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39-5

B-17 Flying Fortress

Delivered March Field 6-Mar-41;
Modified at Cheyenne United Airlines Modification Center into a photo recon aircraft. See B-17B 38-223 for modification details.
Delivered MacDill 3-Mar-42;
Conducted aerial photographic reconnaissance staging out of Accra in the Gold Coast (later Ghana).
Conducted all the recon flights for Operation Rusty.
"Almost had to come down in the desert the last day. One engine nearly dropped off 850 miles from base over the desert but it froze and hung by hair & and after landing Elliott said the plane practically fell apart."
Officially listed (cryptically) as crashed out of limits of continental USA;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rusty

Written off 6-Aug-42. Never used in combat, never served in the UK.

Service

Aircraft

  • 38-223

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered March 10-Nov-39; ...

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People

  • Elliott Roosevelt

    Military | Brigadier General | Commanding Officer Photographic Wing | 25th Bomb Group
    In WWII he commanded the aerial reconnaissance wing that played a key role in the Allies' 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy, France, as well as the invasions of North Africa and Sicily Commander of HQ 325th Photo Wing, [Reconnaissance]. Roosevelt...

Nicknames
given the nickname "the Blue Goose" (not known if painted on aircraft)
Production block number
B-17B
Manufacturer
Boeing
Markings and paint scheme/livery

painted blue to minimize contrast with the sky, stripped of all unnecessary weight, and any identification marks were removed.

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
18 February 2021 15:54:18 Jason Garver Changes to description
Sources

Added details of Operation Rusty.
Date Contributor Update
13 December 2020 01:18:14 Jason Garver Changes to nicknames, markings, aircraft associations and person associations
Sources

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rusty has this aircraft as being part of the mapping mission named Operation Rusty.
Date Contributor Update
14 January 2019 16:14:12 Emily Changes to serial number
Sources

Removed block number from serial number
Date Contributor Update
24 January 2015 21:03:58 Lee8thbuff Changes to serial number, production block number, manufacturer and description
Sources

Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2015. Added Block Number, appended Block Number to name, Manufacturer, converted dates to military-style significations per "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" Roger A. Freeman with David Osborne.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:01 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

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