Aircraft History
Built by Boeing at Seattle. On December 1, 1941 accepted by the U. S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-17E Flying Fortress serial number 41-2438 flown by Jack W. Hughes.

Wartime History
Flew missions from Hawaii, then sent overseas to Australia, flying combat missions based at Mareeba Airfield.

On June 23, 1942 flown by Frederick Eaton on photo reconnaissance mission over Rabaul and was intercepted by nine fighters and the lower turret stopped functioning. It returned with damage to the wings.

During November 1942, this B-17 was later flown back to the United States. During 1943, based at Pyote Airfield and appears in the Hollywood movie Bombardier (1943).

On December 21, 1943 assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as Fortress II 9206. Assigned to No. 168 Heavy Transport Squadron based at Rockcliffe and used for mail flights to Europe and North Africa. On June 7, 1946 this B-17 was stricken.

Afterwards, sold to Argentina and registered as LV-RTO. During 1964, this B-17 was scrapped.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-17E Flying Fortress 41-2438
"2438 to RCAF as Fortress II 9206. Delivered to RCAF Dec 21, 1943. Purchased for use by No. 168 Heavy Transport Squadron, Rockcliffe, for mail flights to Europe and North Africa. SOC 7 June 1946. Sold to Argentina as LV-RTO. Scrapped in 1964."
Thanks to Steve Birdsall for additional information

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Last Updated
October 23, 2019