Mystery B-17

[bipe215]

This photo is part of my Dad's collection from his time in the 483rd and 2nd. I've never been able to ID it from the nose art. It is almost certainly 15th AF and probably Foggia or Pisa. It could also have been taken at Casablanca since Dad flew the Homebound Airlines route from Pisa to Casablanca alot. Does it ring a bell with anyone? Thanks in advance.

Steve

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I just checked Wallace R. Forman's B-17 Nose Art directory and there is no listing for it.

[bipe215]

I've never found it in any listing. You would think with that many missions there would be some scrap of information somewhere. I even searched for the Helyn Ann ______ name thinking that she would be the wife of the pilot. The unusual spelling should narrow searches. I'm sure some one somewhere knows, just got to find the right person.

Steve

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

Why would the nose turret be faired over if this was a regular ship ?

[bipe215]

Cheek gun is gone too. That could date this photo as just after the war during all the troop hauling. Although at least one of the B-17's my Dad flew post war had all its guns.

Steve

[Warhawk]

Looks like a lightning bolt pattern painted on the fuselage. Formation ship? Station Hack? Exec. Transport? Probably a war weary with all those mission markers so it's probably one those.

[The Inspector]

After all the shootin' was over, if it was destined to haul folks home it was probably striped of turrets and guns and anything else no longer needed to add range or capacity. I'd guess thats also why it's wearing a pseudo airliner scheme.
Some CIA B-17's could haul up to 19 folks in late 40's Asia. Too bad we don't have a tail number!

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

It also seems that the aluminum that Helyn Ann is painted on looks brighter than the surrounding panels? Notice the two men standing under the fuselage with garrison caps on, could they be High Point men getting the royal treatment by being flown home from the ETO ?

[CoastieJohn]

It also seems that the aluminum that Helyn Ann is painted on looks brighter than the surrounding panels? Notice the two men standing under the fuselage with garrison caps on, could they be High Point men getting the royal treatment by being flown home from the ETO ?

I kinda like looking at these old pics to figure out what was going when the pic was taken.

My theory is the guys in the jeep brought that individual, maybe an officer, on the right with the garrison cap out to the plane.

The guy in the other garrision cap maybe a crewman or pilot loading up the luggage of that person or the way his right hand is positioned back towards him, he maybe getting ready to climb inside the aircraft. Kind of looks like he is wearing a flight suit.

The officer looks like he has a garment bag under his right arm or that is another person directly behind him.

The vehicle in the background on the other side of the aircraft is backed up and onloading or offloading something. If the guys in foreground are loading up, I'd think the guys in the background are loading up also.

Does anyone know if jeep s/n's can be placed?

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

It also seems that the aluminum that Helyn Ann is painted on looks brighter than the surrounding panels? Notice the two men standing under the fuselage with garrison caps on, could they be High Point men getting the royal treatment by being flown home from the ETO ?

I kinda like looking at these old pics to figure out what was going when the pic was taken.

My theory is the guys in the jeep brought that individual, maybe an officer, on the right with the garrison cap out to the plane.

The guy in the other garrision cap maybe a crewman or pilot loading up the luggage of that person or the way his right hand is positioned back towards him, he maybe getting ready to climb inside the aircraft. Kind of looks like he is wearing a flight suit.

The officer looks like he has a garment bag under his right arm or that is another person directly behind him.

The vehicle in the background on the other side of the aircraft is backed up and onloading or offloading something. If the guys in foreground are loading up, I'd think the guys in the background are loading up also.

Does anyone know if jeep s/n's can be placed?

I have a friend who does Jeeps, I shoot him an E-Mail.

[bipe215]

My Dad's logs show some VIP transport besides the Homebound Airlines flights he did. But I thought he had told me they still had a 5 man crew with turrets still in place for those. I do know the troop transport B-17's were stripped and had bench seats down the sides of the fuselage.
He started the Pisa to Casablanca flights on 5-22-45, with occasional stops at Port Lyautey, Morocco. This photo was almost certainly from one of those places.

Steve

[bipe215]

This photo is definitely Pisa. Notice the Homebound Airlines lettering. Dad is standing on the right.

[CoastieJohn]

Just for grins....I was curious about the hand writing at the top of that old picture of your dad. The one in the center looks like Lins or Linz, Aus. The other one I can't make out except for the last word may be "Aus". I checked and there is indeed a Linz, Austria. Did you dad ever fly there?

[bipe215]

Yes, the marshalling yards at Linz were a popular target for 15th AF groups out of Italy.

Steve

[Pathfinder]

The serial number on my old 45 Willys was 424711...that is stamped on the dataplate on the glove box. What is written on the hood has absolutely no relation to the production number.

All US Army Jeep hood numbers began with the numbers 20....it was a vehicle class thing. Over 600,000 jeeps were produced by Willys and Ford during the war.

Regarding the photo...does a hi-rez scan reveal anything written on the hatch?