B-17G Shoo Shoo Baby on the move to the National Air and Space Museum
Posted news regarding B-17G Shoo Shoo Baby today on the NMUSAF Facebook Page today:
“National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution restoration crews begin to disassemble the Boeing B-17G Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby. Plans call for NASM to ship the aircraft in sections to Washington, D.C. from here at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
In 1968 Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby was found abandoned in France, and the French government presented the airplane to the U.S. Air Force. In July 1978 the 512th Military Airlift Wing moved it to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for restoration by the volunteers of the 512th Antique Restoration Group. After a massive 10-year job of restoration to flying condition, the aircraft was flown to the museum in October 1988.”
Shoo Shoo Baby is B-17G 42-32076 that had been on display at the NMUSAF at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, until it was supplanted in 2017 by the placing of B-17F 41-24485, better known as the famous Memphis Belle. Since then, Shoo Shoo Baby has been held in storage pending transfer to the NASM. Now that transfer is occurring. Display details at the NASM, most likely at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Dulles International Airport, have not yet been released.
The complete history of both Shoo Shoo Baby and the Memphis Belle (both having 8th Air Force combat history) can be found in the book Final Cut (5th Edition) available right here on this site.