The original aircraft (Serial No. 42-31909) served with the 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron stationed at Bassingbourn, England. The bomb symbols on the side of the aircraft proudly represent her 140 combat missions. "Nine-0-Nine" was first assigned combat duty on February 25, 1944, and by the war's end in April 1945, she had dropped over 562.000 lbs. of bombs, in 1129 hours flying time. During her combat career, she required 21 engine changes, 4 wing panel replacements, and had her main fuel tanks replaced 15 times! "Nine-0-Nine" survived the war, and was flown back to the USA, shortly after the war's end. The battle-scarred bomber had over 600 patches in her skin from flak and fighters at the time of her retirement. Tragically, despite "Nine-0-Nine's" gallant service record, she would fall victim not to enemy action, but to the scrapper's torch at Kingman, Arizona, just like thousands of her kind, in huge storage yards around the country.
The actual aircraft you see before you restored as "Nine-0-Nine" is actually a B-17G (Serial No. 44-83575), built under license by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California, and was accepted by the Army Air Corps on April 7th, 1945. Although the war ended before she could see combat, 44-83575 served her country proudly in a variety of roles, including that of Air/Sea Rescue aircraft, complete with a 35-foot lifeboat strapped to her belly! She also participated in at least 3 atomic tests in the fifties, at Yucca Flats, in Nevada.
44-83575 was eventually sold to a Globe Air Inc., who converted her for use as a fire-tanker, and she worked for the next 20 years as a "Borate Bomber" fighting fires in the western U.S. She was simply known as "Tanker 99" in those days.
In January of 1986, she was purchased by her current owner, Robert Collings, who had her completely restored as the famed "Nine-0-Nine". Since 1987, the "reborn" "Nine-0-Nine" has toured well over 600 cities across the U.S., along with her famous cousin, the B-24J "All American".
The distinctive nose art was originally designed and applied by Tony Starcer, one of the 91st Bomb Group's most talented artists. The bomb symbols with a 'B' inside them represent missions to Berlin. The three swastikas represent 3 Nazi aircraft shot down. (Only the first swastika is outlined in black, presumably due to the fatality of the German pilot.) The little man on the bomb is St. Christopher, who is thumbing his nose at the Fuhrer, while he sets his sights on the target!
The "Nine-0-Nine" was one of the most famous examples of her kind. The 91st Bomb Group was the home on many famous B-17's including "Memphis Belle", "Stormy Weather" and "Outhouse Mouse". These aircraft earned the love and devotion of their crews because of their ability to bring their crews home safely despite tremendous battle damage. The B-17 Flying Fortress will forever be known as one of the greatest aircraft in the history of aviation.