prwest

I had no idea they were coming to the airport. Heard them on the CTAF just as I was about to shut down and snapped a few pics

Golden Bear

That's not the Memphis Bellle that used to be on static display at Mud Island in Memphis, is it?

I didn't think she was in flying condition. Sure didn't look like it when I saw her in the late 90s.

prwest

No idea...I heard that they were there to get some upholstery work done, and that the plane had just been refurbished.

UAL T38 Phlyer

It flew over me at NAS Pensacola two weekends ago as I was getting ready to start. I recognized the Buzz-letters and thought "That's the Belle...I didn't think it was flying!"

And: it isn't.

The Belle was A B-17F. This airplane was a B-17G (the most common type still around). It was modified to take out the chin turret and some other mods to make it look right for the Memphis Belle movie.

Still very cool to see. They were doing promo as they were hitting different airports around the southeast for rides (at $450 a pop). Saw a poster for it at Tallahassee that afternoon.

Convair5800

It's the one they used to film the movie

jsfBoat

This is NOT the real "Belle" but the one used in the movie. It was delivered to the AF in 1945 and converted to a transport version, and spent a few times in storage. In 1959 the Air Force sold her out of Davis-Monthan AFB to a metal company. It was again sold after that to another company where it was converted to a water bomber and became Tanker 78. It operated this way until 1982 when she was sold to The Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation (MARC) and converted to a -F model with the removal of the chin turret and cheek windows to resemble the "Belle". A few years later she went across the Atlantic to participate in the filming of the movie. The real "Memphis Belle" is currently being restored at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton Ohio. The museum offers tours of the restoration facility if you want to go there and see it.

Sorry for the rambling, but history and warbirds are my thing. Spend a lot of time reading about this stuff.

prwest

Too bad I cannot edit the original post

LastTraintoMEM

You want to see what happened to the REAL Belle? Check out my doc I did a couple of years back!

The Memphis Belle - The Final Chapter in Memphis (entire version) - YouTube

chrisreedrules

That thing was at VQQ (Jacksonville) last week I think and I would of gone to see it had I known. I usually go see the Collings Foundation's B-17 and B-24 when they come around and I flew on the "Liberty Belle" before it burned up in that emergency landing (RIP). I got to fly in the FE's seat the whole time, that was a great ride. I'd still like to fly on the B-24 before they stop letting it fly anymore. That will be a goal of mine next year.

LastTraintoMEM

I was a bit vague above. Here is the synopsis for the documentary. Enjoy! I got to crawl all around that old bird. The biggest shame, the Air Force was going to replace all the original sheet metal and make it like a new plane. There where patch marks from Luftwaffe bullets and flak that will be lost forever. The volunteers in Memphis were going to restore the Belle as original as possible to preserve the history.

For almost 60 years the B-17 bomber, the Memphis Belle, called Memphis, Tennessee home. In Oct. 2005, The U.S. Air Force removed one of the most famous aircraft in the world from the possession of the City of Memphis because of the lack of public support. This is the story of 60 years of neglect, apathy and disinterest by the City of Memphis to one of it's most important icons. A documentary film that focuses on the history of the Belle in Memphis and emphasizes the final days and the volunteers who tried to keep another Memphis icon from disappearing.
Nominated for best documentary at the 2008 BBIFF - WINNER 2nd Place.