The Memphis Belle B-17 symbolizes perseverance and the spirit of optimism, stability, and the promise of a brighter future. This magnificent piece of American history is now a national treasure residing in a restoration facility at the National Museum of the Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. She will never fly the skies again; yet, she is a symbol of hope- past, present and future. A vision of beauty in the sky, yet powerful in battle, she is a legend because she was the first B-17 to complete her tour of duty during the war, and also because she brought all her crew back from every single mission safely (BBC 1). The Memphis Belle is an icon of American airpower, determination and the will to persevere, that symbolizes strength, hope, service and sacrifice to America from World War II through the present.

The advanced wartime engineering of the Memphis Belle was one of the reasons it returned home after all its missions. Culmination of years of engineering, investment, and experimentation lead to the design of the B-17F (Johnsen xi). The B-17F proto-type had been in planning and development at Boeing since 1934 (Johnsen xi). The advanced engineering investment began with the Boeing model 200 monomial, a single engine mono plane with retractable landing gear (Johnsen xi). It embodied almost all of the construction techniques that would be used in the B-17 (Johnsen xi). The B-17 nearly pushed Boeing to financial disaster (Johnsen xi). Congress wanted the cheapest bomber instead of the most advanced leaving Boeing near bankruptcy (Johnsen xii). The Boeing B-17 was also the flagship of the Air Corp’s hopes and dreams, creating a must succeed attitude for strategic bombing proponents (Johnsen xii). The success of the B-17 in combat greatly contributed to winning World War II, to Boeing’s success and to the success of air defense.

The Memphis Belle is one of the most glorious American bombers of World War II. It has a massive wing span of about 103.74 feet long and a hull length of about 74.74 feet long (Morgan 386). The normal bomb load it carried was 8,000 pounds (Morgan 386). It had thirteen 50 caliber machine guns protecting it which is why it is called the B-17 Flying Fortress (Morgan 386). The engines that flew this massive flying fortress were four Wright supercharged radial piston engines generating 1,200 hp each (Morgan 111). She had a maximum speed of 325 miles per hour (Morgan 14). The Memphis Belle originated in the United States and is one of the 12,731 B-17s built by Boeing (Memphis-Belle 1). It cost $314,109 (Morgan 386).

The Memphis Belle was in the 8th Air Force unit: 324th Bomb Squad, 91st Bomb Group, 1st Combat Wing, and 1st Air Division of the United States Air Force (U.S.A.A.F 1). The Belle was sent into active duty at the 8th Air Force in England and flew from November 7, 1942 until May 17, 1943 when she completed her tour of twenty five complete missions (BBC 1). The Command General stated that after twenty five combat missions crews could go home as an incentive to boost airmen morale (Memphis Belle 1). The Belle became the first American heavy bomber to complete her tour of duty of twenty five missions and brought all of her crew back safely each mission (Memphis Belle 1). During this time she flew over twenty thousand combat miles, one hundred forty eight hours, fifty minutes, and dropped over sixty tons of bombs (BBC 1). Eighty percent of all the B-17s were shot down during the first three months of service; the Memphis Belle flew around six months of combat missions (Memphis Belle 1).

The Memphis Belle’s crew was one of the most famous and bravest crews in the United States Air Force. The crew consisted of a pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, engineer/top turret gunner, radio operator, ball turret gunner, left waist gunner, right waist gunner, and a tail gunner (Memphis-Belle 1). Prior to joining the military the men who would become the Memphis Belle crew had been college students or young employees with skills ranging from chemistry and business to trucking and construction (Morgan 106-10). They had different personalities, temperaments, backgrounds and educations. Although there were ten crew members in the plane at a time, there were a total of thirteen members who flew with the Belle in her twenty five missions (Morgan 111). The Memphis Belle itself became an extension of its crew. Colonel Robert Morgan, USAF, retired, stated the crew’s relationship turned them “into a single functioning organism of war up there in those clouds.” (Morgan 13)

Missions were flown inside a freezing, heaving, thin-skinned airplane. Dangers included flak, cannon shells, machine gun-bullets, fire, weather and mechanical failures. The ground crew chief who repaired the Memphis Bell met them on the tarmac after each mission to assess the damage (Morgan 110). The Memphis Belle was bullet ridden and flak damaged. During the six months she was in Bassingbourn, England, the ground crew replaced nine engines, both wings, two tails, both main landing gears and repaired hundreds of flak and bullet holes (Morgan 110). The cockpit and crew compartments were vulnerable parts of the B-17. It is miraculous that none of the crew was ever seriously injured.

During World War II crews named their planes and displayed illustrations of the name on the nose and fuselage as a way to retain their sense of identity. Each of the ten crewmen had an idea of what to name the plane. In the end, the plane was named the Memphis Belle after the pilot Captain Robert K. Morgan’s sweetheart, Miss Margaret Polk of Memphis, Tennessee (BBC 1). The Memphis Belle’s nose art was designed by George Petty and was painted by Corporal Tony Starcer, an artist in the squadron (Morgan 99). The nose art of the Memphis Belle is a masterpiece on a masterpiece. The Belle is a masterpiece alone but with the addition of the famous logo picture it becomes something far more than just a war bird. Together the plane and the nose art create a truly majestic artistic masterpiece.

The Memphis Belle and her crew made military history on May 17, 1943. In June 1943 they flew the Belle home to the United States and began a three month public relations tour to thirty-two American cities to thank the American people for supporting the war effort. This public relations tour was often called the twenty sixth mission (Memphis Belle 1). Following the public relations tour the Memphis Belle went on yet another adventure around the United States trying to find a permanent home to shelter this magnificent bird of war. The Memphis Belle flew stateside in the training command after her public relations tour (Memphis Belle 1). In 1945 many B-17s were being used for scrap and she ended up in an aircraft bone yard in Altus, Oklahoma (Memphis Belle 1). A reporter wrote a story of her dilemma and contacted the Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis Belle 1). The city of Memphis, Tennessee, bought her for $350 and on July 17, 1946 she was flown home to Memphis (Memphis Belle 1). She was placed on a pedestal near an Army National Guard in 1950 and remained there until 1977 when she was moved to the Air National Guard at the Memphis airport (Memphis Belle 1) Although the Germans had not been able to destroy her, the vandals in Memphis almost did (BBC 1). Weatherization was also taking a toll on her. Boeing, Federal Express and the American public, stirred by a fund raising request from Hugh Downs of the television program 20/20, raised nearly $600,000 to restore the Memphis Belle (Memphis Belle 1). In 1987 she was moved to the new Memphis Belle Pavilion on Mud Island, Tennessee, where she was undercover but still open to the elements (Memphis Belle 1). In 2003 she was disassembled and taken to a restoration facility at Millington, Tennessee (BBC1). In October 2005 she was moved one last time to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, to be reconstructed and put on display there forever (USAAF 1).

A documentary about the effectiveness of daylight strategic bombing over Europe, by Hollywood director William Wyler, focused on the Memphis Belle (Morgan 174). It was a movie about what the Memphis Belle went through to become the first ever B-17 to complete her tour of duty. To make the movie more dramatic, they were radioed to stay in the air until all the other B-17s came in so they could make a grand entrance returning from their twenty fifth mission (Morgan 210). Some footage was shot during actual missions, some was taken before and after their twenty fifth flight, and final editing was completed during a one and a half hour flight several days after their last mission (Morgan 215). The movie was shot in silent film and later the crew went to a Hollywood sound stage to recreate dialogue used in a typical mission (Morgan 245). The movie, Saga of the Memphis Belle, was released to the American public in 1944 (U.S.A.A.F 1). The documentary seems to be a single mission but is actually made up of several missions (Morgan 245).

In 1990 a new movie about the Memphis Belle was released. This movie was produced by the daughter of the director of the original movie The Saga of the Memphis Belle. Although the combat scenes were fairly accurate, the movie was fictional. The positive view point of a fictional version of a historical event is that it helped to keep the memory of the Memphis Belle alive, and renewed patriotism and hope. The negative view point is that fiction may be remembered as historical fact. The crew in the movie the Memphis Belle had no relation to the names of the real crewmen of the Belle.

The Memphis Belle was a magnificent silver streak in the sky, an image of American airpower that became an emblem of determination and the will to persevere, symbolizing strength, hope, service and sacrifice from World War II through the present. The spirit of the Memphis Belle soars today even though she took her last flight on July 17, 1946 (Memphis Belle Memorial Association 1). When the crew left her for the last time after their public relations tour, they all held her dear to their hearts forever. Training crews using the Belle to learn to fly B-17s felt it was an honor to fly in a beautiful, historic bird. The city of Memphis and the American people undertook a major fundraising task to save her. When the Memphis Belle pavilion was dedicated, about twenty-five thousand people watched the largest formation of B-17s since World War II roar over and bomb the pavilion with thousands of rose petals (Memphis Belle 1).

The Memphis Belle Memorial Association, a citizen’s group, continues to advocate for her physical preservation and restoration as well as maintaining awareness of her role in history. Air shows showcase the planes that triumphed in World War II and sometimes include a different B-17 now painted with the famous Memphis Belle logo (Journeys 29). The United States Air Force has declared the Memphis Belle a national historic treasure and offers special tours of her restoration process providing both an in-depth look at historical restoration and access to view the glorious war bird. The Memphis Belle truly is America’s airplane.