Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby

The B-17G may be the single most recognizable bomber associated with the victory over Germany in World War 2. There were other versions of the famous B-17 but do not capture the imagination with the immediacy of the G model.



This is the story of one B-17G the Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby (and a community of related planes) named after the song "Shoo Shoo Baby" by the Andrew Sisters. The plane and its crew served with distinction in the war.

The plane entered the inventory of the U.S. Army Air Forces January 19, 1944. It arrived in Great Britain March 2 of that same year. It received some modifications and flew 24 combat missions. On its way to bomb an airplane components factory in Poland, it crash landed in Sweden. It was listed as missing in action May 29, 1944.

Its post-war life included service from 1945 for the Danish Airlines SILA being renamed the Stig Viking then from 1948 for the Danish Army Air Corp being renamed Store Bjorn 672 followed by brief stints in the Danish Navy and Danish Air Force as a transport vehicle before retiring in 1953. It sat is storage in storage for two years than was sold to a Frech mapping company flying for a few more years.

Last flown in 1961 and discovered abandoned in France. The French later presented it to the U.S. Airforce. It was brought back to the U.S. by the 512th Military Aircraft Wing on board the C-5 in 1978, was restored over ten years at Dover AFB, and brought to Dayton, Ohio for display at the National Air Force Museum in 1988.

One would think that the plane's story would end there but it has become part of a not-entirely-popular plan. It will be moved for permanent display to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian, in Fairfax County Virginia upon the completion of restoration of the B-17D Swoose that will be displayed alongside the B-17F Memphis Belle.


The B-17E Swoose

Museum patrons are concerned because the Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby is one of the finest restorations of a B-17G in the world. The Swoose and Memphis Belle are planes with amazing histories but currently in deplorable condition. It is uncertain how long restoration of the planes will take or how well and fully they can be restored. The Belle was gutted of internal contents by vandals while on static display. Many of those components cannot be found and are being fabricated according to Boeing blueprints.




The Swoose (Ole Betsy) in its current condition


The Memphis Belle, still under restoration, from a photo dated 2003.

Patrons have been told that the acquisition and restoration of another B-17G would be a fairly easy task once sufficient funding and space were made available. Considering how long it took from finding to restoring to displaying the Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, I, for one, question this.

Some believe that they have seen the Belle when in fact they have seen another plane, the Sally B, the B-17 used in the movie Memphis Belle. The following are various photos of the Sally B. The Sally B, that remains in half its Memphis Belle movie livery, is the last airworthy B-17 in Britain. Restoration in 1998 drained resources and led to the creation of the B-17 Charitable Trust the website of which may be located at http://www.sallyb.org.uk/







It should be noted that a B-17E, the My Gal Sal, is under restoration in Cincinnati and once completed is scheduled to become part of the Ultimate Sacrifice Memorial. See http://www.ultimatesacrifice.com/