Movie Watch: "Air Force"

[DryMartini]

The serial number used in the movie, and painted on
the tail, was 05564 - which does not correlate to a B-17.
I think I saw a post which said this serial number was for
an O-64 or something.

The government wouldn't let Hollywood give away any
hints on production numbers back then.

[pokryshkin]

It's a beautiful model - I'm drooling!!! This is something I've been trying to do for YEARS! The kit, btw, is the 1/72nd Academy B-17C kit, or possibly the B-17B kit; I'm not sure if Academy changed the cowlings or not. Anyway, the Mission Commander's Bubble, to be completely accurate, needs to be offset to the aircraft's RIGHT SIDE as befitting a B-17B.

[pokryshkin]

If you frame-by-frame the film, as I did some yeara back (I can't find the 1/25th of a second photos I took back then) you'll see the offset-to-the-aircraft's-right Mission Commander bubble that positively ID's the aircraft in question as a B-17B!
There is another forum on this site that discusses the possible ID of "Mary Ann" and the photo of the nose and engines of the aircraft during its publicity tour shows -B type cowlings, although this particular aircraft WAS "Modernized". ID of this aircraft is 38-584.

[pokryshkin]

The aircraft was definitely a Modernized B-17B: Don't forget, 19 of them - effectively half of the B-17Bs produced - (out of the 39 built) - were cycled through Boeing in 1941 to bring them up to B-17C/D Standards at least as far as gaun positions, and possibly other upgrades as well, and these aircraft were all REdelivered between August 2 and August 21, 1941.

I have a list somewhere of the 19 most likely candidates for having been Modernized, on another Forum hereabouts: ""Another B-17B Upgraded to C?"

It turns out Dan Johnson found it! 38-584 is "Mary-Ann"/"10"/"05564".
Hope this helps.[[/i]