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Boeing B-17F-10-BO Flying Fortress Serial 41-24485, The Memphis Belle, 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group

Memphis Belle was the nickname of a B-17F Flying Fortress during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film: Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress and a 1990 Hollywood feature film: Memphis Belle. In May 1943 it became the first U.S. Army Air Forces heavy bomber to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States ^[1]. The original airplane is undergoing extensive restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH.^[2]

The "Memphis Belle", a Boeing-built B-17F-10-BO, serial 41-24485, was added to the USAAF inventory on July 15, 1942, and delivered in September 1942 to the 91st Bomb Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. It deployed to Prestwick, Scotland, on September 30, 1942, and then to its permanent base at Bassingbourn, England, on October 14. Captain Robert Morgan's crew flew 25 combat missions with the 324th Bomb Squadron, all but four in the Memphis Belle:

Crew of the Memphis Belle.

The crew back from their 25th operational mission. All were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

• November 7, 1942 - Brest, France
• November 9, 1942 - St. Nazaire, France
• November 17, 1942 - St. Nazaire
• December 6, 942 - Lille, France
• December 20, 1942 - Romilly-sur-Seine, France
• January 3, 1943 - St. Nazaire
• January 13, 1943 - Lille
• January 23, 1943 - Lorient, France
• February 4, 1943 - Emden, Germany
• February 14, 1943 - Hamm, Germany
• February 16, 1943 - St. Nazaire
• February 26, 1943 - Wilhelmshaven, Germany
• February 27, 1943 - Brest
• March 6, 1943 - Lorient
• March 12, 1943 - Rouen, France
• March 13, 1943 - Abbeville, France
• March 22, 1943 - Wilhemshaven
• March 28, 1943 - Rouen
• April 5, 1943 - Antwerp, Belgium
• April 16, 1943 - Lorient
• April 17, 1943 - Bremen, Germany
• 1 May 1943 - St. Nazaire
• May 4, 1943 - Antwerp
• May 15, 1943 - Wilhelmshaven
• May 17, 1943 - Lorient

The Memphis Belle flew its 25th and last mission with a different crew on May 19, 1943, to Kiel, Germany. It was then flown back to the United States on June 8, 1943 by Morgan's crew for war bond tours.

The plane was named for pilot Robert K. Morgan's sweetheart, Margaret Polk. The famous Petty girl nose art was painted by the 91st's group artist Tony Starcer.

The Memphis Belle on a War Bond campaign at Patterson Field during World War II.

After the war the Flying Fortress was saved from reclamation at Altus, Oklahoma, where it had been consigned since August 1, 1945, by the efforts of the mayor of Memphis, Walter Chandler, and the city bought the plane for $350. It was flown to Memphis in July 1946 and stored until the summer of 1949 when it was placed on display at the National Guard armory. It sat out-of-doors into the 1980s, slowly deteriorating due to weather and occasional vandalism.

In the early 1970s, another mayor had donated the historic plane back to the Air Force, but they allowed it to remain in Memphis contingent on it being maintained. Efforts by the locally-organized Memphis Belle Memorial Association, Inc. (MBMA) saw the aircraft moved to Mud Island in the Mississippi River in 1987 for display in a new pavilion with roof cover. It was still open to the elements, however, and prone to weathering. Dissatisfaction with the site led to efforts to create a new museum facility in nearby Shelby County. In the summer of 2003 the Belle was disassembled and moved to a restoration facility in Millington, Tennessee for work. In September 2004, however, the National Museum of the United States Air Force, apparently tiring of the ups and downs of the city's attempts to preserve the aircraft, indicated that they wanted it back for restoration and eventual display at the museum near Dayton, Ohio.

On August 30, 2005, the MBMA announced that a consultant that they hired determined that the MBMA would not be able to raise enough money to restore the Belle and otherwise fulfill the Air Force's requirements to keep possession of the aircraft. They announced plans to return the aircraft to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio after a final exhibition in Millington, Tennessee on September 30 - October 2, 2005. The Belle arrived safely at the museum in mid-October 2005 and was placed in one of the Museum's restoration hangars.

While the aircraft sat outside unattended, vandals and souvenir hunters removed almost all of the interior components. No instruments were found in the cockpit, and virtually every removable piece of the aircraft's interior had been scavenged, often severing the aircraft's wiring and control cables in the process. Through the efforts of the Memphis Belle Memorial Association, almost all of the removed items were replaced and corrosion of the metal was stopped. In addition, a coat of zinc chromate primer had been liberally applied to the aircraft's interior and throughout the inside of its wings to prevent further corrosion. All of this was done by volunteers donating time and money to this effort. Were it not for the MBMA's efforts and dedication,the NMUSAF would have a far greater challenge in the restoration of this historic aircraft. The Museum has placed restoration of Memphis Belle near the top of its priorities. In the magazine Friends Journal of the museum's foundation, Major General Charles D. Metcalf (USAF-Ret.), the director of the museum, stated that it might take 8-10 years to fully restore the aircraft.

Memphis Belle during refurbishment in 2003.

After stripping the paint from the aft fuselage of the aircraft, hundreds of names and personal messages were found scratched in the aluminum skin. During the plane's war bond tour, people were allowed to leave their mark on this war-time hero.

There are unconfirmed reports that during the Memphis Belle's tour of the United States on a promotional program for the Air Force that while being piloted by Asheville Native Robert Morgan he flew the plane between the City Courthouse and the City Hall of Asheville, NC. The story states that Morgan and his crew, while on a promotional tour, were leaving the Asheville Regional Airport and decided that, being a town hero, he should give the people of Asheville something to remember and have a little fun in the process. Morgan piloted the plane low over the east side of Beaucatcher Mountain, nearly cutting grass as he cleared the mountain top, he then flew the plane down the backside of the mountain toward Downtown Asheville and doing a partial roll, flew the plane between the Asheville City Courthouse and the City hall (two tall buildings that are only about fifty feet apart). Morgan was admonished by his superiors, but the act was so impressive that no charges were ever filed.

The B-17 that portrayed Memphis Belle in the 1990 film at the Cleveland National Air Show in 2004. (Photo courtesy of Shawn Mariani of otchster.com)

A former firebomber B-17G-85-DL, serial 44-83546, registered N3703G, was converted into a B-17F configuration by removal of its chin turret for the 1990 fictionalized version of the Memphis Belle story and continues to make air show appearances in that guise. Originally painted with the Warner Bros. movie version of the nose art and markings, the B-17 (owned by David Tallichet) now carries the historic markings found on the actual Memphis Belle. It currently operates out of Floyd Bennett Field, New York.

• A Republic F-105D-10-RE Thunderchief (60-0504) from 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base during the Vietnam War was named Memphis Belle II in honor of the original B-17F. The aircraft claimed two MiG-17 kills in addition to numerous bombing missions. It is currently preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. It was donated in April 1990. Picture of Memphis Belle II

• A General Dynamics FB-111 (68-0267) was also nicknamed Memphis Belle II for a period during the 1980s. It is currently located at the Strategic Air and Space Museum. Picture of Memphis Belle II

• Two Boeing B-52 Stratofortress have carried the name 'Memphis Belle' B-52G (59-2594) was named Memphis Belle III and took part in the 1991 Gulf War It was sent to the AMARC in October, 1992, and the first B-52H (60-0001) was named Memphis Belle IV It is currently based at Barksdale Air Force Base, flying for the 2nd Bomb Wing and has seen action in both Iraq and Afghanastan. Picture of Memphis Belle IV

• A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter (67-0024) became the Memphis Belle V. It has recently been transferred to the AMARC inventory. Picture of Memphis Belle V

• A Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (69-0025) is named the Memphis Belle X. Picture of the Memphis Belle X

• Veterans' Museum (Halls, Tennessee)

• Bishop, Cliff T. Fortresses of the Big Triangle First. Bishops Stortford, UK: East Anglia Books, 1986, pp. 133, 135, and 233. ISBN 1-869987-00-4.
• Havelaar, Marion H., and Hess, William N. The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourn: The 91st Bombardment Group in World War II. Atglen: Schiffer, 1995, pp. 38-40, 211, 212. ISBN 0-88740-810-9.
• Freeman, Roger A., The Mighty Eighth War Diary, Jane's, London, 1990, pp. 36, 59. ISBN 0-87938-495-6
• Morgan, Col. Robert K., Ret., with Power, Ron. The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle. , New York: Dutton, 2001. ISBN 0-525-94610-1.
• 25 Missions - The Story of the Memphis Belle, published by the authority of the Commanding General, Army Air Forces - Training Aids Division, Army Air Forces, New York City, July 1943 - reprinted by the Memphis Belle Memorial Association, Inc., 1977.
• Thompson, Scott A. Final Cut - The Post-War B-17 Flying Fortress : The Survivors, Second edition. 2000. ISBN 1-57510-077-0.

• Website of the Memphis Belle Memorial Association (former custodian of the MB)
• Website of the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association Daily reports of the 324th Bomb Squadron can be viewed at this site detailing the history of plane and crew
• Memphis Belle page at National Museum of the United States Air Force
• Reproduction of the Nose Art Memphis Belle on a B-17G part and origin of this pin-up