Vintage Flying Museum's Boeing B-17G "Chuckie"

The Vintage Flying Museum is the owner and operator of this Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Chuckie" (USAAF s/n 44-8543A), which is available for airshows, flybys and film throughout the USA.

The Flying Fortress was designed for a USAAC competition, announced in 1934, to find a modern replacement for the assorted Keystone biplane bombers, then in service. Since funding was lacking at the time, only thirty Flying Fortresses were fully operational when Hitler's forces invaded Poland in September 1939. The US was not involved in the fighting in Europe at the time, so it did not seem to be a matter of urgency. However, as it became clearer that US involvement was inevitable, after the Munich Crisis, orders for B-17s were increased.

The Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 finally brought the United States into the war and production of the B-17 rapidly increased. By July 1942, the US began forming the Eighth Air Force in Britain, equipped with B-17Es. The 'E' represented an important improvement over the earlier B-17s, in that it had a tail turret, eliminating a previous defensive blind spot. Production of the B-17F was undertaken by Douglas and Vega, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Aircraft Corp., but modifications were taking their toll in airspeed. There were more than four hundred modifications on the B-17F.

The B-17F lacked adequate defense against a head-on attack. By September 1943, the Flying Fortress showed its final shape during firepower tests on the XB-40, a modified B-17F with the advantage of a "chin" turret. The success of the chin turret, led to the delivery of the B-17G (the major production version), which was the first production variant to have a chin turret installed, under the nose. The Bendix turret held two .50-cal. guns, which increased the armament to thirteen guns. In all, there were 8,680 B-17Gs built by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas to make this the largest production variation. Produced in greater numbers than any other single model, more B-17Gs were lost, than any other model.

On 19 July 1943, US B-17s and B-24 Liberators carried out the first bombing raid on Rome. US bombing in Europe reached its high point in February 1945 with a 1,000-bomber raid on Berlin,
escorted by 400 fighters, and the Dresden raid (alongside RAF Lancasters) which, caused a massive fire storm to sweep the city. Meanwhile, B-17s were also helping to win the war against Japan, although by mid-1943 the larger Boeing B-29 had begun to take over the major strategic bombing missions in the Pacific theater.

Purchased by Dr. W.D. Hospers and named after his wife Chuckie, this rare bomber is the focal point of the museum. Built in 1944 and acquired in 1979 this bird is painted in the 486th Bomb Group colors. B-17G "Chuckie" is a unique aircraft as it was once equipped with the H2X "Mickey" Radar system that was used to enable BTO or Bombing Through Overcast. B-17's and B-24's equipped with radar were referred to as "Pathfinder" airplanes and led the bombing missions on Germany in the later part of WWII. Long term plans are to restore her to the original Pathfinder configuration.

Please contact Doc or Chuckie Hospers via the Vintage Flying Museum contact information below.

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