Aero Vintage Books

I tried to take some screen captures off my computer dvd player without success, but the slow going through the movie did raise a couple questions.

How many Mary Ann's might there have been?

There are at least two as one of them has a silver metal strip on the right side of the number three engine. This shows up numerous times. But there is another 17 without that strip that stands in for Mary Ann too in a scene.

I tried to look at the tail number on the initial take off to Hawaii. The 0 is not at the beginning of the serial, but I can't make out the rest of it. Another interesting note. "10" has either a white leading edge to the vertical stabilizer or natural metal. later that is gone, then it shows up again.

It also appears that there are two "10"s in the initial take off sequence.

There is also a scene where it looks like the cowling on the number 3 engine is natural metal underneath on the right side in once scene.

It was interesting to note the differences, and it did make me wonder how many Mary Ann's there might have been.

I also wonder if any photos are out there of an early 17 with that single metal strip on the engine cowl of number 3?

Apparently, according to the AAF, there was only one. There is a photo of the B-17B that is purported to be the Mary Ann on page 33 of Jeff Ethell's book BOMBER COMMAND. The airplane has nose art that reads: "MARY ANN--STAR OF 'AIR FORCE'" The caption reads: Mary Ann is seen here after filming, back at her training base on 6 April 1943.

There are lengthy threads here and on armyairforces.com concerning this topic.

Many have been trying to solve this one for years.
Has anybody tried writing Warner Brothers?

Let us know if you dig something up.

Good Luck.

C-47B

There are OTHER possibilities here:

Don't forget, these were TRAINING aircraft at a TRAINING base, and, by June 1942. replacement parts for these roughly 119 early Fortresses [12 YB-17s, 1 YB-17A, 39 B-17Bs, 38 B-17Cs, 42 B-17Ds], were difficult to locate, and this may also have been a training base for mechanics as well as pilots and aircrews:

Let's calculate it out:
12 YB-17s,
1 YB-17A, totalling
13 of these earliest Fortresses - mostly used for training during World "War 2: I have seen a photo of the tail of 36-160(?) in the background of mechanics training at Amarillo, taken in late 1942/early 1943.
39 B-17Bs:
19 B-17Bs were "Modernized" in 1941: given B-17C-type gun positions, Radio, Waist, and ventral "Bathtub".
At least 4 B-17Bs were sent to the Panama Canal/Caribbean Theater;
At least 4 B-17Bs were destroyed in accidents before Pearl Harbor;
1 B -17B was destroyed in action in Alaska in June, 1942;
At least 4 B-17Bs were destroyed in training or Service accidents;
2 B-17Bs known at Sebring/Hendricks were: 39-001 and 38-269;
9 B-17Bs more were also at Sebring during "Air Force" filming;
15 B-17Bs unaccounted for in other locations.

38 B-17Cs:
At least 4 B-17Cs were destroyed in the Phillippines;
4 B-17Cs were destroyed or badly damaged at Pearl Harbor;
20 B-17Cs were Fortress Is with the RAF;
4 B-17Cs were Written off BEFORE Pearl Harbor;
That's 32 B-17Cs lost before they could be assigned to training commands;
6 B-17Cs unaccounted for.

42 B-17Ds:
At least 19 B-17Ds were destroyed in the Phillippines;
at least 1 B-17D was rebuilt by the Japanese, possibly 2;
4 B-17Ds were destroyed at Pearl Harbor;
5 B-17Ds were destroyed in Java or in Australia;
1 B-17D was written off crash in Hawaii;
1 B-17D was ditched in the Pacific, Eddie Rickenbacker aboard;
6 B-17Ds possibly survived all this to return to the USA;
1 B-17D was used as a transport and survived: Swoose
4 B-17Ds unaccounted for;

So you can see that parts for these aircraft were hard to find; minor accidents in training may have been more prevalent than you might suspect; also, regular maintenance, minor repairs, et cetera, may account for the various parts you see at various times; I am not certain that there was more than one "Mary-Ann" in use, but your observations are of great value.
PS - 38-211 "18" and 39-001 "15" are seen in "Air Force", "15" is also seen in the Lowery "Boneyard" in 1943 in "Fortress In The Sky", on one of the supplemental pages (Production lists, Variant modifications, et cetera).

Thank you VERY much!!
Regards and best wishes,
Dan K. USAAC S/N changed 3/31/09\3:30PM

PS - Could you try again about that initial takeoff sequence?
Thanks!!

Members,

Here is a list of B-17B airplanes that were lost in fatal accidents in the continental United States during the war years:

B-17B # 38-211 October 22, 1942
B-17B # 38-214 April 6, 1942
B-17B # 38-216 February 6, 1941
B-17B # 38-262 April 2, 1943
B-17B # 38-267 December 17, 1941
B-17B # 39-008 July 18, 1942

For details concerning these accidents see FATAL ARMY AIR FORCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES 1941-1945 by Anthony J. Mireles. This book is still in print.

Here is a list of B-17B airplanes that were involved in non-fatal accidents during the war years; accident reports exist for these airplanes. Photos of the airplanes exist in the accident reports and all show evidence of being converted to B-17C configuration. The Call # information refers to the Army Air Forces Form No. 14 Aircraft Accident Report Microfilm that the accident report can be found on.

B-17B airplanes involved in non-fatal accidents during the war:

38-213 Call # 46078; February 26, 1942; Accident # 20
38-219 Call # 46106; July 10, 1942; Accident # 502
38-221 Call # 46129; October 8, 1942; Accident # 500
38-258 Call # 46163; January 25, 1943; Accident # 10
38-259 Call # 46085; March 31, 1942; Accident # 25
38-269 Call # 46130; October 10, 1942; Accident # 15
38-583 Call # 46265; October 7, 1943; Accident # 63
39-006 Call # 46122; September 10, 1942; Accident # 22


These B-17B airplanes were damaged to some degree during these accidents but I don't have the severity of damage noted in my data base. Some may have been written off as a result of these non-fatal accidents.





C-47B

Wow!!!
Nice one!!!!

This helps fill in the gaps.

It's important to notice aircraft in accidents Before OR After the June 1942 through August 1942 Second Unit dates.(Air-to-air, flightline, runway, et cetera photography)

Thank you VERY much for this information!!!

Regards and best wishes,
Dan K.
PS - Could you try the initial takeoff sequence again? This looks like the critical sequence, done BEFORE the overpaint of the original S/N and painting of "05564" over it.
Added 3:45PM EDT 3/31/09\dlk

Mr. Johnson,
That initial takeoff sequence is the critical clue.

Can't SOMEBODY out there try to get an S/N off the tail of "10"?
Well, Dan Johnson DID! The S/N is "8584"!

I know I can't, but I don't have the facilities to do it.

Sorry for this cri du cour but I guess I'm venting about my frustration with this sequence.

Thanks for your patience and tolerance in this matter.
Grateful regards and best wishes,
Dan K.

The correct Serial Number was found by Dan Johnson at about 9 or 10PM EDT, April 9, 2009, a day which will live with me forever!
"Mary-Ann" "10""05564" is actually 38-584 "8584".