History:
7499th B-17 Still Exists
The May 2010 issue of the British aviation magazine FlyPast brought the news that a B-17, which had been
flying at airshows all over Europe for many years, was being grounded, at least
temporarily. The B-17 in question,
serial number 44-8846, has been lovingly cared for by a French association
called “Forteresse Toujours Volante” (Fortress Forever Flying), but insurance
and maintenance considerations mean that the aircraft must be grounded, at
least temporarily.
B-17, formally from the 7499th,
repainted in WWII colors. (Photo by Roger Soupart, FlyPast Magazine)
How does this relate to the 7499th's history? Simple: this B-17 was once a photo collector
with the 7499th Squadron, from 1947 until 1953.
It is one of only two aircraft that have flown for the 7499th and its
successor units that still exist. More
about the other bird, also a B-17, later in this article.
44-8846 came to England in early 1945, and actually flew
six bombing missions with the 351st Bomb Group against Nazi Germany before VE
Day in May. It was then one of several
B-17s modified for photo-mapping work and assigned to Project Casey Jones, a
combined British-American effort to accurately map as much of Europe and Africa
as possible. In that role it flew
missions ranging from northern Europe to Liberia in Africa.
By 1947, as the Soviets were growing more hostile, USAFE
realized it needed a long-range photo and ELINT collection capability (see
article on this website about getting ELINT capability beginning 1946). It acquired several B-17s, including 8846,
and assigned them to the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Furstenfeldbruck, near
Munich. In November 1948 the 7499th
Squadron was formed at “Fursty” to perform these covert reconnaissance
missions, and 8846 was assigned in March 1949.
From then until March 1953 8846 and its sister B-17s flew numerous
missions along the borders with the Soviet Zones of Germany and Austria, as
well as into the Baltic and Adriatic seas.
It also flew some missions in the corridors to Berlin, augmenting the
7499ths RB-26s and C-47s in that lucrative environment.
B-17
4-8889 flying for the 7499th (photo by Bob Brewer)
But by 1953 the B-17s were being replaced by
better-equipped Douglas C-54 transports, also configured with special photo and
ELINT equipment. So 8846 flew back to
the US in February, and was probably destined for the scrapyard. But then the French photo-mapping agency, the
Institut Geographique Nationale (IGN), came looking for aircraft to fits its
needs. Lo and behold, 8846 and others,
already configured for photography, fit the bill, and 8846 returned to Europe
under the IGN. From December 1954 until
early 1985 these B-17s flew photo-mapping missions throughout the world.
In 1985, as the IGN replaced its B-17s with more modern
aircraft, a French group of aviation enthusiasts formed the “Forteresse
Toujours Volante” to keep a B-17 flying.
They picked 8846 and refurbished her to look like a wartime US Eighth
Air Force B-17. It was so successful at
this that it was one of the B-17s chosen to appear in the 1989 movie Memphis
Belle. You can see it portraying several
different B-17s in that classic. From
then on, through the 2009 airshow season in Europe, one could see 8846 performing
in US markings, to remind one and all of our role in the liberation of
Europe. But, as of March 2010, it has
been grounded. The association has a
special hangar for 8846 at La Ferte Alais Airfield in France, and will have it
on display there. And maybe it will take
to the skies again!
There is one more 7499th RB-17 still existing,
44-8889. This aircraft was being ready
for combat in England when VE Day came along, and went into storage. By April 1949 it had been converted to be an
ELINT collector and had joined the 7499th.
Like 8846, it roamed the Iron Curtain from the Baltic to the Adriatic,
this time collecting on the growing Soviet air defense radar capability. Its time with the 7499th cane to an end in
September 1953, when it too went back to the States. It also was rescued by the French IGN, and,
converted to photomapping, flew countless missions. In 1976 it left IGN and became part of the
collection at the French national Aviation Museum (“Musee de l’Air”) at Le
Bourget Airport near Paris. It was on
display in US Eighth Air Force markings until at least 2004, but since has been
placed in storage there. We hope that it
will again emerge to be seen.
Thus the tale of the only two known surviving aircraft
from the 7499th Squadron and its successor units. Interestingly, they are among the very
oldest. Only one other aircraft from the
7499th Group is known to exist. This is
the Martin RB-57A 52-1492, “Sharp Cut,” from the 7407th Support Squadron at
Rhein-Main 1955 and beyond. This now resides
at the museum at Hill AF Base, Utah. If
you are in the area, check it out!
RB-57 from the 7407th Sq now at Hill AFB
Written for FlyPast Magazine by John Bessette, 7499th
Historian (6 Aug 2010)