Controlled B-17 ditching

[hang the expense]

I'll bet it's not there at all.

Notice the cable harness midships around the wing and fuselage. I'll bet they moved in with a big crane and removed it to study the damage.

The cables are attached to the lifting rings under the fairings on the front and rear spars.I have seen the pic of the barge on scene to pick these aircraft up.B-17s were not bad to ditch where as the B-24 was nasty to ditch. There was a B-17 called lonesome polecat that was recovered out of a lake in Europe around 54 or so, It was scrapped in the early 70s.The fuselage forward of the front spar had broken off and was reattached for display. So I guess if you ditch it wrong you can tear a B-17 up as well.

[daviemax]

The B-17's ditched near Eglin AFB were damaged pretty severely and could not be reused. They were recovered from the water and taken to a hangar for evaluation. I've seen these photos but unfortunately do not have them in my possession yet (they are in the archives at NMUSAF - next trip there I will scan them). According to my records serials of QB-17G's ditched at Eglin were: 44-83338; 44-83507; 44-83513; 44-83528; and 44-85648. The only director controlling them (that is documented) is DB-17G 44-85752.