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  B-17F-115-BO Flying Fortress Serial Number 42-30681  
USAAF
11th AF

Aircraft History
Built by Boeing at Seattle. Constructors Number 5795. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-17F-115-BO Flying Fortress serial number 42-30681.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 11th Air Force (11th AF). No known nickname or nose art.

Mission History
On April 27, 1943 took off on a bombing mission against the Japanese in the Aleutians and returning the crew bailed out before the bomber crashed into the ground with the tail section landing in a small lake. All but one of the crew survived parachuting out.

Wreckage
Until 1986, this B-17 remained in situ. In 1996, located by Gary Larkins who salvaged the tail and fuselage. In June 2001 he returned and recovered additional parts.

Storage & Restoration
In 1996, the recovered wreckage was initially stored in Fairbanks. Later, Tillamook Air Museum acquired the fuselage. Arctic Warbirds at Fairbanks-Bradley Field, acquired wings and other components.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-17F-115-BO Fortress 42-30681
UltimateSacrifice.com 2001 Alaska Expedition recovery of B-17F 42-30681 (via Wayback Machine June 14, 2013)

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Last Updated
February 13, 2024

 

Tech Info
B-17
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