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From what I have heard,The AF(not Midway) will attemp to move the Swoose in about two weeks.They are trying to lay on a C-5 for moving the wings and barring that will have to remove the trailing edges to go on a truck.Maybe a drop neck trailer will work so as to keep the wings intact.I for one am just glad the AF is getting her up to the museum and we may all see a sharkfin together for the first time in our lives.How cool will that be.Congrats to the museum personel.

I'm with you! In my opinion this is THE most historically significant airframe from WW2; extant.

Just to see it in one piece would be the highlight of my "warbird" life.

Oh, and "hang the expense" I was not too far from you today, went to the IMPS show in Marietta today. Or; I would have been had the truck not broke down on I-20!!!

Joe

A rumor from a good source suggests it will go back to a combat configuration.

By all rights it should be as well. It is famous because of its name "The Swoose"It is more historically significant because of its combat history.Hey Scott,do you know if she was in HI on 7 Dec41 Or was she already in the PI? Thanks Tom

The airplane was at Del Monte Field 600 miles south of Clark Field when the first attack occurred at Clark. It participated in the shuttle missions from Del Monte that staged through Clark in the first few weeks of the war.

If I recall correctly, all but one of the seventeen or so B-17s at Clark on that first day were destroyed or severely damaged by the first raids. It was left to the eighteen at Del Monte to carry on the war.

And I agree that the reason this B-17D is significant is for its service in the first month of the war, and not for carrying a general around the Pacific and Caribbean when it was used as a transport. That may be why it exists today but should that drive a restoration decision to display it as a transport?

HEAR,HEAR!

My only regret is that I didn't take the nose frame piece from the MGM lot when I had the chance.

That way I'd have something to donate to the restoration.

Even though that very same item is what's on the aircraft now, it would have been a way for me to forever be connected to the Swoose.

Hey Dik,I wish you would have taken the whole plane.Hope you are well.Tom

I have to say this restoration project is l-o-n-g overdue. I only hope that Swoose is re-assembled in my lifetime. I'm not "that old", but...it HAS been apart and in storage almost all of my life.
I applaud whomever in NASM & NMUSAF worked together to make this change in venue a reality and I agree with everyone who believes this should be a restoration to the earliest possible combat configuration of Swoose, for lots of reasons, most stated in earlier posts.
Other than other people's photos, I have only seen the wings of Swoose - at a rare Garber open house - October 1996. I want to see that "shark tail" in person! Oh, yeah...and the rest of the a/c while we're at it.
...Now...if we can just get NASM to do anything with their "G" model in storage (B17-G-95-DL 44-83814)...wouldn't that be something?

Parts have arrived at Dayton(thursday) and from what I hear the fuselage in on the way on friday.What I would like to know is did AF get the C-5 laid on for moving the wings.I hope they dont have to cut the trailing edge of the wing off to transport. Anybody know please dont hesitate to post what you know.