The pinnacle bomber of the European Air War in WWII, Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress crisscrossed the skies of Germany, raining death upon its industrial and oil base. Following the end of hostilities, the battle proven Fortress stood down as the USAAF's primary bomber in the post-war world. Most were rapidly withdrawn and unceremoniously scrapped, while some soldiered on in the newly established USAF as search and rescue planes, hacks, and target drones for a couple of years. A new life was found in the venerable Fortress, with a second lease on life, courtesy of the US Navy.
As the war was ending, forty-eight B-17's were transferred to the Navy for maritime patrol and christened PB-1's. After the war, thirty-one B-17G's were acquired, where they were modified into PB-1W's- a radar equipped early warning picket plane. Modified by the Naval Aircraft Modification Unit (NAMU), the "G's" lost their chin turrets, armor plating, and top, ball, and tail turrets. The bomb bays were sealed up, and long range fuel tanks were added to the external wings. An AN/APS-20 radar unit was installed, with a prominent radome mounted where the bomb bay once was. Initially, these aircraft were natural metal with a wax coating when introduced in 1946, but were soon repainted in an overall glossy sea blue scheme.
In this configuration, the PB-1W's provided early warning for the armed forces until surpassed and replaced by Lockheed's WV-2 Warning Star, a military radar picket ship, modified from the commercial Super Constellation airliner. The PB-1W's were retired from service in 1953. The last B-17's left in US military use were Coast Guard PB-1G's, which flew the last mission with the Fortress on October 1959. Some of these aircraft were turned into water bombers to fight forest fires. A few still exist to this day, as flyable B-17's, restored to their WWII configurations, or static display for museums.
This Aircraft:
Built by Lockheed's subsidiary Vega in the closing stages of WWII, this B-17G did not see any combat, and was immediately flown to storage after delivery to the USAAF in May of 1945. Transferred to the US Navy, it was converted into a PB-1W in 1947 and flew on the western coast of the United States, including a stint at Midway and Japan for a few years. Retired in 1952, the Fortress found work with a surveying company, which stripped it of its radome and used it for photographic surveying around the US and Canada. It was later turned into a water bomber, where it fought fires throughout Wyoming and Idaho. It was only retired from water bomber duties in 1983. From there, it was ferried to Wisconsin and put on display, painted in a generic WWII scheme.
Following financial difficulties, the museum that housed the Fortress shut down, leaving some of its aircraft in jeopardy. Purchased by Rob Barion in early 2019, he plans on restoring it back to flying condition and returning it to its PB-1W roots, as part of his museum back in Newark, Ohio.
As the war was ending, forty-eight B-17's were transferred to the Navy for maritime patrol and christened PB-1's. After the war, thirty-one B-17G's were acquired, where they were modified into PB-1W's- a radar equipped early warning picket plane. Modified by the Naval Aircraft Modification Unit (NAMU), the "G's" lost their chin turrets, armor plating, and top, ball, and tail turrets. The bomb bays were sealed up, and long range fuel tanks were added to the external wings. An AN/APS-20 radar unit was installed, with a prominent radome mounted where the bomb bay once was. Initially, these aircraft were natural metal with a wax coating when introduced in 1946, but were soon repainted in an overall glossy sea blue scheme.
In this configuration, the PB-1W's provided early warning for the armed forces until surpassed and replaced by Lockheed's WV-2 Warning Star, a military radar picket ship, modified from the commercial Super Constellation airliner. The PB-1W's were retired from service in 1953. The last B-17's left in US military use were Coast Guard PB-1G's, which flew the last mission with the Fortress on October 1959. Some of these aircraft were turned into water bombers to fight forest fires. A few still exist to this day, as flyable B-17's, restored to their WWII configurations, or static display for museums.
This Aircraft:
Built by Lockheed's subsidiary Vega in the closing stages of WWII, this B-17G did not see any combat, and was immediately flown to storage after delivery to the USAAF in May of 1945. Transferred to the US Navy, it was converted into a PB-1W in 1947 and flew on the western coast of the United States, including a stint at Midway and Japan for a few years. Retired in 1952, the Fortress found work with a surveying company, which stripped it of its radome and used it for photographic surveying around the US and Canada. It was later turned into a water bomber, where it fought fires throughout Wyoming and Idaho. It was only retired from water bomber duties in 1983. From there, it was ferried to Wisconsin and put on display, painted in a generic WWII scheme.
Following financial difficulties, the museum that housed the Fortress shut down, leaving some of its aircraft in jeopardy. Purchased by Rob Barion in early 2019, he plans on restoring it back to flying condition and returning it to its PB-1W roots, as part of his museum back in Newark, Ohio.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 1280 x 811px
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