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B-17G Flying Fortress "Memphis Belle" Model AirplaneBuy Today!
Memphis Belle, B17F Flying Fortress model aircraft Features, Benefits, Dimensions: *Used by the United States Army Air Force. *B-17F model aircraft is hand carved and hand finished. *All details are hand painted, no decals are used. *Prop driven bomber *Made of solid kiln dried mahogany. *Colors - Olive, yellow, black and white colors. *Length: 14 1/2" *Wingspan: 19" *Scale: 1:65 Includes desk stand. Army - Circa 1935-1945 The Memphis Belle Airplane Article: The Memphis Belle has got to be hands down the most famous B-17 Flying Fortress bomber out there. This great plane inspired two motion pictures a documentary film Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress in 1944 and the Hollywood feature film in 1990 Memphis Belle. It was the first heavy bomber to complete 25 successful missions over Europe. In 1943 the Army Air Force decided that the tour of duty for bombers was 25 missions. The reason this was decided is that the physical stress of being exposed to high altitude in poorly heated, unpressurized aircraft, not to mention the psychological stress of aerial combat. Early statistics showed that the average life expectancy of a bomber crew member was 8-12 missions. So in layman’s terms a bomber crewman had only a 30-50% chance of completing his tour of duty. This remarkable bomber was named after the pilot Robert K. Morgan’s sweetheart, Margret Polk, who lived in Memphis, Tennessee. Morgan initially wanted to name the plane Little One after his pet name for Margaret. But his crew saw the movie Lady for A Night and the main character had a riverboat named Memphis Belle. This name also fit Morgan’s wishes, so he chose it instead. Tony Starcer painted this famous Petty girl nose art as it appeared in the April 1941 issue of Esquire magazine. After the war the Memphis Belle was saved from reclamation at Altus, Oklahoma, where it remained consigned until August 1, 1945. The mayor of Memphis bought the plane for $350 and it was flown to Memphis in July of 1946 and was stored. In 1949 it was put on display at the National Guard armory and sat outside into the 1980’s. Sadly, this wonderful piece of American history started to deteriorate due to weather and was subject to some vandalism. The Belle was passed from organization to organization until October of 2005 when she reached her finally resting place at the National Museum of the United State Air Force. Unfortunately, the Belle sat outside unattended and more vandals and souvenir hunters took almost all the interior components. There were no instruments in the cockpit, and almost every piece of the aircraft’s interior had been scavenged. Thankfully, the Memphis Belle Memorial Association was able to replace all the removed items from the plane. The museum is now trying to restore this National Historic Treasure back to her full glory; they estimate it will take 8 to 10 years to do so. If you wish to see this amazing plane you can visit her at the National Museum of the United States Air Force which is located near Dayton, Ohio. In order to see the Belle you have to request a “behind the scenes tour” You do need to register before hand. If you wish to make reservations you can call 937-255-3286 ext 302. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Belle_%28B-17%29 http://www.memphisbelle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=24 http://www.memphisbelle.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
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