Museum Gets B-17 That Saw WWII Combat

The last B-17 bomber to see combat in World War II arrived safely Thursday at the Air Force Museum, more than 40 years after it was shot down by German anti-aircraft guns.

The 44-year-old Shoo Shoo Baby left Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to the cheers of well-wishers and landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base here three hours later, officials said.

Before takeoff the aircraft, its eight-gun turrets bristling with artillery, was surrounded by admirers, many of them veterans of the B-17 era.

“We thought it was so huge back then,” said B-17 bombardier Herbert Houston, 65, of West Chester, Pa. “But we look over at the C-5s and see how really tiny the B-17s are. There’s a lot of nostalgia here for us.”

Transport Jets at Dover

The jumbo transport C-5 jets are based at Dover.

The four-propeller workhorse was built by Boeing in Seattle in 1944 and was named after the Andrews Sisters song “Shoo Shoo Baby.” It flew 23 missions over Germany, five of them over Berlin, until it was shot and forced to land in Sweden in May, 1944.

The hallmark of the B-17, known as the “Flying Fortress,” was its range and weaponry, which enabled it to bomb distant targets and fly home again through heavy enemy gunfire, although many of the 10,000 craft were shot down.

Shoo Shoo Baby performed a variety of duties for Sweden, Holland, Denmark and France. It reached what appeared to be the end of the runway in 1959, when it was disabled in an accident and became the source of parts for other B-17s on a French airfield.

A military historian alerted the Air Force to Shoo Shoo Baby in 1971. It was purchased by the Air Force Museum and turned over to the 512th Air Force Reserve Wing at Dover for restoration.

It is believed to be the last B-17 that is still in flying condition after combat experience, said Army Col. William Hospers, whose son, Robert, 27, of Ft. Worth, flew the plane to Ohio.

“It’s probably the nicest restoration I’ve ever seen,” William Hospers said. “This is for future generations, and I think they should have as complete an example as possible. They rebuilt it from the inside out so it’s like they got it right from the factory.”

Hospers said about eight B-17s are known to be in flying condition.