B17 Nine-O-Nine early in the War Painting is a painting by John Straton which was uploaded on March 28th, 2024.
B17 Nine-O-Nine early in the War Painting
Nine-O-Nine was a Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress heavy bomber, of the 323d Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group, that completed 140... more
by John Straton
Title
B17 Nine-O-Nine early in the War Painting
Artist
John Straton
Medium
Painting
Description
Nine-O-Nine was a Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress heavy bomber, of the 323d Bombardment Squadron, 91st Bombardment Group, that completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions without loss to the crews that flew her.[a] A different B-17G, painted to mimic the Nine-O-Nine, crashed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, in October 2019.
The original aircraft, from a group of 30 B-17Gs manufactured by Boeing, was nicknamed after the last three digits of her serial number: 42-31909. Nine-O-Nine was added to the USAAF inventory on December 15, 1943, and flown overseas on February 5, 1944. After depot modifications, she was delivered to the 91st BG at RAF Bassingbourn, England, on February 24, 1944, as a replacement aircraft, one of the last B-17s received in factory-applied camouflage paint.[1]
A former navigator of the 91st BG, Marion Havelaar, reported in his history of the group that Nine-O-Nine completed either 126 or 132 consecutive missions without aborting for mechanical reasons, also believed to be a record.[2][a] M/Sgt. Rollin L. Davis, maintenance line chief of the bomber, received the Bronze Star for his role in achieving the record.
Her first bombing raid was on Augsburg, Germany, on February 25, 1944. She made 18 bombing raids on Berlin. In all she flew 1,129 hours and dropped 562,000lb (225 tonnes) of bombs. She had 21 engine changes, four wing panel changes, 15 main gas tank changes, and 18 changes of Tokyo tanks (long-range fuel tanks).[3]
Nine-O-Nine returned to the United States after the war in Europe finished, on June 8, 1945. She was sent to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation facility at Kingman, Arizona on December 7, 1945, and eventually scrapped.
Uploaded
March 28th, 2024
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