Dispelling the Myths Again - Part 18

 It is clear that even by 1950, there was both a 'blame game' and a lot of 'buck-passing' going on. When it suited people, the aircraft was flavor-of-the-month - the rest of the time it was virtually abandoned to the attention of the vandals.

Those newspaper articles stirred a few citizens into action. A new committee was formed. One proposal was to find a spot in Overton Park and build a glass enclosure. No decision was made. A cheaper the proposal was to give the aircraft a clear plastic coat to protect it against the weather.

A Commercial Appeal editorial suggested that the city should find a place and build a shelter, but there seemed to be a strong dose of NIMBYism - as in 'Not In My Back Yard'. The best the city could do was an offer, from the Park Commission, of a site just north of the Pink Palace Museum in Chickasaw Gardens.' Some residents of the area didn't like that. It would draw too many visitors to their quiet residential area, not to speak of it being an eyesore. In December, the plans had changed again - the Park Commission next offered a site on a terrace in Bellevue Park. By this time, the plane had been moved out of the hangar and now stood on an open ramp at the airport. The Air Force was not interested in it, and could no longer keep it under cover - they needed the hangar space.

An artists impression drawn up by architect West Livaudais of the display plinth proposed for the Armoury grounds.

It was 1949, and now time for the American Legion to get into the act. Newspapers called the Memphis Belle a stepchild. Marion Hale, senior vice president of the Memphis American Legion, Post No. 1, announced that the Board of Directors of his post had voted unanimously to adopt the Memphis Belle as a Legion project. It proposed to place the Belle on the grounds of the National Guard Armory, facing Central Avenue. The Legion named Roane Waring Jr. to head a committee of six to get some action, and for once, they got it. The Legion plan called for an outdoor museum to contain a display of military mementoes with the Memphis Belle as the centrepiece. It didn't get that far, but they did move the aircraft.

A picture published in the Commercial Appeal on May 21st, 1950, showed the Memphis Belle being dismantled. Her wings were off. Then, on May 23rd, it was towed to the Armory site and hoisted onto a concrete pedestal. The wings were put back on, and the paint was refurbished. The Legion project was complete. 

 The aircraft was moved out to a concrete plinth on the corner of Hollywood Street and Central Avenue.
The idea was that by placing the aircraft on a pedestal it would deter souvenir hunters and vandals.
[via Harry Friedman]

Or was it? For now, the vandals took over. Somebody said if they weren't stopped, the vandals would make off with the entire plane, a piece at a time just like that old Johnny Cash song! So by October 19th, 1951, a chain link fence was erected around the site. The wire slowed the vandals, and put a partial stop to lovers making use of the rear fuselage for asignations, but if the vandals were determined enough, they could climb over even that kind of barrier.

Every now and then, someone would try and stir up some action. In June 1952 ex US Navy man Granville Doyle Jr. of Doyle Distributing Co. stirred things up yet again; 'I feel that the present appearance and state of the Memphis Belle on Central is a disgrace and should bring a feeling of shame to anyone who has a love for aviation whenever they should happen to pass this deplorable sight. If this airplane can't be kept in a better appearance, aviation as a whole would profit by its removal. Having served in the Naval Air Corps for seven years, I feel that if this was a Navy aircraft they would never allow it to appear in public in its present state.

The Memphis Belle may have been illuminated at night in an effort to deter vagrants and vandals and there may also have been a triple row of barbed wire atop the fence, but if anything the lights tend to highlight the poor condition and appearance of the aircraft.

With the various Army units in and around Memphis, doesn't anyone possess enough pride to take care of its 'own'? If not, I feel that there are enough former military pilots in this area who would be willing to subscribe to a service to keep the memorial in a state of good repair.

It was not only vandalism - as the years passed, the weather was taking its toll, too. Aluminum does not rust as steel does. But, when exposed long enough, especially with certain chemical elements in the air,
aluminum does corrode. Such corrosion can be treated and, to some degree, retarded but for many of the years the Memphis Belle stood there on the pedestal exposed and open to the elements, nothing was done to retard or prevent corrosion. The aircraft was to sit there for twenty-seven years.

Further attempts were made to keep out the vandals - a triple row of barbed wire was placed at an angle outward on top of the existing wire fence, but all that had the effect of was to make it look more like a prison camp. What really was needed was an indoor home, but none seemed to be forthcoming - in fact it seemed even further away than ever.

By 1955 things were bad again despite repeated clean-ups and repaints. As can be seen from this picture taken in June 1955, the fabric on the elevators were particularly suffering from the attention of vandals. [via Harry Friedman]

When the crew of the Memphis Belle came to Memphis for a reunion in 1961 someone decided to spruce up the aircraft with a splash of paint. The crew however, were none-too-impressed by the fact that when the aircraft had been painted, a different nose-art to the original 'Petty Girl' had been applied, and that none of their names were by their respective crew places any more.

 Margaret, Bob Morgan and the Belle.

There were people in the city that cared for the aircraft. Still, they lacked the money, support and wherewithall to do anything but conduct a holding exercise against the onslaught of vandalism, be it official 'stripping of useful parts' by the Air Force or constant stripping my the souvenir hunters.

April 1962 saw the first real 'commercialization' of the aircraft, its famous name, Petty Girl 'logo' and legends when Revell Inc, the model kit manufacturer began marketing one-seventy-second scale plastic kits of the aircraft. The model-maker stated that they believed that within a year half a million Americans would have one of the plastic kits in their homes.

Every local newspaperman, editor and photographer loved the link the Memphis Belle with Memphis belles. In the same year as the 91st BG reunion this photograph appeared with the MSY entries for the upcoming Miss Memphis Pageant - left to right they are Suzanne Troth, Linda Warren, Susan Carey, Suzie Buchwald, Nonnie Hooker, Donna Owen and Beverley Hill.
[via Harry Friedman]

In October 1966 13 year old David Pitts of Pleasant Grove AL wrote to a number of people including Memphis Mayor William B Ingram, Paul Burke - who played Colonel Joseph Anson Gallagher in the ABC TV series 'Twelve O'Clock High' - and the Commercial Appeal newspaper amongst others about what he saw as the poor condition of the aircraft. A few days later 7-year old Tommy Knapp wrote in expressing similar views; 'I am making a model of the Memphis Belle. I wish the Memphis Belle could be fixed up so everyone would enjoy seeing it. I sure would like to get inside that plane. I'd like to help fix it up. I'd help paint it and maybe I could get some new tires for it at the gas station, but I only have 50 cents, so I guess I'll have to save some first'.

‘Bill’ Winchell and 401st BS clerk Doug Gibson show David Pitts some of the combat photographs at the 1967 91st BG reunion in which David was made an honorary member of the 91st BG Association. [via Harry Friedman]

Another letter came from Norman Alexander; 'I read about the boy from Alabama wanting to repair the Memphis Belle, and he is right. She would be better off a heap of junk than in the condition she's in now. She helped us win the war, and now her paint is peeling, her winders [sic] are covered and breaking, her guns are gone and she's not as pretty as she was years ago. I think there should be some fund or something  Think of the men that flew in her. If they have kids they might not even want to show her to them. Those people came to Memphis to see her and imagine their surprise. On the instructions, she is said to be resting peacefully on an honorary war display. I am 12 years old and I go to Trezevant High School and if you plan to fix her I'll be more than glad and honored to help. So come on and fix her right... please. She is an eyesore now and would be more historic the way she actually was'

Although the letters never got a reply from the Mayor's office or the TV star, they did shame the city into action with a new coat of paint and repairs being done by the Tennessee Air National Guard led by Chief Master Sgt Walter W. Maingault. The nose glazing was discovered to be badly damaged, and after searching all over the country and failing to find a replacement, the Air National Guard applied an epoxy coating to the perspex and painted it silver. At the same time they fitted dummy' guns'.

By early December it was possible to arrange a re-dedication. Bob  Morgan flew down to Birmingham  AL and picked up David Pitts and his father William so they could be present at the ceremony where they were presented with the keys to the city.

In July 1967 the 91st Bomb Group held their first formal reunion in Memphis. Several pilgrimages were made to the Armoury Grounds, and William Wyler's movie was shown a number of times. Bob Morgan and the bond tour crew showed up, as did Joe Giambrone. Of course, much hangar flying was done in the Peabody Hotel, including Joe Giambrone telling of the only time he flew on the Memphis Belle. Here I was, on the ground crew, so I asked the Captain if he'd let me go on one of the milk runs. We hit Méaulte and I remember it almost shook the props off. Listening to the conversation was General Stanley Wray: Méaulte? Hell, I led that raid - that was no milk run!'.

Newspaper photographers and now the TV men would come out now and then. The crew would line up in front of the plane. There would be a few shots on the evening news. Newspaper writers would crank up a new feature story, recalling and reminding citizens of the old girl's past glories.

The 1967 91st BG reunion. Colonel Stanley Wray in the centre with his arms outstretched.Teenager and honorary 91ster David Pitts is fourth from the right.

In May 1969, while filming 'The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones' in Humboldt, TN, William Wyler and some of his film crew stopped by the old aircraft for a photo opportunity and to meet up with Bob Morgan one more time. Representatives from Mayor Henry Loeb and Governor Buford Ellington were on hand, as were the TV and Press. Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as planned, for no one could find the key-holder to let them all into the gated compound!

Perhaps no one can say for certain how long the Belle might have stood there on her pedestal, waiting. But in 1976, the National Guard forced a new round of activity. The Armory grounds were sold to the nearby Memphis Memorial Stadium. The old plane would have to be moved. Numerous plans were put forward again - Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division offered a small site on North Main near the Cook Convention Center with a small building adjacent that could be used as a museum. There was talk of transferring it to a location inside the Libertyland Amusement Park on Early Maxwell Blvd. Nothing was really suitable. It was time to step forward the Memphis Belle Memorial Association.

Wheels on ground for the first time in 27 years. It is about to have its wings removed and trucked back to the airport. 

[via Harry Friedman]

Dispelling the Myths - Again. Part 17

Many, many people over the years have blamed those responsible for the care of the Memphis Belle for the damage done to the aircraft while it was in the city - WRONG! Most of the damage was done by three distinct groups: the Air Force, who stripped the aircraft of usable parts, so-called 'enthusiasts' (in truth, read vandals and thieves) who collected souvenirs in the worse possible ways by simply ripping whatever they could out, and the local politicians who had no real idea what to do with the aircraft once they had ownership of it. As we shall see in this post, a valiant few tried to preserve the aircraft, but it was not until the mid-1970s that work really started.

Such was the fame of the aircraft that items were stolen from the aircraft even while it was in Army Air Corps service.

From the previous blog, it is clear that Mayor Chandler was not only aware that some of the aircraft’s log books had been stolen during its time in Florida, but he was also unsuccessful in their recovery. To this day, there are still an undetermined number of log-books ‘missing’ that account for over four hundred and fifty flying hours. This covered two periods from September 4th 1944, when the aircraft had flown 1519 hours 45 minutes. The documentation picks up again on November 20th with airframe hours of 1749, so during that time, the aircraft had flown some 229 hours 15 minutes. More log books go missing on November 26th at an airframe hour of 1792:55. The next log in existence starts on January 21st 1945, at airframe hour 2017:05 - a further ‘missing’ 224 hours.

Mayor Chandler also wrote to Bob Morgan: This morning at 11.30 am the ship took off and came directly to Memphis without stopping, arriving here at 2.45 pm. A large crowd was at the airport to greet her and there was great rejoicing. She looks every inch the great lady she was when you and your magnificent crew flew her so successfully on those missions, and we hope that it will not be long before you feel the urge to fly to Memphis and give her your own affectionate greetings’.
 

 

The Memphis Belle parked outside the Administrative Building after arrival at Memphis Airport in July 1946.

It is clear with the benefit of hindsight - which is always 20/20 vision - that once the city got their hands on the Memphis Belle, they really had no idea what they were going to do with it and, one suspects what is more, that the majority of the city had no genuine interest in it. The ‘saving’ of the aircraft can be credited to Mayor Walter Chandler for whatever his reasons, be they political or patriotic, we are just not sure. It can equally be said that the entire ‘preserving for future generations' was also his idea and one the success of which was reliant of him staying in office to drive it through.

It was also the early days of aircraft preservation - especially in the USA. Remember, the Wright Brothers Wright Flyer spent from 1925 until 1948 in London due to disputes!

Shortly after the triumphant return to Memphis, the city elected a new mayor, Sylvanus Polk. The new Mayor did not consider the priorities for the Memphis Belle to be as high as they might have been if Chandler had remained in office. The new Mayor spoke about the shortage in building materials during the war. He spoke of the many pent-up needs of the city, created by nearly four years of war. ‘How could he...’, he asked, ‘...justify spending money and asking for scarce material to house an airplane?’ People and their housing came first.

Mayor Chandler points out some detail to pilot Bob Little . [via Harry Friedman]

As early as November 16th of that year, newspapers were printing stories of how the aircraft had been abandoned and sat exposed to the weather and to vandals on a ramp at the airport. One picture showed upholstery torn by souvenir hunters. ‘Belle’s Gallantry Forgotten, She Rots On Ramp,’ said a headline in the Commercial Appeal. ‘She’s sitting at the Airport, weathering away,’ said another.

Newspapers Aviation correspondent Robert Gray wrote: ‘The gallant B-17 Flying Fortress which etched a blazing trail of invincibility and valor through embattled skies over Europe, continues in her adopted home town as just another war-weary veteran - apparently forgotten except by the wind and the rain and perhaps an occasional souvenir hunter. When visited yesterday the once proud’ ‘Belle’ displayed a open window opposite the pilot’s seat, as though inviting the elements to come in. The bomb bay doors, through which passed death and destruction for Hitler’s domain on 25 separate missions, were open. The front escape hatch, which never had to be used during combat flights, was open to the Fall dampness. The waist windows were only partly closed and the entrance door flapped in the chilled afternoon breeze. A gaping hole in the left tip of the horizontal stabilizer, obviously put there by another vehicle or plane brushing into the ‘Belle’ was reminiscent of the flak wounds she suffered in do-or-die action. The tail wheel tire was almost flat and the other two tires were under-inflated. Oil drippings had consolidated with dirt to make ugly splotches under each of the four engines, which now are faulty from inattention, Inside the ‘Belle’ is as dishevelled as any castoff long-exposed to the elements. The upholstery in the radio compartment is tattered and torn. So is the side covering in the pilot’s compartment. Seat cushions andradio headphones with which the famed ship was fitted upon arriving here on her last journey are now missing. Some of the fire extinguisher holders are empty. There is considerable evidence of tampering.

Newspapers in the immediate post-war years were notorious for being printed with very coarse
screening and on very poor quality paper, so it is remarkable that this cutting survives!
It relates to the days when the Memphis Belle was, to all intents and purposes abandoned on the parking ramp at Memphis Airport.

When the ‘Belle’ landed at the airport here last July 17th, flown from Altus, Okia,, aircraft graveyard by a Memphis crew headed by Cap Robert Little, she was accorded a warm welcome by Mayor Chandler and other city officials and proclaimed ’a historic asset to be shared by every citizen’. The plane had officially become the property of Memphis and its citizens. The Mayor announced the ‘Belle’ would be put in befittingly plush quarters - a glass enclosure - at the fairgrounds where all could share in her past glory. But four months have passed since she came back here, and the “Memphis Belle’ is still as homeless as a cloud and far more discarded and neglected. Her 25 missions and score of eight Nazi planes shot down now dimmed by time and no longer the glamourized idol of a thankful people, our heroine of reclaimed glory four months ago is today a mess.

As to future plans for the valiant veteran. Mayor Polk who inherited the project from Mayor Chandler, said yesterday there is nothing new to report.. ‘I have no information on that to give now’, Mayor Polk said '‘It’s something we have to work on’.

Stung by the critical news stories Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Gilbert of the Fourth Ferrying Command out at the airport brought the aircraft into one of his hangars - but it was clear to all that this was only a temporary solution, a proper home needed to be found.

To the Smithsonian?

On June 26th 1947 under a headline which read ‘Museum makes bid for Memphis Belle’ the following appeared in the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Gallant B-17 May Find Haven at Smithsonian. The ‘Memphis Belle’ gallant B-17 Flying Fortress which made history in the skies over embattled Europe and is now stored in a hangar at the Memphis Army Airfield, is among the aircraft being considered for display in the proposed National Air Museum in Washington.

The museum would be in the hall adjacent to the Smithsonian Institution and would house the ‘Belle’ the ‘Enola Gay’, B-29 Superfort which dropped the first atomic bomb; ‘Flak Bait’, [a twin-engined Martin B-26 Marauder 41-31733] and other notable planes. In addition, the museum would display representative types of German, Japanese and. Italian aircraft and aeronautical equipment captured by Air Technical Intelligence men in World War II. Plans for the project were disclosed by Grover C. Loenlng, aeronautical engineer and member of the Advisory Committee for the Museum, upon a visit to the Air Material Command, at Wright Field.Ohio.

‘The City of Memphis has not been approached on the subject...’ City Commissioner Grashot said yesterday. ‘When we are, we will give it full consideration’. The plane has been officially regarded as something of a ‘step-child’ since its return here last summer from an aircraft graveyard at Altus. Okla. In the light of subsequent events, if the Smithsonian Institution HAD gone through and obtained the aircraft - they did after all, do everything else in this proposal - it would have avoided all the many problems and squabbles that occurred over the passing years!

Robert Gray, the Commercial Appeal’s reporter who rode the Memphis Belle on her trip from Altus to Memphis, led the fight during those early years to keep the plight of the aircraft in the public eye. It was on July 19th, 1948, two years after that triumphant flight home from Altus, when expectations had been so high, that a story under Bob Gray’s by-line appeared under the headline, ‘Two More Years of Ignominy Add Dust to Memphis Belle and Shame to Her Owners.’

But who were those owners? It was commonly thought that they could only be the people. That had been the wish of former Mayor Chandler in returning a donor’s check for $350. It had been peanuts, that price, but it was the taxpayers who paid. They owned the plane now. ‘Two years have passed but the Memphis Belle today remains a symbol without honor in her own home town...’ reported Bob Gray. ‘She is still in a hangar, supposedly protected, but gathering dust.’ He added that, somehow, parts of the aircraft continued to disappear.

Gray’s complaints got something moving, although some of the solutions proposed could only bring shudders to true friends of the aircraft. One came from Joseph Durra, the manager of Durra Products - his plan was to cover the aircraft with a protective coating. Frank Boyd, the Chairman of the Memphis Belle Committee revealed that one home being considered was in Bellevue Park. Another home under consideration was in Overton Park. Both proposals involved coating the aircraft inside and out with a transparent plastic solution.
 

Two views taken inside the TANG hangar that shows a wealth of detail information! In the background can be seen a USAF marked German V-1 flying bomb. The Memphis Belle itself is showing signs of having damage to the nose and side windows. Amazingly, it also shows a completely different arrangement to the ‘stars’ above the bomb symbols - not only are they in different positions, they are ALL painted yellow here - gone are the red outlines on some! There is also a mysterious letter ‘Q’ above them towards the rear of the line. The date, according to the rear of the original is September 21st 1948. [via Harry Friedman]

One far more ‘threatening’ proposal, came from Colonel Donald Fargo, commander of the 21st Air Division out at the airport. Colonel Fargo’s plan was to cut off the nose and use that as a memento in the Memphis Museum, while the remaining parts were used as training aids for Air Force Reserve personnel. In reply, Robert Taylor, a Memphis attorney and one of the men who had helped fly the aircraft back to city, said it best: ‘...to cut up the Memphis Belle would be sacrilege’.

The aircraft languished in the Air Guard hangar out at Memphis Airport for a while, before being partially dismantled and left in theparking lot before being moved to the Armory site. Restraining the fuselage on the USAF flat-bed seems to have been a matter of stringing ropes through the opened cockpit side windows while the aircraft rests on sandbags. [via Harry Friedman]

Dispelling the Myths - Again Part 16

 I was not going to go into great detail as to the events leading up to the placing of the aircraft on the pedestal at the Armory, but assorted idiotic claims and comments made have forced me to put the record straight. I suspect that many will not bother reading it, but, it needs placing out in the public domain in the vain hope that someone takes notice!

Back in the summer of 1943, as the Memphis Belle and her crew were making their triumphal tour of the USA with the cheers of the populace ringing out to make heroes of the young airmen, Mayor Walter Chandler of Memphis contacted the War Department and asked if the aircraft could be sent to Memphis as a permanent war memorial. They refused, stating that the war was still going on and the Memphis Belle was a warplane and was needed. They said that the plane would be overhauled after the tour and sent back to war with another crew and, perhaps, another name. Then, as we have seen, it was assigned to MacDill Field near Tampa, Florida.

With the outbreak of peace in 1945, the Army Air Force no longer wanted the aircraft, and so it was flown to Altus for storage and eventual scrapping. Mayor Chandler allowed no time to be wasted once the war was over. On August 25th, just eleven days after the end of the war in the Pacific, Chandler made his next move to obtain the aircraft for Memphis. While the Memphis Belle and her fame were fresh in everyone’s mind, Chandler petitioned the War Department once more to let his city have the famous plane. His announced plan was to have a permanent hangar built for the aircraft at Memphis Municipal Airport, where the public could visit it.

With the Reconstruction Finance Corporation’s catalog number ‘84’ crudely marked on the nose - barely visible in this picture just under the Petty Girl’s feet - the Memphis Belle awaits the wreckers. [via Harry Friedman]

With this a new phase in the life of the aircraft began. We move from mainly direct Army Air Force documentation to a mishmash of governmental and civic paperwork along with folder after folder containing two types of newspaper reporting - events that were reported as being expected to happen and reports of events that had already happened. Local or Federal documents are considered reasonably accurate, as are newspapers reporting what had already happened, but when they start reporting what may happen, we consider that as highly speculative!

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) seemed willing to let Memphis have the aircraft, but months dragged by as Chandler continued to write letters, negotiating and working out the details. As usual, the wheels of governmental bureaucracy turned slowly. Even then, obstacles were placed in the way. A Civil Aeronautics Administration inspector reported that the aircraft was not airworthy enough to fly to Memphis.

In February 1946, it was reported by J. A. Biles of the Ada Okla. Evening News that the Memphis Belle was residing - along with some 2,600 other aircraft - in an aircraft graveyard in Altus, Oklahoma, with a price tag of $13,750 hanging from its wings.
    
Following the newspaper report from Biles, repeated in the local papers, Mayor Chandler was quoted as saying, ‘The plane is there at Altus, and they will sell it to us for $350. Only three things are wrong with
the Flying Fortress. The oil pressure of the No. 3 engine is too high. The emergency hydraulic system won’t operate, and the throttle is not exactly synchronized’. The Mayor did not explain the low price set for the city. Instead, Chandler said he was ‘...looking into the matter to determine if we could locate a suitable place for it.

If purchased by the city...’ he continued, it ‘...would have to be put under the jurisdiction of the Park Commission and someplace found to house it. All of us would like to have this famous ship that bears the name of Memphis. I hope some way can be worked out so that we may own it’.

The Memphis Belle seems to have been parked in a special area at Altus, here seen alongside the
famous and muchautographed B-24 Liberator ‘Five Grand’. [via Harry Friedman]

Mayor Chandler said he had not talked to John Vesey, chairman of the Park Commission, about the Memphis Belle. Vesey said, however. that he was interested in the famous old ship and he would look into the matter to see if it could be brought to the city and housed adequately. He pointed out that at present the Park Commission had no place it could house the ship. He said he doubted that the plane could be housed in the Memphis Museum and that ‘... it probably could be put in the Shelby County building now used by Second Army Headquarters when that building is returned to the Park Commission’. Vesey made it clear though that he was only thinking out loud. He reminded reporters that the Shelby County building was ‘...to become the entrance to the new arena, and hundreds of thousands of people would see the plane each year’.

On February 13th 1946, Mayor Chandler revealed that a well-wisher had personally offered to finance the purchase of the aircraft and the costs in returning it to Memphis; ‘The offer was made by William Bell of 1876 Overton Park, but the City Commission decided the plane was a historic asset to be shared by every citizen and the cost would be paid by the city. We are returning the check for $350, the purchase price which Mr Bell sent to us’.

Although this one day’s reporting clearly states that the benefactor was ’a real estate developer Mr Bell’, all subsequent reports state it was an ‘anonymous supporter’.Later research reveals his full identity as William Alton Bell, of Apartment One, 1876 Overton Park Avenue.

Then stories started to appear in the newspapers that the RFC was threatening to throw the Memphis Belle in with the other planes being sent to the scrap yards. Would she end up in an aluminum smelter?
Maybe this was a scare tactic to get things moving. In any case, on March 3rd, 1946, Mayor Chandler duly announced that he would abandon his campaign by mail and would go to Washington to undertake talks with what was then the War Assets Corporation.

Things began to move. On March 8th, 1946, Mayor Chandler was able to report from Washington that he had purchased the Memphis Belle for the City of Memphis for $350 - it had cost the U.S. Government $314,109 when delivered by Boeing in 1942.

THIS SHOOTS DOWN THE BS THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS 'GIVEN' TO ANYONE BY THE AIR FORCE!

As stories about the final purchase appeared in the newspapers, pilots and crewmen began volunteering for the honor of going to Altus and flying the famous plane home. In fact, so many volunteered that finally a committee, headed by Downing Pryor, had to be appointed to select the crew. To make as many men as possible happy, the committee called for a command pilot in addition to a pilot.

The sales document from the RFC stating that the aircraft should be 'shipped to' The City of Memphis.

Then someone suggested Bob Morgan - after all, wasn’t he the man who had given the plane its Memphis connection by naming it the Memphis Belle? Without that name and the famed romance with Memphian Margaret Polk, there would have been no excuse for bringing the plane to Memphis!

That started the ‘who was to be the pilot’ discussion all over again. Mayor Chandler contacted Morgan in Asheville, North Carolina. On June 19th, on the third anniversary of the aircraft’s triumphant return to Memphis to begin the national tour, Mayor Chandler announced that the original pilot would indeed fly the Memphis Belle home on July 2nd. Nevertheless, the problems continued. Morgan met with Mayor Chandler, Captain Robert Taylor , Chairman of the American Legion Aviation Committee and Colonel Fred Hook of the Air Reserve Association, along with Major Downing Pryor and Captain’  Ham’ Morrison, who were to be his co-pilots.

The crew of the Memphis Belle seen at Altus before what was supposed to be her last flight. Bob Gray from the Commercial Appeal is seen kneeling, right. The ‘84’ on the nose is the RFC catalog number. [via Harry Friedman]

On returning to Ashville, Morgan sent a telegram to Mayor Chandler: ‘Upon returning, I find there are so many things that urgently need taking care of it is impossible for me to leave now. You know that I wanted to do this more than anything I can think of, but business comes first. It would be impossible for me to fly the Belle until July 29th. I know you are anxious to have this mission accomplished. Therefore, would suggest you have another pilot fly the ship if you cannot wait. Thanks again to all my friends for offering me this opportunity. It is too bad that things are so unstable at the moment. Best regards’.
 

So, on July 13th, 1946, Mayor Chandler was forced to announce that he regretted that ‘Colonel Morgan could not make the trip but there have been so many delays that further postponement could not be possible. as the War Assets Administration has been calling on the City of Memphis to take possession
of the Memphis Belle’.

Bob Little and the returning crew, pose for photographs with staff from the RFC facility at Altus, and members of the Memphis Belle Girl Scout Troop also from Altus. It is quite possible that some in this picture are stillalive - Iwould love to contact them!

It was then announced that Captain Robert E. Little, the man originally picked by the committee, would do the piloting. Little had plenty of experience flying B-17s, although his war service had been in the Pacific, rather than Europe. He had flown 73 missions against Japan and was now a pilot for Chicago and Southern Airlines, making regular flights to Memphis.

On July 16th, Captain Little and his crew boarded an Army Douglas C-47 transport belonging to the 4th Ferrying Group at Memphis, piloted by Captain Joseph P. Vecharelli and Major Millard A Webb and flew to Altus. They didn’t need a full crew of ten since nobody was needed to man the guns. The guns had been removed anyway. The crew of seven men who made the trip, other than Little, were all Air Force Reserves. They were Captain Robert. L. Taylor, navigator; Sergeant Percy Roberts, Jr., flight engineer; Technical Sergeant Charles Crowe, flight engineer; Lieutenant James Gowdy, second navigator; Captain Hamp Morrison, co-pilot, and Stuart Griffin, radio operator. Upon arrival they checked the Memphis Belle over completely.

They were met by Burl Brumley, president of the Altus Chamber of Commerce, John Badger Chairman of the Chamber’s Aviation Committee and Blackwood Saunders, Superintendent of the War Assets Administration. Later that day the met with Altus Mayor Fred Mains who presented them with a letter to deliver to Mayor Chandler: ‘It is with a sad heart that we commit the Memphis Belle to your care. Expert mechanics have checked her daily and attendants have cleaned her regularly for a long time, for many thousands have come from all part of the country to see this famous ship. We took pride in having her at her best’.

Bob Little: The old gal gave us some trouble with the spark plugs, but Crowe and Roberts worked on the engines to make sure they got us to Memphis. The people at Altus asked if we wanted to make a test flight, but I told them no - when we get up there we are going all the way!’. The next day they took off. 

There were still some problems, according to aviation editor Robert Gray of Memphis’ morning newspaper, the Commercial Appeal, who was on the flight. The plane lifted off the runway but then the landing gear refused to retract. The crew had to use the emergency hand crank. Bob Little again: ‘When we tried to raise the gear it wouldn’t come up. So Percy [Roberts] got into the bomb bay and cranked it us as far as he could’.

 
Percy Roberts, Jr: ‘I was cranking the hell out of that thing and got the gear up about half way and it wouldn’t go any more. So we came all the way to Memphis with the gear part down. On the way Little asked me if I wanted to fly it for a while. I told him sure, and it was not long before we had climbed a few hundred feet. He told me to look out at the left wing - then to look at the other. I was in a pretty good turn and did not even know it! Wasn’t the prettiest thing, but I flew the Memphis Belle for about fifteen minutes’.
 

Then there was the matter of an in-flight fire. Percy Roberts again: ‘Just west of Texarkana we smelt something burning and could not find it. We looked all over the aircraft until we discovered that someone had placed an oily rag over one of the electrical inverters. They get pretty hot in flight and the rag had started smouldering, sending some smoke up’.

Over Little Rock, Arkansas, the radio refused to work correctly - they could receive but not transmit. When they arrived over Memphis, Bob Little overflew the Tower and waggled his wings - a procedure to announce that their radio was out.

Percy Roberts went back to the bomb bay and started to crank down the gear - but there was another problem - the down and locked indicators would not light up. ‘She could have settled on to her belly as we put the tires on the runway. There was a bunch of fire trucks all over the place. I guess they thought we were going to have some real trouble when we landed’ Roberts climbed into the ball turret to see if he could visually confirm they were ‘down and locked’. As Gray later put it, Little ‘...greased her in’ for a perfect landing and the Memphis Belle was home at last.

On arrival at 2.55pm, the aircraft and its ferry crew were met by Mayor Chandler, Commissioner Miller and over two hundred devotees waiting for them outside the airlines terminal building. Mayor Chandler read out the letter from Altus Mayor Mains. Mayor Chandler said that the aircraft would be parked on the Fourth Ferrying Group ramp and in their care until after the Army Air Forces day on August 1st, and would later be ‘...put on display at the Fairgrounds in a fireproof building with the aircraft itself enclosed in glass. All the trophies accompanying the plane and all the photographs that could be accumulated of her mounted on the walls of the proposed building. Special care will be taken to protect against souvenir hunters’. He went on to say that he had plans for ‘...writing to the Army Air Forces to use if it is possible for us to have the types of guns used on the plane in combat replaced so that the ship will have her exact appearance as a fighting unit. Under Army Regulations, all the guns had to be removed but I believe the War Department will let us have duplicates of each of the firing pieces which the ship carried on her famous missions. I also hope to recover records taken from the flight log before the plane was stored at Altus’.

The crew that brought the Memphis Belle home! Left to right: Stuart Griffin, James Gowdy, Hamp Morrison, Bob Little, Mayor Walter Chandler, Percy Roberts, Bob Taylor and Charles Crowe. [via Harry Friedman]

Dispelling the Myths again part fifteen

 

Conclusion? - there will never be one!

Right up to the last days of his life, Bob Morgan toured the aviation lecture circuit, showing a copy of the movie made by William Wyler, a movie originally made to be shown to the people ‘back home’ while World War Two was still being fought. Bob Morgan talked to community clubs, school groups, Air Force Reserves and so on. When asked in 1986 why he did it, Bob replied: ‘I still like to do this because the kids have no idea what it was really like over there in 1942 and 1943. Most of them get a bang out of the movie and enjoy it. But sometimes you get a different kind of reaction. One day, after I had shown it to a high school group, one of the students, a girl, came up to me and said, 'Mr. Morgan, that film is just a lot of propaganda.' I didn't know what to say’.

    It was clear as Bob Morgan told us this story that ‘the man who piloted the Memphis Belle’, consciously or otherwise, had been deeply and lastingly wounded by that high-school girl's reaction. Was this what the Memphis Belle had come to stand for? Perhaps the William Wyler film had been Army Air Force propaganda and Hollywood hype. Perhaps the War Department, the sponsors of the film, had even intended it that way. They had wanted to tell the American people, the parents, the wives and the girlfriends of the boys flying those planes in combat, just what those self-same boys were going through. What it was like. What the airmen were doing in the name of their country, so far from Mom’s Apple Pie. To Bob Morgan though, the film was much more than that. Indeed, as we have seen, Bob Morgan was ever the opportunist and self-promoter, but the film had become a major part of his life. Something he had lived through that time so many years ago, and re-lived every time he showed it. He could remember with pride the Memphis Belle, his crew, and the fact they all came home - alive.

Throughout June, July and August of 1943 the bond tour was both a welcome distraction and counterpoint to the bad news coming from England that bought General Arnold and the Army Air Force time - time to evolve the Eighth Air Force from being what Arnold himself had called ‘...that piddling little force’ into something more akin to ‘The Mighty Eighth’ - a phrase subsequently beloved by historians and the common man alike. Such was the success of that tour, such was the popularity of those ‘Men of the Eighth’ - brought directly about by the Memphis Belle and her crew on that Bond Tour - that no politician dared to criticise them or to be seen to put obstacles in the way of what they stood for!

  Inexorably linked to the whole Memphis Belle story is William Wyler’s movie. This had been ‘in production’ since he completed filming in late May 1943, yet it was not released until mid-April 1944. There are a number of things that are very strange about that whole episode, not least the myriad of errors in the 91st BG logs and the dates applied to the photographs as we have already seen - there are just too many that are just too ‘consistent’ to be anything but deliberate. As I have shown,  without doubt those logs and photographs are wildly and consistently in error with the Royal records in London but at least we have been able to locate one USAAF document - Wyler’s Secret Field Report dated 8 June 1943 to Lt. Col. Bierne Lay Jr - that confirms the May 26th date of the Royal visit.

    Wyler had previously worked magic by winning over the American public with his film ‘Mrs Minever’, produced by MGM in 1942 with Greer Garson in the leading role. Under the influence of the American Office of War Information, the film attempted to undermine Hollywood's pre-war depiction of England as a glamorous bastion of social privilege, anachronistic habits and snobbery in favour of more democratic, modern images. It showed the Miniver family undergoing the erosion of class barriers taking place through pressures of wartime. The film exceeded all expectations, grossing $5,358,000 in North America and $3,520,000 abroad. In Britain, it was named the top box office attraction of 1942.

    Perhaps here is a reason for why ‘the Memphis Belle’ took so long to release. The American Office of War Information had success with Mrs Miniver, so perhaps they thought that Wyler could work his magic again with ‘Memphis Belle’? Perhaps the American public could be ‘prepared’ through Wyler’s film for the forthcoming ‘Operation Overlord’?

 My lifetime membership card to the MBMA

    In August 1943, the Combined Chiefs of Staff had approved the general tactical plan for the invasion, dubbed ‘Overlord’. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander of the European theater since February 1944, was responsible for carrying off this bold gambit. The Allies' main strategy, in Eisenhower's words, was to ‘...land amphibious and airborne forces on the Normandy coast between Le Havre and the Cotentin Peninsula and, with the successful establishment of a beachhead with adequate ports, to drive along the lines of the Loire and the Seine rivers into the heart of France, destroying the German strength and freeing France.

So, just what was - or is - the real legacy of 41-24485 Memphis Belle? Is it, as that girl who approached Bob Morgan said ‘...just a lot of propaganda?’ Is it about the petty arguments as to whether the aircraft and crew did or did not make those officially credited twenty-five missions before all the others? Or have the passing years allowed the whole story to become such an aviation icon that the whole world feels that they can and should own a piece of it - turning the truth into legends that have become nothing more than a commercial vehicle to be used by all and sundry to make either financial or political capital? And am I , as an author, just as guilty as the rest?

 Perhaps a good indication as to this level of financial attachment that eventually grew up around the whole Memphis Belle phenomenon can be seen in a quote from Bob Morgan’s sixth wife after a flood damaged a storage unit on Swannanoa River Road in Asheville less than four months after he passed away - a unit that contained, in her own estimation, mementoes valued somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 that, it seems, were not insured. ‘This memorabilia was to be my income’ she told the media. As I said when I heard; ‘it seems kind of tawdry somehow’. 

    During the years of restoration at Dayton, much appeared in print within the aviation press around the world - mainly originating from the National Museum of the United States Air Force - that gave the impression that they came along as the sole ‘knight in shining armor’ to save the American icon by ‘grabbing the aircraft back from the MBMA in order to save it’. To quote General Metcalf in a letter to the 91st Bomb Group Association: ‘The condition of the airframe is worse than we expected and the vandalism much worse than originally thought. Most of the detail parts that make a restoration complete have been vandalized, stolen, lost or souvenired by parties that had access to the Belle over the years. As you know. the Belle was, for most of its life, displayed in uncontrolled locations. So not only do we have to undo the ravages of weather, but must also acquire and replace all of the parts taken over the years. Essentially, the Belle is a hollow shell. Additionally, we will have to redo or replace some really inept repairs made over the years - not a pretty picture’. 

    This ‘knight in shining armor’ impression was further strenghened by sympathetic editorial comments in the Press and Media brought about by these NMUSAF Press Releases. However, as we have seen in this blog,  the ‘... vandalized, stolen, lost or souvenired’ was initially done by the Air Force itself when they themselves removed many items back in the late 1940s for use as training aids. Local contemporary newspapers clearly reveal that this process of deterioration started by the Air Force continued right throughout the 1950s, 1960s and well into the 1970s with only occasional attempts at cosmetic restorations made when the aircraft was left outside on the pedestal. Without doubt Mayor Walter Chandler saved the aircraft from the smelter; the American Legion Post and Air National Guard in the city gave it a home and made valiant attempts using their own limited resources to keep the aircraft in an as presentable condition as possible while it was kept outside in a far from suitable environment. At the same time assorted local politicians made occasional lukewarm attempts to find the aircraft an indoor home when it suited their own vested interest to be seen to be doing something.

    The MBMA put the aircraft under cover from 1987 to 2002, although they were aware that this ‘cover’ was far from suitable. Even the Smithsonian Institution showed interest - and yet for at least thirty-two years the United States Air Force stood by and did nothing. Finally, 41-24485 Memphis Belle went to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio for restoration - a facility that freely admitted that given their small number of staff, it would be a process that was expected to take a decade. This is considerably longer than it would have taken the MBMA with their thirty-plus FAA-airframe qualified volunteers who put to good rapid use the aviation-industry-supplied equipment in the facility at Millington. These FedEx volunteers had already completed a considerable amount of restoration work using the latest long-term preservation and conservation techniques following a three-to-five year timeline.  For a number of years the attitude shown by some at the NMUSAF and others soured relations with those who had worked so hard on the aircraft. However, people moved on, time healed the wounds and slowly the working relationship recovered. Without doubt the workers at Wright Field did an incredible restoration job returning the aircraft back to stock military configuration.  

 

And now - my opinion!

 Even with all the lies, mistruths, deceit, political machinations and just plain bullshit - which started back in 1943, and which I fear is going to go on and on ad infinitum - this could become an ongoing post every six months or so! 

I am certain that those who don't know what they don't know and do not really care about doing in-depth research, but are incredibly vocal in spouting off their theories and ideas to all and sundry; and then get greatly offended if someone tries to correct them will continue to spout off their inanities!  So many these days are not interested in digging deeply or doing much reading but prefer instead to take or rehash their information from poorly researched stuff on social media. They will continue to want to grab the reflected glory of being a 'next gen' and make grandiose statements about the activities of real or perceived 'family members'. 

Where much of the material in this blog originated.... after much research!

Nevertheless, the underlying truth is reported in this blog, and this is something that each and every descendant of all those people can be immensely proud of - for this is the real legacy of the Memphis Belle.  

     

    Bring all of this together - the War Bond Tour and the William Wyler movie - and this then, is without doubt the direct and lasting legacy of those men and women who built, serviced, supported and who flew 41-24485 into combat. They enabled the aircraft and crew which toured the USA to keep the American public on the side of the Army Air Force during those dark days of 1943 when ‘good news’ was such a scarcity - and through William Wyler’s movie they prepared the American public for the coming invasion of Europe in 1944.

  So say these words loud and proud - and let them resound long, loud and clear into the future - those returning ten men and little Scottie dog aboard that single aircraft kept a nation supporting its Eighth Air
Force in the European Theater of Operations. They solely were the spark, the trigger, the catalyst that allowed the build-up to defeat Adolf Hitler and nazism. Through William Wyler’s movie, they also put the American nation in a positive frame of mind for the invasion of Europe.

Dispelling the Myths again part fourteen

 The move to Millington

In early May 2002, Major General (Ret). Charles D Metcalf, Director of the then USAF Museum, along with Myrl S Morris, USAF Museum Restoration Division Chief and USAF Museum Restoration Division Supervisor Roger Deere visited the display site. The aircraft was opened up for inspection and analysis of the structure undertaken.

 '...somewhat better overall condition than we had anticipated'

Yes, there was a long list of work that needed doing, but in the words of Myrl S Morris, ‘...the aircraft is in somewhat better overall condition than we had anticipated’. 

 Henry Martin of the VoTech school seen in an earlier time standing in the cockpit area.

    It was thought that immediate action needed to be taken to stop corrosion not only in the visible areas, but also between the outer skins, stringers, longerons and bulkheads. The horizontal stabilizer was showing signs of internal corrosion, and the main gear struts were in need of attention. The engines and props needed removing, the entire wing structure, including the wheel-wells, needed all equipment removed before stripping down to bare metal, then metal etched, primed and re-painted. Interior furnishings such as around the radio operators station, the pilot and co-pilot seats and the bombardiers area, had to be removed, restored, and reinstalled. All fabric covered flight controls were to be inspected. The Life raft bay skins and the bottom inside flap wing skins needed replacing. At the same time the main landing gear tires had to be replaced as the existing ones were rotten with the cords showing.

    The inspection team concluded that the aircraft was at a critical stage of its life and that this work could not be put off any longer, for in a short time the corrosion would attack the structural integrity of the aircraft and then preservation would no longer be possible, and much would have to be replaced. Many of the problems were being caused by the environment in which it lived which was not conducive to longevity, as it was being subjected to the corrosive effects of heat and humidity almost year round. The team agreed with the MBMA’s plans that the aircraft be disassembled and moved to a facilitywhere the Restoration and preservation of ‘this national treasure’ could be properly and professionally accomplished in order to save it for generations to come.

   Medcalf (left) talks with Jim Harris and J T Loy during one of the inspection visits.

 The team from the Air Force Museum thought that the MBMA was extremely lucky to have a volunteer force who were experienced and knowledgeable and were ready to proceed with the work, which should commence immediately. As Charles Metcalf wrote to Harry Friedman on May 20 2002: 

‘Dear Harry -
We appreciated your hospitality and assistance during our brief visit to Memphis. Your enthusiasm to see the ‘Belle’ restored to her former glory is catching and I can tell you we caught it while there.

    I’m attaching comments from my staff which highlight the fact that you have a major task ahead and you absolutely will need a facility that will allow you to work year round. It was readily apparent to my restoration people that the previous restorative efforts accomplished on the “Belle” did not keep up with the progression of the corrosion and in several places has progressed to the point of exfoliation. What particularly worries me is what cannot be seen as it may be hidden behind panels, flooring, etc. We also noted that corrosion had been ground out of structural stringers and then painted over. The stringers and any other members need to be replaced as it is impossible to kill the corrosion between the stringer and the skin. We also noticed that fuselage skins had been replaced but not etched, primed and painted. We saw evidence that corrosion has started in these areas. The nature of this work (seriousstructural work) needs adedicated enclosed facility since we believe you are looking at a timeframe thatmay extend as much as three years. The corrosion has progressed to the point that the work should not be delayed. We feel your plan to move the aircraft to just such a facility away from the open air site on Mud Island is a wise one. You have an enthusiastic and well qualified technical team that will see the new worksite as a confirmation of the Association’s desire to see the project through.

    We look forward to working with you over the next several years on this essential project.

      So, over the winter of 2002/3 there was another move - by truck to the closed air facility that made up part of the US Navy base at Millington, north-east of Memphis.The new home placed the aircraft in what could only be called a state-of-the art facility that included a climate-controlled environment and provided not only a restoration area but also storage and display facilities. It was not only an ideal home for the aircraft, but also for the restoration machinery donated by local and national aviation equipment manufacturers.

     The Restoration Center at Millington, named after Jim Webb (below)

The aircraft was to remain at Millington for not quite two years. 41-24485 became a political football again, with machinations happening behind the scenes, and a whispering campaign being undertaken by some - targeting the MBMA - saying that not enough was being done to care for the aircraft and that it should be taken away from them. This coincided with a change of policy at the Air Force Museum whereby they and the Air Force would bring all ‘significant’ aircraft in their control worldwide together under one roof at Dayton.

A TV crew film the work going on at Millington.

 

Andy Pouncey by the MB display

    Since the 1986 letter from Dick Uppstrom to Frank Donofrio and Harry Friedman threatening to pull the aircraft back to Dayton, there had been occasional discussions about just this event taking place. Early in 2004 the US Air Force and the Air Force Museum sent yet another inspection team, which included Charles Metcalf and Richard Anderegg, the official Air Force historian. The inspection teams were accompanied by Bob Morgan.

 

Bob Morgan (centre, looking right) with the NMUSAF inspection team)

     This was just one of several visits and meetings between the Air Force, the Air Force Museum and the MBMA during this period.  Indeed the Air Force came under pressure from certain congressmen and senators to give the MBMA more time and to provide them with both a format and timeframe prescribed by the Air Force Museum which would allow the aircraft to stay in Memphis. Once this had been agreed, research by the MBMA produced the realization that the majority of citizens of the city Memphis were simply not interested in the Memphis Belle. Thus the MBMA requested the Air Force come get their aircraft.

The move to the National Museum of the United States Air Force

It was not long after the aircraft arrived in Dayton that the media relations machine of the National Museum of the United States Air Force kicked into high gear and a flood of press releases followed by articles appearing in the media, credited to the pen of Charles D Metcalf. This is just one example:

    ‘The Memphis Belle arrived and we’ve been busy surveying both the airframe and the items that came with it. We certainly have our work cut out for us in the Restoration of the Belle. The condition of the airframe is worse than we expected and the vandalism much worse than originally thought. Most of the detail parts that make a restoration complete have been vandalized, stolen, lost or souvenired by parties that had access to the Belle over the years. As you know, the Belle was, for most of its life, displayed in uncontrolled locations. So not only do we have to undo the ravages of weather, but must also acquire and replace all of the parts taken over the years. Essentially, the Belle is a hollow shell. Additionally, we will have to redo or replace some really inept repairs made over the years - not a pretty picture. Our first effort will be to strip the entire airframe inside and out to uncover corrosion that is hidden by paint, and to return the interior to its correct bare metal finish. We will have to rewire and replace most of the tubing in the Belle to return it to the correct and complete configuration. My original estimate of eight to ten years stands firm - leaning towards the longer time’

    Often the articles from Metcalf were accompanied by quotes credited to members of the Museum staff, such as this: “It’s a real honor to work on it, because it’s one of the most famous around.” said Restoration Supervisor Greg Hassler. “We’re real fortunate to have it.” Over the next eight to ten years of Restoration, no part of the plane will go unnoticed. Paint jobs will be retouched, historical details inside and out will be restored, and the engines will be put in working order, although Museum Director Gen. Charles Metcalf said it’s not expected to fly again. Years of outside display in Memphis, Tenn., subjected the icon to corrosion and even vandalism, said Metcalf, so extra care be taken to resurrect the plane to its former condition in preparation for a spot as the centerpiece of the museum’s WWII collection. But for now, the Memphis Belle serves as a history book and canvas for the restoration team'.

    As can be seen, these articles suggested that the aircraft was in poor condition, that it was nothing but a gutted shell and inferred that much of the ‘blame’ could be placed at the feet of its last ‘keepers’, the MBMA. The tone was a far cry from Metcalf’s inspection tour in May 2002! It was also 'a gutted shell', simply because the MBMA had stripped it for the move to Millington and to start restoration!

    As we have seen,  not only was it a miracle that the aircraft survived at all due to vandalism and the weather through the 27 years on the plinth, a large amount of ‘damage’ was actually done by the Air Force itself when they removed a lot of equipment back in the late 1940s! Things got so bad that the MBMA President Andy Pouncey and Vice-President Harry Friedman were forced to put out their own rebuttal, attempting to tell the full and complete story, but few in the media were interested.

‘When the ‘Memphis Belle’ came to Memphis having been saved from the smelter by our then mayor, it came under the care of the city, the Tennessee Air National Guard (TANG) and later the American Legion until 1976. During this time, the airframe was largely outside suffering the ravages of time. In 1976, the city and the American Legion titled the airplane back to the United States Air Force Museum (USAFM) with the understanding that it be loaned back to the newly formed Memphis Belle Memorial Association, Inc. (MBMA.) Under the MBMA, three major restoration efforts occurred. First by the TANG and the Memphis Area Vocational Technical School at the Memphis airport starting in 1977. The second was in 1986 by TANG and the OMS and FMS from Blytheville Air Force Base when a considerable amount of sheet metal work and corrosion repair was undertaken. The airplane was then moved to a covered but open-air pavilion where it was displayed. 

    A corrosion control program was carried out during this time. Recognizing that this was not an ideal situation, the airplane was then moved to a climatized hangar at the former Naval Air Station Memphis in 2003. At that time the airframe was completely disassembled, panels removed, and an extensive restoration was begun utilizing the skills of 40 volunteer FAA certified airframe and power plant mechanics from FedEx. The time line for the completion of the Restoration was three to five years. The plan was to inspect and repair as needed (IRAN). A considerable amount of work was accomplished before the work was called to a halt by the NMUSAF. Tech orders in use during WWII were used as guides for the Restoration.

    With regard to the on board equipment, in 1949, the commander of the Air Force Reserve Training Center received permission from the mayor of Memphis to remove whatever parts could be used for training purposes. 

41-24485 undergoing restoration at Wright Field.

    These apparently were largely cockpit and engine parts but others as well. Certainly, much was later removed by vandalism until the MBMA took over in 1977. Since that time until the airplane left Memphis for Dayton, there were only two relatively minor acts of vandalism. In 1983, the USAFM sent a large block of equipment to be used in the Restoration. In addition, several companies, and individuals donated parts and some were loaned over the years. Thus, about 60 to 70 percent or more of the onboard equipment had been obtained to replace the missing items. Not only did these items accompany the ‘Memphis Belle’ to Dayton but a large number of the parts belonging to the MBMA also went with the airplane.

We all look forward to the fine work that the National Museum of the Air Force is noted for picking up where the MBMA left off to restore the most important airplane of World War Two’.