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"Memphis
Belle" was the nickname of a B-17F Flying Fortress, Air Force serial number
41-24485, during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion
pictures: a 1944 documentary film: Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
and a 1990 Hollywood feature film: Memphis Belle.
The
"Memphis Belle" was added to the USAAF inventory on July 15, 1942, and delivered
in September 1942 to the 91st Bomb Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. It
deployed to Prestwick, Scotland, on September 30th, 1942, and then to its
permanent base at Bassingbourn, England, in October. Captain Robert Morgan's
crew flew 25 combat missions with the 324th Bomb Squadron, all but four in the
Memphis Belle:
The
Memphis Belle flew its 25th and last mission with a different crew on May 19,
1943, to Kiel, Germany. It was then flown back to the United States on June 8th,
1943 by Morgan's crew for war bond tours.
The plane was named for pilot Robert K. Morgan's sweetheart, Margaret Polk. The
famous Petty girl nose art was painted by the 91st's group artist Tony Starcer.
The
famous bomber now resides at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
in Dayton, Ohio, where she is undergoing extensive restoration.
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