Warbird Information Exchange

I'm sure glad the Memphis Belle isn't on Mud Island anymore. The Mississippi is supose to be flooding there real soon. I feel bad for the folks that have to live through it....

I think while it was displayed there, it was caught in a flood once. I am not 100% sure, but I thought I remember some of the corroded area around the ball turret being damaged from a flood. The people that my hat is off to are the folks such as Frank Donofrio, Harry Friedman, and all of the others that busted their butts for so long to ensure that they gave the Belle the best treatment they could. Without their efforts the Belle would have been gone. I am so thrilled to know that when the Belle goes on display, the NMUSAF plans to tell the story of the MBMA and how they saved it.
While the Belle is not a timecapsule airplane like Flackbait on the outside, on the inside there are many items that are very much on that level. Combat repairs, and damage that was never repaired, bullet holes, and many other items that are being preserved, instead of restored. The Belle will be on her gear very soon!

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

can't wait!

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" I am a nobody in aviation, but somebody to my family."

I understand the fuselage sections were joined a week or two after I visited the shop in March, and it looked like the wings were almost ready for attachment. It'll be fantastic to see the Belle back in one piece, and restored to her former glory.

SN

I saw some video on the news this morning showing Mud Island, and what I assume is the framework of the Belle's old enclosure. If she were still there, she'd be under several feet of muddy Mississippi River water about now (and the water isn't expected to start receding for another week or so.)

SN

I was just about to post that. had she been there today she would have been severly damaged.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Well, it looks like something was done right on this one! Glad to see this aircraft getting the restoration and protection from the elements it deserves.