This B-17 Flying Fortress was named after Queen Elizabeth
During WWII, the naming of American bombers by their crews gave the aircraft a personal touch. Today, bombers like Command Decision, Memphis Belle, and Enola Gay have become famous for…
‘The Swoose’ is the oldest intact B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an icon of WWII. The aircraft served the U.S. Army Air Force from the beginning to the end of the war and is the…
This clever advertising doomed thousands of aviators
In the lead up to World War II, the U.S. Army Air Force had to make tough decisions on how to spend limited defense dollars. Decades of strict budgets after World War I left capabilities across the military underdeveloped, and the Air Forces decided…
These WWII bombers were converted into gunships
The idea of putting weapons on aircraft to strike ground targets is not a new one. Although the concept has culminated in the deadly AC-130 gunship today, it was employed…
These bomber pilots pulled a ‘Top Gun’ and buzzed the 1943 World Series
The 1986 classic Top Gun has put the idea of buzzing the air traffic control tower in the minds of many aviators. Such high-speed, low-altitude passes are extremely dangerous and…
Memphis Belle: The legendary B-17 flying fortress
The “Memphis Belle” a B-17F Flying Fortress of the Eighth Air Force would become the most famous of the 12,750 B-17s produced by Boeing during World War II. The plane…
This B-17 survived one of the most infamous mid-air collisions of WW2
There are many versions of All American’s journey — in some, the crew used “parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses” to keep the B-17 Flying Fortress together. In others, she hobbles home to England from battle in…
This WWII veteran evaded 4,000 enemy troops over 4 months
Some of our nation’s greatest treasures aren’t places, they are people. Leo LaCasse survived three crash landings and evaded 4,000 enemy troops during World War II. He now lives at a VA Community Living Center in Salem, Virginia. Here is his story…
The original ‘Memphis Belle’ is now restored and on display
The Memphis Belle has received a lot of attention over the years. In 1944, this Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber was the subject of a documentary, entitled Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, that followed an aircrew as …
How the legendary Memphis Belle was brought back to life
Through the cockpit windscreen, Capt. Robert Morgan saw flashes of light from the wings and engine cowling of a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 at his 12 o’clock and closing at an incredible rate. Each wink of light from the fighter’s wing root meant ano…