Warbird Information Exchange

The State Armory bar here in Greeley, CO. has just been sold and closed. The bar has part of a B-17 fuselage hanging in it. The ball turret was recently sold (to the Desert Rat group I believe). I don't know if there is anything else salvageable in the fuselage, but now would be a good time to try to get anything. From the article I read in the local paper, the new owners have no intentions of running the bar/restaurant. They just wanted the building. These pictures are of low quality as I took them several years ago with an old digital camera.




http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse. ... id=1805680

Anybody know how to contact them?

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

The place is called the 'State Armory' and the B-17 fuselage was the one used in the TV show '12 o'clock High' ...hope the fuselage gets used in a restoration project...there were some outer wing panels jury rigged to look like the planes wings (either from a twin Beech or DC-3 I believe) and a couple of windows upstairs that were some type of cockpit canopies, looked like off of a P-47 or maybe F-86...probably other trinkets in there too....will dig thru my pics when I get home and see what I can find....

Never even knew the place closed, but have'nt been there in a few years, either...

M

_________________
Mark Morris

The bar just closed in the last week or so. Supposedly the fuselage used in the tv show 12 O'clock high is not the same one that is in the bar. But I've heard different from others. The new owners of the bar are Thomas & Tyler LLC.

The fuselage may have been used as a studio prop for TV's "Twelve O'Clock High" though good luck trying to prove that. Movie studios seem to have had a number of B-17 cockpits and/or interior sets to use, so if the fuselage came to Colorado from 20th Century Fox maybe that could help confirm its origin. The B-17s used for the filming at Chino have been identified and are located elsewhere, so it would have had to have been a studio set.

I live here in Greeley, i'll do some poking and prodding to see if I can locate the new owners, and see what they are going to do with all the "stuff" in there. Perhaps if I get to them soon enough, I can get some prices for their warbird stuff and get it posted on here. Perhaps a WIX garage sale...

-Dennis S.
Greeley, CO

_________________
"We must bond together and fight as brothers or we will all die as fools."

Aerovin,

I was curious to know if this fuselage really is a B-17 'F' model as stated on your website? The identity of this plane is unknown, and the only pictures I've seen are too blurry to distinguish the window placements in the nose. Anyone have any better pics?

I believe the ball turret was sold to the group restoring the B-17 in Urbana, OH.

John

[qoute="jpeters"]I believe the ball turret was sold to the group restoring the B-17 in Urbana, OH.

John[/quote]

You mean this one? As shown on their website: http://www.b17project.com



Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

Just sent an e-mail to the group leader for Thomas and Tyler, I will keep you guys posted on any replies.

-Dennis S.
Greeley, CO

_________________
"We must bond together and fight as brothers or we will all die as fools."

You mean this one? As shown on their website: http://www.b17project.com
It's listed in their July album so I would assume that they had it since atleast then.



Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

Shay,

I'm not sure if this is the one or not. I called both of the gentleman running the restoration in Urbana about the ball turret and they weren't very forthcoming on information about the ball turret and it's origins. I'm just basing this off of what others have told me.

John

That's an error on my page made during formatting. I don't know if it is a B-17F. Ooops.

The group in Urbana has a ball turret on a pallet in several small pieces. I spent a good part of a day at thier facility and I don't remember seeing the hanging turret...but then again, I didn't really look up. Funny what you can miss.

JimH