What's the story behind the Liberty Belle?
On September 9, 1944 the 390th Bomb Group attacked a target in Dusseldorf, Germany and suffered its second largest single mission loss of the war.
Over the target just prior to bomb release, one of the low squadron B-17s was hit in the Bomb bay by flak. The 1000 lb. bombs exploded and nine of the twelve aircraft in the squadron were instantly
destroyed or knocked out of formation.
Six of the nine went down over the target, one flew two hours on a single engine and landed at Paris, another "crippled plane" landed in Belgium and the other struggled back to its home base and landed long after the other thirty nine B-17s had returned from the mission.
The one that came home was "Liberty Belle", she went on to complete 64 combat missions before being salvaged on February 18, 1945.
.............................................The one that came home was "Liberty Belle", she went on to complete 64 combat missions before being salvaged on February 18, 1945.
The Liberty Belle is still flying today, thanks to the Liberty Foundation.
This one I shot through a tree, so it's a little blurred.
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