The Sailor
29-02-2008, 07:47
Play the movie theme
http://home.comcast.net/~freewebman/war/ww2/memphis-belle-main.mp3
The actual Memphis Belle, a Boeing-built B-17F-10-BO, serial 41-24485, was delivered in September 1942 to the 91st Bomb Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. It deployed to Prestwick, Scotland, on September 30, 1942, and then to its permanent base at Bassingbourn, England, on October 14. Captain Robert Morgan’s crew flew 25 combat missions with the 324th Bomb Squadron, all but four in the Memphis Belle:
The missions
9 November 1942 - St. Nazaire, France
17 November 1942 - St. Nazaire
6 December 1942 - Lille, France
20 December 1942 - Romilly-sur-Seine, France
3 January 1943 - St. Nazaire
13 January 1943 - Lille
23 January 1943 - Lorient, France
4 February 1943 - Emden, Germany
14 February 1943 - Hamm, Germany
16 February 1943 - St. Nazaire
26 February 1943 - Wilhelmshaven, Germany
27 February 1943 - Brest
6 March 1943 - Lorient
12 March 1943 - Rouen, France
13 March 1943 - Abbeville, France
22 March 1943 - Wilhemshaven
28 March 1943 - Rouen
5 April 1943 - Antwerp, Belgium
16 April 1943 - Lorient
17 April 1943 - Bremen, Germany
1 May 1943 - St. Nazaire
4 May 1943 - Antwerp
15 May 1943 - Wilhelmshaven
17 May 1943 - Lorient
The Memphis Belle flew its 25th and last mission with a different crew on May 19, 1943, to Kiel, Germany. It was then flown back to the United States on June 8, 1943 by Morgan’s crew for war bond tours.
The plane was named for pilot Robert K. Morgan’s sweetheart, Margaret Polk. The famous Petty girl nose art was painted by the 91st’s group artist Tony Starcer.
To celebrate this success in daylight precision bombing, military authorities sent the plane and its crew on its 26th mission, a tour of training sites in the USA.
In July 1946, the aircraft was rescued from the scrap heap by crew members and citizens of Memphis Tennessee. The United States Air Force has plans for moving it to the National Museum of the United States, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Below
The Crew of the Memphis Belle After its Last Battle Mission, 1943.
The ten-man crew poses outside the famous B-17 Flying Fortress in England after completing 25 bombing missions successfully. The Army Air Force had decided that 25 missions completed the tour of duty because of the physical and mental strain on the crew. A year earlier, in 1942, the average bomber crew completed 8-12 missions before being shot down or disabled
http://home.comcast.net/~freewebman/war/ww2/memphis-belle-main.mp3
The actual Memphis Belle, a Boeing-built B-17F-10-BO, serial 41-24485, was delivered in September 1942 to the 91st Bomb Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. It deployed to Prestwick, Scotland, on September 30, 1942, and then to its permanent base at Bassingbourn, England, on October 14. Captain Robert Morgan’s crew flew 25 combat missions with the 324th Bomb Squadron, all but four in the Memphis Belle:
The missions
9 November 1942 - St. Nazaire, France
17 November 1942 - St. Nazaire
6 December 1942 - Lille, France
20 December 1942 - Romilly-sur-Seine, France
3 January 1943 - St. Nazaire
13 January 1943 - Lille
23 January 1943 - Lorient, France
4 February 1943 - Emden, Germany
14 February 1943 - Hamm, Germany
16 February 1943 - St. Nazaire
26 February 1943 - Wilhelmshaven, Germany
27 February 1943 - Brest
6 March 1943 - Lorient
12 March 1943 - Rouen, France
13 March 1943 - Abbeville, France
22 March 1943 - Wilhemshaven
28 March 1943 - Rouen
5 April 1943 - Antwerp, Belgium
16 April 1943 - Lorient
17 April 1943 - Bremen, Germany
1 May 1943 - St. Nazaire
4 May 1943 - Antwerp
15 May 1943 - Wilhelmshaven
17 May 1943 - Lorient
The Memphis Belle flew its 25th and last mission with a different crew on May 19, 1943, to Kiel, Germany. It was then flown back to the United States on June 8, 1943 by Morgan’s crew for war bond tours.
The plane was named for pilot Robert K. Morgan’s sweetheart, Margaret Polk. The famous Petty girl nose art was painted by the 91st’s group artist Tony Starcer.
To celebrate this success in daylight precision bombing, military authorities sent the plane and its crew on its 26th mission, a tour of training sites in the USA.
In July 1946, the aircraft was rescued from the scrap heap by crew members and citizens of Memphis Tennessee. The United States Air Force has plans for moving it to the National Museum of the United States, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Below
The Crew of the Memphis Belle After its Last Battle Mission, 1943.
The ten-man crew poses outside the famous B-17 Flying Fortress in England after completing 25 bombing missions successfully. The Army Air Force had decided that 25 missions completed the tour of duty because of the physical and mental strain on the crew. A year earlier, in 1942, the average bomber crew completed 8-12 missions before being shot down or disabled