History
B-17G-105-VE, 44-85740 was built by the Vega Division of Lockheed Aircraft Company and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps on 18 May 1945, too late to serve in Europe where most B-17s were destined. Declared surplus and initially stored in New York, the aircraft was sent to Altus, Oklahoma on 7 November 1945 where, stripped of all military equipment, it was sold as "scrap" for $750 in 1946 to Metal Products. The aircraft was rescued from its fate when resold shortly after to Universal Aviation, for use as an aerial mapping platform, acquiring civil registration N5017N.
In 1947, the Vero Beach Import and Export Company purchased "740" to serve as a cargo hauler, hauling cattle in Florida and Puerto Rico, a role that necessitated removing the original radio compartment and floor, replacing it with a strengthened floor. In 1949, Aero Service Corporation bought the aircraft and turned it back into an aerial photography and surveying platform. In this role, during the next 12 years, the B-17 carried out mapping operations over Arabia, Libya, Lebanon, Iran, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt and Jordan.
Its next role was in aerial application with first Chris Stolzhus and Associates in 1962, and then Dothan Aviation Corporation in 1966, where "740" had a chemical hopper and spray bars fitted under the wings. After operating as a pest control, forest dusting and fire fighting aircraft, the aircraft wound up its postwar career in 1976.
In 1978, Dr. Bill Harrison, heading up "B-17s Around the World", funded the purchase of the aircraft, which had been parked in open storage in Dothan, Alabama for two years. Renamed Aluminum Overcast, the name commemorates the 601st Bomb Squadron, 398th Bomb Group (Heavy)'s B-17G #42-102516 that was shot down on its 34th combat mission over Le Manoir, France, on 13 August 1944. Veterans of the 398th BG helped finance the bomber's restoration. Harrison's group restored the B-17 to a near-wartime appearance, although no armament was installed, and flew the aircraft at numerous airshows across the United States. As financing for maintenance and further restoration became difficult, more ambitious plans, such as an around-the-world goodwill flight, were shelved.
Read more about this topic: Aluminum Overcast
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