Memphis Belle

Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:29 am

The lastest edition of the Friends Journal published by the NMUSAF has an interesting update on the Memphis Belle. Apparently the aircraft is in worse shape than they expected. The museum director describes it as a "hollow shell" from years of being vandalized. Wire bundles were cut, corrosion is a problem, and there are numerous "inept repairs". It looks like (from the pictures) that the entire interior was oversprayed with green paint - everything! What a mess. Glad it found a good home.......

Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:34 am

and the job will most likely take 10 years to complete!

Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:22 pm

The same update mentions that the Beaufighter will go on display in the WW2 Gallery sometime this spring (this has been a long time in coming) and also sometime this spring the entire XC-99 will have been moved to Dayton.

Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:59 am

Looks like the Belle has become quite popular, again....

Found it here: http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4407973

Air Force Museum Expands Memphis Belle Tours
Jan 25, 2006, 08:02 AM CST

DAYTON, Ohio- So many people are interested in seeing the restoration of a famous World War Two bomber that the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, is expanding tours.

Free tours are normally offered once a month during the winter, but museum officials say the Memphis Belle is too popular for that.

First, museum officials doubled the winter schedule. Now they're going to offer tours every Friday, beginning February Third.

The Memphis Belle, one of the first World War Two bombers to complete 25 missions, was the subject of a wartime documentary and a 1990 Hollywood film.

The plane arrived at its restoration hangar in October. It had been on display in Memphis