their B-47E when the RB-47 was restored and put on display. Today the Stratojet a rare plane ang they put it in a little known Ohio museum (presumable because it was close) rather than putting it where people might actually see it. At least it's under cover.
Still, I wish it found a better home.

Also, I'd hate for the "SSB" to end up at a base museum...probably outdoors and left to typical airbase haphazard preservation standards (being repainted in water based paints for environmental concerns usually in unauthentic paint schemes) and lots of birds.

Hopefully the "Baby" will go to the NASM for display. It's a crime they don't have one restored and on display. Lord knows they have lots of other stuff...Concord...check, Boeing 307....check, Do335...check,...but still no B-17, arguably the most famous American bomber ever.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Which Ohio museum did the B-47 go to? I'd love to go see it!

It was supposed to be going to the MAPS in Akron, but according to posts on the OTHER WIE thread about the Memphis Belle, the
B-47 is still at Dayton.

So I'll admit I don't know what's going to happen to the B-47E.
maybe it should go to the NASM...as an example of the first swept wing jet bomber in service. It's a very historic design....compared to the Canberra and earlier US jet bombers (B-45), aerodynamically the Stratojet makes them look like warmed over WWII designs.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.