The "Flying Fortress" bomber built by Boeing is one of the most famous airplanes ever made. The
prototype of the B-17 first flew on July 28, 1935. Few B-17's were in service on December 7,
1941, but production quickly accelerated. The aircraft served in every WW II
combat zone, but is best known for daylight strategic bombing of German
industrial targets. Production ended in May 1945 and totaled 12,726.
Flown by Maj. Paul Tibbets. Red Gremlin was not piloted by Tibbets on the first mission over Europe, but he did fly the majority of his European missions in this aircraft. During planning for Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa, Tibbets was tapped to fly Generals Dwight Eisenhower and Mark Clark to Gibralter and Algiers. During these flights, Eisenhower – the future president of the United States – sat on a 2x4 board between Tibbets and his co-pilot. Theodore Van Kirk, navigator, and Thomas Ferebee, bombardier, would later join Tibbets in the 509th Composite Group on the crew of the Enola Gay.
Source and Links:
U.S.A.F. Museum
Wikipedia
Liberty Foundation's Liberty Belle
Official site of the 303rd "Hell's Angels" Bomb Group
Fully assembled, Handcrafted Model Airplane with Removable
Desk Stand.
(Scale: 1/62, Length: 14.3", Wing Span: 19.9")
)
