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A Pictorial History of Yankee Lady

A Pictorial History of Yankee Lady

The B-17G well known as “Yankee Lady” has been in the aviation news quite a bit in the summer of 2024. This is primarily due to, first, the unexpected sale of the B-17 by a museum that appears to be in a course change and, second, the sale of a B-17 is an unusual event these days. At this date (October 2024), there are but three flying B-17s in the U.S.: Yankee Lady (N3193G), Sentimental Journey (N9323Z), and Ye Olde Pub (N3701G). There is a fourth flying B-17: Sally B (G-BEDF) in the UK.) There are several other B-17s in various states of rebuild and restoration, but only three in the U.S. actually flying. So when a B-17 is sold, particularly a flying B-17, it piques an aviation enthusiast’s interest.

Because this particular B-17 has been newsworthy, presented here is a pictorial history of the airplane that flies as Yankee Lady, more officially as AAF 44-85829 and FAA N3193G.

In early 1946, twenty new Lockheed-built B-17Gs held in storage at South Plains AAF at Lubbock, Texas, were set aside for assignment to the U.S. Coast Guard to become PB-1G air-sea rescue aircraft. At about the same time, twenty new Douglas-built B-17Gs, also stored at South Plains, were earmarked for the Navy to become PB-1W early warning radar platforms. Ultimately, only sixteen B-17Gs went to the Coast Guard at this time, and all were processed through the Navy for modifications at NAS Johnsville, Pennsylvania. The above photo is a rare one…it shows three of the earmarked B-17s…44-85806, 44-85812, and 44-85829, being ferried during the process of assignment to the Coast Guard. These three aircraft became, respectively, CG 77245, CG 77246, and CG 77255. 77255 went on, many years later, to become “Yankee Lady.” (Dexter Stafford via Todd Hackbarth)
A close-up of the first photo clearly shows the tail serial of 44-85829. This airplane was built at the Lockheed plant at Burbank and was accepted on July 16, 1945. It was among the last of the Lockheed-built airplanes…only aircraft from the end of the Lockheed B-17G production line. It went from Burbank to the Dallas modification center, where it was deemed ready for operational service on August 28, 1945. The war was over by then, and 44-85829 joined hundreds of other new B-17s sent to various storage yards around the country, with most going to South Plains AAF. It entered storage on September 3 and awaited there for the call from the USCG, which officially come on February 13, 1946. (Dexter Stafford via Todd Hackbarth)
The airplane to become “Yankee Lady” in service as a PB-1G with the U.S. Coast Guard. CG 77255 entered service on December 6, 1946. Most of the PB-1Gs were initially modified to carry the Higgins A-1 lifeboat on the belly of the fuselage, and had the SCR-717 search radar installed in the nose with the radome replacing the chin turret. These modifications were similar to those done on USAF TB-17Hs (redesginated as SB-17Gs after 1948). However, unlike the TB-17Hs, all armament was deleted from the Coast Guard PB-1Gs. Later, the Higgins external boats were replaced by inflatable rubber boats, several of which were carried in the bomb bay. They could and would be dropped to assist in water survival of aircraft and boats in distress.
Besides performing the air-sea rescue mission, the PB-1Gs were also assigned to the International Ice Patrol mission from shortly after their operational deployment until 1959. Several PB-1Gs were deployed to the USCG Detachment at Argentia, Newfoundland, each February for up to six months of iceberg survey. Here is a view of CG 77255 undergoing maintenance in a hangar at Argentia in 1958. (USCG photo)
The PB-1Gs were replaced, mostly by C-130s, beginning in 1956, with the last operational PB-1G (and U.S. military B-17) being retired in October 1959. CG 77255 was retired earlier in 1959. It’s last operational base was CGAS San Francisco. It was then stored at CGAS Elizabeth City until May 11, 1959, when it was sold as surplus to Ace Smelting of Phoenix, Arizona, for $5,888. Ace Smelting, in turn, registered the B-17 as N3193G and sold it to Fairchild Aerial Survey on November 16, 1959. Fairchild modified the airframe for survey work with a plywood floor, aerial cameras, and other survey equipment installed. Provisions for nine crewmembers plus flight crew were added. A door was installed on the left side of the fuselage, and it then entered service with Fairchild in April 1960. The above photo shows N3193G in the Fairchild paint scheme in January 1964 at Long Beach, California. The inscription on the aft fuselage states “Gravity, Electromagnetics, Magnetometer, Photogrammetric Engineers.” (Clay Jannson via Milo Peltzer)
Fairchild’s N3193G paid a visit to where it all started…Seattle’s Boeing Field…in May 1964. Fairchild operated a total of three B-17s between 1953 and 1965, the other two being N66573 (42-102715) and N7901C (44-82585), during its world-ranging mission. (Gordon S. Williams)
Indeed, N3193G was the last B-17 operated by Fairchild and, on August 2, 1965, it sold the airplane to another B-17 aerial survey company, Aero Service Corp., of Philadelphia. Aero Service only held the airplane for a short time, selling it on October 1, 1965, to the Biegert Brothers of Shickley, Nebraska. The Biegert Brothers were early users of the B-17 for aerial spraying and they operated five B-17s through the years. Underwing spray bars and a pair of bomb bay tanks were installed on N3193G, but it saw little use with the Biegerts. Instead, they sold it on March 19, 1966, to Aircraft Specialties of Phoenix, Arizona. Aircraft Specialties was a well know air tanker and sprayer operation that operated a total seven B-17s through the years. It later moved to nearby Falcon Field at Mesa, Arizona. N3193G was quickly converted to a fire-fighting air tanker. The above photo shows N3193G with retardant tanks installed in the bomb bay, with the airplane retaining the Fairchild paint scheme. (Brian Baker via Milo Peltzer)
In 1969, Aircraft Specialties provided five of its B-17 air tankers, including N3193G, to the film producers of “Tora Tora Tora,” a feature film that replicated the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The five B-17s had their retardant tanks removed, were repainted in 1941 Air Corps colors and markings, gained replica turrets and armament, and ferried to Hawaii for the filming beginning in January 1969, during the off season for fire fighting. (Nicholas Williams)
The five “Tora” B-17s were back on the fire lines by the summer of 1969, hurriedly enough that the movie paint remained. High visibility paint and tanker markings were added. N3913G suffered a gear-up landing, however, in July 1969, at Salmon, Idaho. The B-17 suffered minimal damage…mostly props and engines, and it was soon flying again.
This was the paint scheme worn by N3193G through the 1970s and into the 1980s. It was a somewhat standardized paint scheme for the Aircraft Specialties B-17s. In 1981, the company was reorganized as Globe Air, and it ultimately went out of business in 1985. There was a memorable auction where all the of remaining aircraft, including four B-17s, as well as parts and equipment and everything else was put up for sale. N3193G was offered, but no bidders came up with the required minimum bid, so it remained at Falcon Field for sale. In July 1986, the Yankee Air Force of Ypsilanti, Michigan, made a deal and the airplane was subsequently ferried to its new owners that same month.
Upon arrival in July 1986 at the Willow Run airport, N3193G was grounded for what became a nine year restoration effort. It was dubbed as “Yankee Lady” early in the process with nose art added to help all envision the goal. The airplane was disassembled and slowly rebuilt to a standard B-17G configuration. (Todd Hackbarth)
The rebuilding effort emphasized the airworthiness of the airplane: two engines were overhauled and the airframe was rewired back to the production standard. Modern avionics and other systems were installed. Also, the effort was made to install the armament, turrets, and other combat equipment to replicate a standard B-17G. The effort culminated on July 13, 1995, when the airplane returned to the air in test flight. (Todd Hackbarth)
“Yankee Lady” was painted in the colors of the 381st Bomb Group as based at Ridgewell, Essex, in the UK while assigned to the Eighth Air Force. It became the flagship of the Yankee Air Museum and it was lovingly cared for. Each year a polishing party was held to keep the B-17 gleaming, and aircraft maintenance was carefully completed. It was added to FAA’s Living History program so the YAF could offer rides to paying passengers to help support the aircraft. (Todd Hackbarth)
An example of the type of operations offered with “Yankee Lady” is clearly seen in this 2007 view of the gleaming airplane at an airshow at Columbus, Ohio. (Ralph Pettersen)
Another view of N3193G as the well known “Yankee Lady” flying with the Yankee Air Museum. In 2024, however, the museum took a somewhat controversial turn, at least to those used to the old Yankee Air Museum. It renamed itself as “The Michigan Flight Museum” and, unexpectedly to at least causal observers, sold “Yankee Lady” to Charles Somers. Somers has built up a large airworthy aircraft collection based at the McClellan Airport northeast of Sacramento, and the B-17 will join that collection. Rumors started flying about the sale in the spring of 2024, and the museum confirmed the sale in early June 2024. Those that know place the sale price in the $14 million range, but of course those that really know aren’t saying. The airplane remained at Willow Run until October 19, 2024, when it began a ferry flight that took it the Erickson Aircraft Collection facility at Madras, Oregon. The airplane arrived on October 22. (As of that date, however, the FAA registry still records the YAF as the owner of the aircraft.)
“Yankee Lady” arrived at the Erickson Aircraft Collection facility at Madras, Oregon, on the morning of Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Here, it will be disassembled and prepared for overseas shipping to New Zealand. At New Zealand, it will go to the Avspecs Ltd. facility near Auckland. It is expected that Avspecs will completely rebuild and restore the aircraft to a standard B-17G configuration with working turrets and all other equipment needed for a 100% authentic result. Presumably, this will also entail the replacement of the wing spar tubes with new components, eliminating a trouble spot for airworthy B-17s. Time frame is unknown, at least to us common folk. Also, presumably, the airplane will be shipped back to the U.S. for reassembly and will eventually be based at the Somers aircraft collection hangar at McClellan Airport near Sacramento. Similar to the other aircraft in the Somers collection, it will most likely not tour or offer rides as part the FAA Living History program. For the time being, then, there are three B-17s at Madras: N3193G (“Yankee Lady”), Erickson’s N3701G (“Ye Olde Pub”), and N900RW disassembled in the hangar getting new spar tubes for the wing spars. (Photo: John Albright via Facebook)

Now, just a bit of a commercial message. This history of the postwar B-17, including a section on N3193G, is included in the fifth edition of Final Cut: The Post-War B-17 Flying Fortress and Survivors, published in 2018.

Also, for anyone interested in the history of the B-17 in both U.S. Navy service as the PB-1W, or Coast Guard service as the PB-1G, or both, then check out B-17 In Blue. This 1993 book is long out of print but there is an ebook copy available for download for a modest price. It has just about everything you might want to know about PB-1Ws and PB-1Gs, including the PB-1G that became Yankee Lady.

One response to “A Pictorial History of Yankee Lady”

  1. frank alex nagy Avatar
    frank alex nagy

    I’M GLAD YANKEE LADY WAS SOLD, !! LOVE GOING TO AIR SHOWS ABOARD HER FOR YEARS, STILL HAVE MY COOLECTION PICTURES THANK YOU CHARLES SOMERS SAVES HER FROM THE FLYING CLUB,
    I THINK NO ONE WILL BE TOLD WHERE THE FUNDS WHEN TO AFTER MAKING OF HOUND WOLF , SOMEONE RECEIVED MONEY !!!

    Reply

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