The May 27th Newton (Ia) Daily News had an article by Jessica Lowe about a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber coming to the Des Moines Airport May 31st on its 2009 tour of the US. This one is named the "Liberty Belle" and is 100% accurate from its silver exterior, green interior, multi machine guns, to the bomb casings in the bomb bay.
Rides are being offered in it for $430. Pilot John Shuttleworth says, "You will smell it, hear it, feel it. It is a great living history museum."
It is owned and maintained by Liberty Foundation which was started by Don Brooks because his father was a tail gunner in the original "Liberty Belle." He bought this B-17 in really horrible shape from a Connecticut museum and spent 14 years and $3 million restoring it.
This particular plane was built in 1945 and never saw action. But, its namesake was part of the 390th Bomb Group, and flew 64 combat missions over Germany. During the war, 12,732 B-17s were produced and 4,700 were shot down with the deaths of 40,000 airmen.
It would be interesting to know what happened to the original "Liberty Belle" and if you can just come aboard since the $430 is a bit much for me to spend.
They have an excellent website at www.libertyfoundation.org.
A Real Piece of History. --Cooter
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