I came across this rather poor image the other day which was taken at Bovingdon sometime in the early fifties. I thought I might check the Serial Number out and in doing so realized that this B17G had appeared on this thread before:
This image of the VIP transport is dated 1954 and must have been on another occasion as the fin lacks the insignia displayed in the first image.
A bit of digging reveals that in the mid 1940s 448990 was based at Bolling Field, Washington D.C.
On the 1st February 1946 it was flown from Miami to Rancho Boyeros Airport, Cuba.
This film was shot by Major General Frederick Lewis Anderson (1905-1969) one time Commander of the Eighth Bomber Command in Europe 1943. On his return to the America the B17 was assigned to General Anderson and named Mary Winn 11 after his daughter who was crippled by Polio. During his time in Britain, General Anderson had become quite well acquainted with the Churchill Family particularly with some of the women. Sarah Churchill is seen here. President Truman put the B17 and her crew at the disposal of Churchill for the duration of his visit to the USA.
Arrival in Cuba. The Captain, 23 year old Richard Fitzhugh, was wary of crowds on the apron when he was flying Winston Churchill about in 1946.
In 1956 B17 448990 was flown to Arizona and left at the vast storage facility and aircraft Boneyard which was and is Davis-Monthan Air Base near Tuscon. So leaving her to bake under the desert sun we might drift off a little:
Via Michael Luzzi.
Looking through the many images of Davis-Monthan I came across this aeroplane which appears not to have featured much on PPRune. I have all the gen but do you ? Answers please.......
Colonel Dick Fitzhugh (1922-2016) went on to fly B52s in Vietnam. During World War 2 he was based at Glatton, Hunts with the 748th Squadron 457th BG. Between July and December 1944 he and his crew achieved 30 Missions in B17 4232101 'El Lobo'.
Photo. American Air Museum in Britain.
Back Row Left to Right: Lt Rhode, Lt Fitzhugh (Pilot). Lt Meng, Lt Mueller, Lt Schwall. Front Row Left to Right: Sgt McDonald, Sgt Cole, Lt Basuil, Sgt Larsen.
Photo taken November 2nd 1944 (Lead Crew Merseberg raid). Source 457th Bomb Group Website with thanks.
General Anderson had flown combat missions. Here he went along as an Observer on B17 423190 of the 94th BG Rougham (Bury St Edmunds) on 19th May 1943.
The crew on this occasion were: Back Row Left to Right: Sgt Polk**, Sgt Hornden, Sgt McNemar**, Gen Anderson, Col Moore (co-pilot), Col Steele (Pilot), Capt Wattters, Lt Schaefer.
Front Row Left to Right: Sgt Earl Porath* (waist gunner), Sgt Asiala*, Sgt Lewis*, Lt Stanford.
Crew members marked ** Shot down with this aircraft 14 July 1943 evaded capture and returned to England.
Crew members marked * Shot down with this aircraft 14 July 1943 and captured.
Shot down by enemy aircraft without loss of life at Berengeville-la-Campagne near Evreux 14 July 1943. Pilot Capt Harrison. Crew evaded capture and returned to England with the exception of Flt Eng/Top Gunner James Curtis and the three gunners previously mentioned. The aircraft was restored by The Luftwaffe.
Photo this and previous: American Air Museum in Britain.
Moving on. It is back to Davis-Monthan Air Base where this immaculate B17 was photographed in 1960. Sadly it is not the erstwhile 'Mary Winn 11'.
Photo: Tucson Citizen.
Nor is this 'Mary Winn 11'
Photo: Bill Gabbert.
However in 1959 B17 448990 Mary Winn 11 was purchased by M.L. Alison and registered as N3678G. In 1960 she had two 1000 gallon tanks installed and started a new and regrettably short life as a Fire Bomber.
Photo as captioned. Pictured at Winslow Lindbergh Regional Airport, Arizona July 1962. (Note mis-painted registration)
1962
More pics of Cuba Trip here. And thanks to this website for providing interesting information about 448990.
https://aerovintage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4581
The Library of Congress holds a transcript of an Interview with Richard Fitzhugh. It looks a bit messy but one can't obtain the recording. Mentions Churchill trips.
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-service...973/sr0001.xml