B-17 42-3490
Encyclopedia
B-17F 42-3490 - The career of a notable aircraft.
B-17F 42-3490 started out its life as a H2X radar pathfinder plane. It was a late Douglas B-17F fitted with a chin turret. It flew missions with the 482nd bombardment group Pathfinder, RAF Alconbury
812th Squadron from October 1943 till March 1944 when it was transferred to the 385th bombardment group, see 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing
. After a month of missions with the 385th bomb group on June 21, 1944 it was flown to Sweden by Matthew Totter and crew. Three engines had been knocked out by flack. Totter and crew managed to make it to Bulltofta
airfield near Malmö
, Sweden
. The crew was Interned till November 1944. 42-3490 was then repaired and taken to Stockholm and traded to the Swedish government along with eight other B-17's for the release of American airmen interned in Sweden. Saab then converted the aircraft to an airliner (SE-BAN) which was in service till 1948. At some point later it was scrapped. Parts of 42-3490 are stored at the Arlanda Flight Museum in Stockholm.
B-17F 42-3490 started out its life as a H2X radar pathfinder plane. It was a late Douglas B-17F fitted with a chin turret. It flew missions with the 482nd bombardment group Pathfinder, RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....
812th Squadron from October 1943 till March 1944 when it was transferred to the 385th bombardment group, see 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing
385th Strategic Aerospace Wing
The 385th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Mobility Command. It was last known to be stationed at Incirlik AB, Turkey...
. After a month of missions with the 385th bomb group on June 21, 1944 it was flown to Sweden by Matthew Totter and crew. Three engines had been knocked out by flack. Totter and crew managed to make it to Bulltofta
Bulltofta
Bulltofta is a neighbourhood of Malmö, Sweden. It contains the Bulltofta Airport....
airfield near Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The crew was Interned till November 1944. 42-3490 was then repaired and taken to Stockholm and traded to the Swedish government along with eight other B-17's for the release of American airmen interned in Sweden. Saab then converted the aircraft to an airliner (SE-BAN) which was in service till 1948. At some point later it was scrapped. Parts of 42-3490 are stored at the Arlanda Flight Museum in Stockholm.
External links
- http://www.aerovintage.com/b17list.htm http://www.aerovintage.com/b17list.htm
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/92943860@N00/249690804/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/92943860@N00/249690804/
- http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b17_26.html http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_bombers/b17_26.html