"Famed ‘Memphis Belle’ undergoes painstaking restoration" Topic

"Stripped of paint and shorn of a nose section and internal components, the Memphis Belle these days looks less like the battered World War II bomber that spent nearly six decades displayed in its namesake city and more like a plane still lurching down the assembly line.

In a cavernous hangar at the National Museum of the Air Force here, the fabled B-17F Flying Fortress shares floor space with a Titan IV rocket, C-82 and C-119 cargo planes and other machines undergoing painstaking restoration work carried out by a skilled but overstretched group of staff and volunteer technicians. The ball turret, flaps, tail-gun assembly, horizontal stabilizer and other parts lay elsewhere in Building 4-D, each the focus of highly detailed rehab efforts.

A decade has passed since the Belle arrived in Dayton, and it'll be 2˝ more years, probably in May 2018, before the plane takes its spot in the formal exhibit area of the museum devoted to World War II aircraft. But if the pace of restoration seems slow, museum officials say, it's because of the importance, if not reverence, they attach to the plane…"

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Amicalement
Armand

The Belle deserves every minute of attention she gets.

Well done to the volunteers getting the old girl ready for the show. It always does my heart good to see classic aircraft worked on like this.
Larry

Will have to make the trip up to Dayton sometime to see her.

One of the nicest things about Wright Patterson were no knowledgeable and terribly helpful volunteers: they made our day there a joy.

John T

Happy you enjoyed the news boys!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

When I was a kid the 60s / 70s , I would spend the summers in Memphis with my Grandmother. Every summer, I would beg her to take me to the open air stand where the Belle was displayed. It was always a bit sad to see her hazed windows and faded paint – glad they are getting her dolled up for the future!

She deserves it as does all the old wargals deserve the attention, in my opinion old war machines should be as well preserved as possible the reasons being many as we all know, alas not all are getting it, wish there was monies to help out in the Banana republic I live in war museums.
Unfortunately the needs of the few and all that are at sway here and the main museum makes do even hiring out its spaces for wedding parties to pay salaries and the like, its a old watch winding down, very sad and sad for the priceless artifacts.
Cheers, Good luck to Memphis Belle and her new crew who care so much for her.

I guess the mooks in Memphis did a great job of beating up the old war bird. Typical not understanding what a treasure it is.

Glad somebody is taking care of it.

I remember the Air Force bought it for $1 USD and had to remove it from Mud Island.