A legendary Second World War bomber is set to go on display for the first time after being restored at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Ohio.
The B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ known as Memphis Belle was introduced as the anchor of an extensive exhibit in the Dayton-area museum’s war gallery.
The Memphis Belle has spent the last dozen years or so undergoing a piece-by-piece rehabilitation, from the clear plastic nose cone down to the twin .50-caliber machine guns mounted in the tail.
The plane, known for its risque nose paintings featuring a pin-up girl, was celebrated for being the first bomber to survive 25 missions over occupied Europe and return to the US in 1943.
It was the subject of a 1944 documentary directed by William Wyler, wherein its final mission over northern Germany was charted.
The Memphis Belle also inspired the 1990 Hollywood feature film by the same name, starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz and Harry Connick Jr.
It became symbolic of the US air effort as Americans aided the British in pummeling German territory from above in mass bombing raids.
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Visitors gather for a private viewing of the Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress,’ at the National Museum of the US Air Force on Wednesday. The Memphis Belle has spent the last dozen years or so undergoing a piece-by-piece rehabilitation, from the clear plastic nose cone down to the twin .50-caliber machine guns mounted in the tail
The Memphis Belle was known for its risque nose paintings, which featured a pin-up girl, pictured, as well as its service record
The plane was celebrated for being the first bomber to survive 25 missions over occupied Europe and return to the US in 1943. Pictured: A man wearing a Memphis Belle jacket attends the opening ceremony in Dayton, Ohio
A scene from the 1944 propaganda film Memphis Belle featuring a squadron of American fighter planes is shown above
Crew members smile from inside the famous plane in the 1943 documentary following its last mission in World War II
In 1990 Hollywood detailed the plane’s extraordinary adventure in the feature film Memphis Belle starring Matthew Modine
Lt General Jacob Devers shakes hands with one of the crew of the Memphis Belle before she flew back to the US in 1943
The aircraft became symbolic of the US air effort as Americans aided the British in pummeling German territory from above in mass bombing raids. Pictured: The nose of the plane, featuring risque art and heavy machine guns
The Memphis Belle was added to the USAAF inventory in of July 1942, and was deployed to Prestwick, Scotland, that September.
It flew 25 missions across continental Europe in France, The Netherlands and Germany, successfully striking down eight German aircrafts.
Most of the plane’s missions were flown by the same crew, headed by Captain Robert K Morgan.
His son, Robert K Morgan Sr, was in attendance when his father’s prized plane went back on display on Wednesday night, along with many other families of the Memphis Belle crew.
‘Dad would be so proud,’ 72-year-old Morgan said of his father, who spent his life advocating for the plane’s preservation.
‘I wish he were here. It means everything to me and my family. He’s here in spirit.’
The debut came on the 75th anniversary of the Belle’s 25th and final combat mission of the war, in which the Belle was piloted to the Keroman submarine base, located in the French city of Lorient. There they bombed a platform used to pull U-boats out of the water.
At the time that the Belle finished its tour – becoming the first plane to do so – casualty rates at the beginning of missions approached 80 percent.
It was said to be a joyful event not only for the crew, but also for the entire air command and the American public.
Robert K Morgan, Jr, son of the Memphis Belle pilot of the same name, walks past the Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ during a private viewing at the National Museum of the US Air Force
Veterans gather for a private viewing of the Memphis Belle as it goes on display for the first time. For years, it had been displayed outside in its namesake Tennessee city, deteriorating from weather and vandalism
Visitors gather under open bomb-bay doors during a private viewing of the Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’
The Wyler documentary made about the plane was primarily for the purpose of boosting morale and selling war bonds. Wyler, already a major director, went on to make many more Hollywood movies after the war, including Ben-Hur and Roman Holiday
The Memphis Belle flying back to the US after its 25th mission over Germany during the Second World War in 1943
The stars of the 1990 feature film Memphis Belle pictured left to right: DB Sweeney, unknown, Matthew Modine and Billy Zane
Actor Eric Stoltz is pictured in a scene from the movie playing the role of radio operator Danny Danny Boy Daly
Courtney Gains, Bill Zane, Eric Stoltz and Harry Connick Jr are pictured inside the plane in a scene from the 1990 movie
Following the war the plane was displayed outside in its namesake Tennessee city, deteriorating from weather and vandalism.
In 2005 the The Memphis Belle was brought to the museum in corroded pieces after efforts to restore it in Memphis ran out of money and steam.
‘I promised him when he was dying 14 years ago that I would do anything I could to keep the plane alive,’ Morgan said.
‘He knew before he passed that the plane was going to come to the museum, he knew that we couldn’t keep it in Memphis. And he knew it would be preserved here, he knew it would be restored here. He was extremely glad that it would be here.’
The Belle, with the swimsuit-clad pin-up girl freshly repainted on both sides of the nose, is displayed suspended above the museum floor as if in mid-flight, with bomb-bay doors wide open.
James P Verinis, 48, came from South Kingstown, Rhode Island, to see the Belle. His father, Capt James A Verinis, flew missions on it as co-pilot and later commanded his own B-17.
‘I look at it,’ Verinis said, ‘and I wonder if it ever looked this beautiful.’
A visitor looks at a photograph of the Memphis Belle crew in England after they completed their 25th mission
The Memphis Belle crew after achieving their 25-mission feat. They are, left to right: Tech. Sgt. Harold P. Loch of Green Bay, Wis., top turret gunner; Staff Sgt Cecil H. Scott of Altoona, Pennsylvania, ball turret gunner; Tech Sgt Robert J, Hanson of Walla Walla, Washington, radio operator; Capt James A. Verinis, New Haven, Connecticut, co-pilot; Capt Robert K Morgan of Ashville, North Carolina, pilot; Capt Charles B Leighton of Lansing, Michigan, navigator; Staff Sgt John P. Quinlan of Yonkers, New York, tail gunner; Staff Sgt Casimer A. Nastal of Detroit, Michigan, waist gunner; Capt Vincent B. Evans of Henderson, Texas, bombardier and Staff Sgt. Clarence E. Wichell of Oak Park, Illinois, waist gunner
The B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ will be introduced Thursday morning as the anchor of an extensive exhibit in the Dayton-area museum’s World War II gallery
Visitors marvel at the Memphis Belle during a private viewing of the new exhibit on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio
United States Air Force (Ret.) Col. Howard Hunt, center, meets with Memphis Belle fans during the private viewing of the Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ at the National Museum of the US Air Force yesterday