Boeing B-17F 'Memphis Belle' s/n 41-24485 Relic Display

Boeing B-17F ‘Memphis Belle’ Limited Edition Relic Display

This aircraft needs no introduction; probably one of the most famous aircraft of World War II, and certainly the best-known of the war's most famous aircraft, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress'. 

'Memphis Belle' was one of the first heavy bombers, among tens of thousands, to complete 25 combat missions in the war. Her exploits, and the experiences of her crew (though the aircraft was flown in combat by more than a single crew), have been chronicled in many Hollywood films. The aircraft itself was saved from scrapping by the City of Memphis after the war. She was displayed out of doors for many years, during which these pieces of aluminum skin were acquired, by the Memphis Belle Memorial Foundation, which periodically repaired damage to the airframe. These pieces of skin were from the original aircraft, and not later, replacement, material. The B-17 was recently restored by the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, where she is beautifully preserved and on permanent display. 

These pieces of aluminum skin deserve some description. Roughly 1x1.5 inches in size, the metal has been stripped of its exterior paint in the past, though retains some original zinc chromate on the reverse side. Each piece has at least one rivet hole, and the remains of the raised rivet impression (somewhat unique among military aircraft of the time).  

These pieces are combined with Ron Cole's new (2021) artwork of this aircraft in action. 

Each display signed & numbered by the artist.

11x17 inches, framed and ready to hang.