B-17G 44-83443 Weapons Testing

[mike furline]

B-17G 44-83443 undergoing weapons damage testing. This looks a lot like the final outcome of my Revell 1/48 scale B-17G from 50 years ago.

83443 (MSN 32084) Accepted by USAAF at Long Beach Field, CA 7Mar45.
Assigned to SOXO (United Kingdom). 6th Ferrying Group, Air Transport Command, Long Beach Field, CA 7Mar45.
Ferried Long Beach - Palm Springs, CA - El Paso, TX - Tulsa, OK - Savannah, GA 7/13Mar45
302nd Base Unit (Staging Wing), Hunter Field, Savannah, GA 5Mar45.
1377th Base Unit (North Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command), Grenier Field (Station 16),
Manchester, NH 19Mar45. Ferried overseas on the North Atlantic route departing Grenier Field 25Mar45.
Eighth Air Force, UK 27Mar45. Returned to US.
121st Base Unit (Redeployment Processing), Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, CT 7Jun45.
Ferried Bradley - Ypsilanti, MI - Lincoln, NB - Lubbock, TX 9/14Jun454168th Base Unit (Oklahoma City Air
Technical Service Command), South Plains Field, Lubbock, TX 14Jun45.
5th Ferrying Group, Love Field, Dallas, TX. Landing accident Andrews, MD 8Mar46.
613th Base Unit (Proving Ground Command), Phillips Field, Aberdeen, MD Mar46. Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Salvaged 11Mar46

Last edited by mike furline on Tue Jun 03, 2025 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[quemerford]

I'd always associated these images with Ravenna rather than Aberdeen and I'm sure I've seen a report on the (cannon fire?) testing done here. Any ideas?

[Chris Brame]

Several years later, on May 1st, 1952, 44-85697 got the same treatment:





Footage here: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/vide ... /540317458

[quemerford]

Nice one! Definitely Aberdeen then. And a bubble-top F-47 in the final frames too.