B-17G Nine-O-Nine

   Commemorating Boeing-built B-17G 42-31909 of the 91st Bomb Group (which was scrapped postwar), B-17G 44-83575 N93012 of the Collings Foundation is seen here at the Beaver County Airport, Pennsylvania.  It was there that the aircraft ran off the end of the runway in August 1987 during an airshow, incurring substantial damage that took several years to repair.

   Like many surviving B-17s, 44-83575 was too late for active participation in the war, and served postwar as an SB-17G air to sea rescue aircraft. It was relegated to use as a ground target for nuclear tests in the Nevada desert in the 1950s, surviving a trio of detonations. The radioactive hulk was left to cool off for the next decade, and after being sold and made airworthy, was reworked for use as a retardant bomber, carrying out that mission from 1977 to 1985. It gained a new lease on life when it was then sold to the Collings Foundation, and after being restored to warbird configuration, was flown as such until 2019, when it was lost in a crash at the Bradley International Airport.
 

B-17G Nine-O-Nine

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