Aircraft History
Built by Boeing at Seattle. Delivered to the U. S. Army. Ferried overseas via Hawaii to Australia.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 5th Air Force, 19th Bombardment Group, 93rd Bombardment Squadron. No known nickname or nose art.

On July 4, 1942 one of six B-17s that bombed Lae. Returning to land at Horn Island Airfield, the B-17's hit fuel drums at the edge of the runway damaging the left landing gear to collapse jaming it up into the no. 2 engine and a tire blowout. Afterwards, repaired at Longreach Airfield. Aboard was ball turret gunner Sgt Edward Dietz.

Assigned as the personal transport for U. S. Army Air Force General George C. Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force. Nicknamed "Sally". During 1942-1945 used as General Kenney's personal transport and flown between Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines.

During February-March 1943, while Kenney was in the United States. The flight crew saw a photo of another general's aircraft in natural aluminum finish in a magazine and thought it looked good. Since Kenney was away, and the crew was not involved in much flying and stripped off the paint to a natural aluminum finish.

During December 1943, this B-17 transported General MacArthur from Vivigani Airfield on Goodenough Island then back to 7-Mile Drome near Port Moresby.

During April 1945, it was damaged in a thunderstorm in the Philippines, and ground crews decided its wing spars might have been damaged. A month later, it was scrapped at Brisbane in May 1945.

Cecile Benjamin adds:
"Dick Graff, the last Sally crew member died in October 2005. He lived in northern New South Wales, ten minutes drive away from the town I grew up."

References
The Forgotten Fifth Chronology 14, pages 16-17
Echoes From an Eagle page 45
The Eight Ballers - Eyes of the Fifth Air Force (1999) by Stanaway and Rocker page 24 (lower right photo)
Thanks to Cecile Benjamin for additional information

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Last Updated
October 23, 2019