''Sentimental Journey'' (44-83514) is the nickname of a

B-17G Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bomber. It is based at the

Commemorative Air Force The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The CAF h ...

Museum in Mesa, Arizona, US."B-17s: Where to find them."
''aerovintage.com'', 15 January 2007. The aircraft is regularly flown to airshows throughout North America. The nose art features

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

, the number one pinup girl of the World War II era. The aircraft's name takes after a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

made very popular by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

in 1945.

History

Boeing B-17G 44-83514 was built by

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

in late 1944, and was accepted by the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

on 13 March 1945. Assigned to the Pacific theater for the duration of the war, it was subsequently placed in storage in Japan. In 1947, the B-17G was reconfigured as a RB-17G for a new role in photo-mapping and assigned to

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

in Manila. In 1950, the aircraft was transferred to

Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida * Federal Prison Camp, Eglin, a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison on the grounds of Eglin Air Forc ...

, Florida and converted to a DB-17G for service as an air-sea rescue craft. During the 1950s, it was modified to a DB-17P standard, serving with the 3215th Drone Squadron at

Patrick Air Force Base Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

in Florida. One of its important missions was “

Operation Greenhouse Operation Greenhouse was the fifth American nuclear test series, the second conducted in 1951 and the first to test principles that would lead to developing thermonuclear weapons (''hydrogen bombs''). Conducted at the new Pacific Proving Grou ...

,” the fourth postwar atmospheric nuclear weapon test series conducted by the United States during the spring of 1951. As a mother ship, the RB-17P directed unmanned, radio controlled B-17 drone aircraft to measure blast and thermal effects and to collect radioactive cloud samples. During the test, a drone aircraft would take off under ground control. A “mother ship,” already airborne, would then come from behind, take control of the drone and fly it to the target area. On 27 January 1959, the aircraft was transferred to military storage at

Davis Monthan Air Force Base Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

in Tucson, Arizona. After a few months storage, 83514 was acquired by the

Aero Union Corporation Aero Union Corporation was an aircraft operation and maintenance company based in Chico, California, United States. It was known for operating aerial firefighting aircraft, training crews and making custom designed firefighting systems tailo ...

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

, receiving civilian aircraft registration: N9323Z. For 18 years, the converted bomber flew as a forest fire fighter throughout the United States. On 14 January 1978, at a membership banquet for the newly formed Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Colonel Mike Clarke announced the donation of the aircraft to the CAF for assignment to the Arizona Wing. A contest was initiated by the local media to name the aircraft, which resulted in more than 800 entries, and the ultimate selection of the name "Sentimental Journey" with nose art featuring World War II pinup Betty Grable. Permission was secured from widower Harry James to add Betty Grable in her most tantalizing pose to complete the newly acquired bomber.Johnsen 2000, p. 149. Although flyable, ''Sentimental Journey'' was not an accurate representative of the wartime B-17 bomber and in December 1981, the aircraft underwent an extensive restoration. By 1985, the addition of four operational turrets, operational bomb bay doors, navigator and radio operator stations, Norden bomb sight and machine guns completed the transformation to its original condition. Over the years, ''Sentimental Journey'' has performed across North America, as one of the most recognizable examples of the type, keeping the legacy of the B-17 intact."Sentimental Journey".
'CAF Official Page.'' In 1979, ''Sentimental Journey'' appeared in a scene in the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

film, ''

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

''. In 1991, ''Sentimental Journey'' was used in a "

Don't Mess with Texas ''Don't Mess with Texas'' is a slogan for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The phrase "Don't Mess with Texas" is prominently shown on road signs on major highways, televis ...

" ad campaign that later wo
the best ad in the US over 25 years in 2011

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Johnsen, Frederick A. ''B-17 Flying Fortress: The Symbol of Second World War Air Power''. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000. . * O'Leary, Michael. "Forts on the Sky Road." ''Warbirds International'', Volume 27, No. 6, September/October 2008. * Thompson, Mike. "The Flying Fortresses: 75 Years Later – Airworthy B-17s in 2010," ''Warbird Digest,''Thirty-two, September/October 2010.

External links

* {{B-17 family Individual aircraft of World War II Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress