Visitors to the
Palm Springs Air Museum might see this fighter aircraft located outside on the tarmac. Near this static aircraft is a placard that reads:
B-17G High Altitude Long Range Heavy Bomber
PRIME MANUFACTURER: Boeing Airplane Co., Seattle, Washington
License: Lockheed Vega Aircraft Corp., Burbank, California and Douglas Aircraft Co., Tulsa, Oklahoma. First flight was on July 28, 1935. First delivery was in January 1937. Final delivery was in April 1945. 12,732 B-17s were built.
MAJOR ENGAGEMENT
The B-17 operated in all theaters of World War II. It was used by the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the British R.A.F.
In the Pacific it was successful in helping to secure New Guinea. Its the greatest success was with the Eighth Air Force in Europe. The Eight flew out of Great Britain over the European Continent with its targets mainly being Germany's aircraft factories, oil refineries and railroads marshalling yards. Anything that was responsible for Germany's ability to wage war was bombed. Major targets were the Messershmitt factory in Regensberg, ball bearing factory in Schweinfurt and factories in Stuttgart.
HISTORY OF THE B-17 AT THE PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM
Our B-17, Miss Angela, is a B-17G-105VE. The VE signifies that it was built by Lockheed Vega at its Burbank, California plant. It was used by the Caribbean Air Command, Sixth Air Force. It was also flown by the U.S. Army Air Force and the U.S. Air Force in Brazil. It served for more than twenty years as a civilian Forestry Service fire bomber. Its markings are of the 34th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, 1945. It was part of the original Robert J. Pond Collection of fourteen aircraft, which are being purchased from the Pond Family by the Museum, through generous donations of Members and Friends of the Palm Springs Air Museum. This will assure that these aircraft remain in the Palm Springs Air Museum Collection.
Clicking this link will go to a web page that lists this former bomber along with additional info about its rich history.
On July 16, 1935, the first B-17, the Boeing model 299, was rolled out for public viewing. An editor from the Seattle Daily Times, Richard L. Williams, upon viewing photos of the aircraft, captioned the photos with the words 'Flying Fortress', the name stuck. The Boeing engineers, in order to give the B-17 the maximum possible range, gave the aircraft a relatively small bomb-bay to save weight for larger fuel tanks. At maximum output, Boeing's Seattle plant built 16 B-17s a day. A total of 12,731 B-17s were built. B-17s flew a total of 291,508 sorties. 8th AF B-17s dropped 640,036 tons of bombs. Nearly 40% (over 5000 aircraft) of all B-17s built were lost in action. More B-17Gs were built (*,680) than any other single mark of bomber. The last B-17 in U.S. military service, a QB-17 drone, was destroyed in 1960 by a Boeing Bomarc missile. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, only 12 still fly. A brand new B-17 cost $202,500. Today, a well-restored, flyable B-17 is worth $2,025,000.
*NOTE* I was told by volunteer staff that many planes and historical items (like this display) often move around inside the hangers and outside on the tarmac, BUT they always stay within the museum, unless they are part of a visiting exhibition. Waymarkers should keep this in mind when searching for a particular waymark that I or someone else has posted on Waymarking.com. If, by chance, you cannot locate a particular waymark within the museum, please let me know and I'll contact the staff and inquire to its whereabouts. Thanks.