B-17 Aluminum Overcast – Credit where credit is due

[turretguy]

A bit of B-17 minutiae, but I thought I’d put this out there so that when credit is given for saving a B-17, that these gentlemen can be recognized.

In Scott Thompson’s book “Final Cut: The Post-War B-17 Flying Fortress and Survivors” (Fifth Edition), on page 227, it mentions that Dr. Bill Harrison bought 44-85740/N5017N in 1978. The following year, Harrison had put together a group of investors who had planned to fly the B-17 to many former wartime bases in tribute to those who crewed and flew the type.

Harrison and his five partners incorporated under the name B-17 Around the World, Inc. Their effort was cut short when they realized they could not self-fund the planned the trip, and a suitable buyer was sought for the bomber. Unable to sell the plane, the group donated it to the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1980.

In a conversation with Tom Camp about the many aircraft he had his hand in over the years, he related that Bill Harrison was the leader of the group and the following names (in alphabetical order after Harrison) were the additional partners:

William E. “Bill” Harrison (1933-2019)
Thomas “Tom” Camp (alive and well!)
George Enhorning (1927-1990)
Max R. Hoffman (xxxx–1986)
Albert L. “Al” Shirkey (1933-2009)
Scott Smith (deceased)

If anyone can add more information, that would be appreciated.

Having never seen the partners’ names listed (at least not in the past 20 years), I thought their generosity and foresight should be remembered.

Nick

[Tulio]

Nick,

There is a saying in Spanish: "Honrar, honra" which can be loosely translated into English by saying, that when you honor someone, you yourself gain honor.

Thank you for this very interesting fact on Aluminum Overcast.

Have long been a fan of your aviation-related work.


Saludos,


Tulio

[Xrayist]

Sometime around 1979-1981, she was parked at the Ft. Collins-Loveland airport. Just sitting there. Max Hoffman lived here in Ft. Collins, and kept his P-51, Boomer there. I went out many times to see both. At one time, there was Boomer, Stump Jumper , and a P-40E, all parked in the open on the ramp. Great times for a warbird enthusiast.

[marine air]

My dad was almost on that list. He said yes to Bill and the B-17 and I remember seeing the prospectus in a black folder on his office desk. My dad’s memory is that he told Bill yes and then later Bill asked him to recant as he had someone that he really wanted to be in the group more. My dad, John T. Baugh, Jr was great friends with Max, Dr. Bill and Scott Smith. My dad had a factory and condo in a Orlando and spent a lot of time down there with Scott Smith.
I remember the story a little differently, my dad has dementia and doesn’t remember now. My memory is that each partnership was $25,000. The airplane was very exciting but still unrestored and in poor condition. Between the operating costs, the Carter economy, the needed repairs, and the extremely expensive idea to fly around the world, reality set in to my dad.
It was Dr Bill’s idea to fly around the world. My dad decided to sit this one out.

[Neal Nurmi]

It was a mess. I actually had a short airshow flight in it at the Miami Air Race in 1979. I was put in the nose, sitting on a metal shelf in the former bombardier position. There were exposed wires and peeling paint everywhere -- it really was a mess. Great little flight, escorted by a Mustang and a T-6. I found the landing pretty strange, sitting by myself on that shelf, with the ground getting closer and closer and no landing gear or anything visible from my vantage point.

I have a couple of photos somewhere -- need to find them.

I liked Doctor Bill -- he seemed like a good guy.

[Neal Nurmi]

Unintended duplicate message.

[Tulio]

I recall reading a long time ago, that on B-17s the nose gunner moved teatwatds [EDITED: MUST say rearwards. This =#$* spell checker has its preferences : ) ] into the fuselage, from his pisition in case of an accident.

Was this the case?

Saludos,


Tulio

Last edited by Tulio on Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[airnutz]

teatwatds

Was that teatwards or rearwards Tulio? In the context I know you meant rearwards, but if they were available "teatwards" would certainly be comforting. I know fat finger disease and I'm a clod for picking low hanging fruit.

[Warbird Kid]

Something small to add to this post. Now it makes more sense to me why Aluminum Overcast showed up to the 1979 airshow that was held at the Sikorsky Memorial Airport.

George Enhorning was a well known warbird pilot in Connecticut in the early days of the Warbird Movement, and since being a member of the B-17 Around the World, Inc. I'm sure that helped.

Last edited by Warbird Kid on Tue Nov 03, 2020 11:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Tulio]

teatwatds

Was that teatwards or rearwards Tulio? In the context I know you meant rearwards, but if they were available "teatwards" would certainly be comforting. I know fat finger disease and I'm a clod for picking low hanging fruit.

MaeWestwards

Combine poor eyesight, small telephone keyboard, and not checking my spelling, and we have liftoff...


Saludos!!!


Tulio

[JohnB]

Nice to learn more about It's history...back When the warbird movement wasn't an "industry" or anything other than a bunch of guys spending (then) big money to help save them.

I've see the ship on recent tours...it's nice, but I do wish they'd done a better job matching the silver paint on the upper fuselage repair. Looks decidedly low rent on an otherwise fine aircraft.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Thanks for naming names!
Bill Harrison was a great guy, but I've always found it interesting that people almost never mention the other partners in the B-17. They brought it to CT for the Bridgeport airshow in 1979 and for the couple of days prior, they gathered at George Enhorning's home base at Oxford, CT.
It was pretty neat that week! I knew George, but I got to met Max Hoffman and Scott Smith, Scott having brought his racing P-51 "Ge Ge". They were constantly flying out of Oxford before the show. Nice to see they all are remembered for donating the B-17 to EAA.
To me, it was "George's B-17" that he had some partners in with him!

[mustangdriver]

Hey, this is great background info – thanks for sharing. As Dr. Bill Harrison is no longer with us for first-person info, verified background such as this is great to have. It will definitely become part of our info for our B-17 as we resume touring the airplane in 2021 and part of the legacy as EAA will ‘keep ‘er flying.

[mustangdriver]

Thank you again to all who brought this to light. We have updated the landing page on the B-17 to include them in its history.

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/events-and-expe ... ng-and-eaa

[phil65]

Phil