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| USAAF 11th AF CWTD
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Aircraft History Built by Boeing at Seattle. Constructors Number 5795. On July 8, 1943 delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-17F-115-BO Flying Fortress serial number 42-30681. Wartime History Assigned to the 11th Air Force (11th AF)., On September 9, 1943 assigned to the Cold Weather Testing Detachment (CWTD) at Ladd Field near Fairbanks. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On September 25, 1943 took off on a mission against the Japanese in the Aleutians. The crew bailed out before the bomber crashed roughly 14 miles southeast of Ruby in Alaska with the tail section landing in a small lake. Fate of the crew The entire crew bailed out before the crash. One died, the rest survived and were later rescued. Wreckage Until 1986, this B-17 remained in situ. During 1996, Gary Larkins salvaged the tail and fuselage. In June 2001 he returned and recovered additional parts. Storage & Restoration In 1996, the recovered wreckage was initially stored in Fairbanks. Later, the fuselage was moved to Tillamook Air Museum acquired the fuselage. Arctic Warbirds at Fairbanks-Bradley Field, acquired wings and other components. Parts of this plane were used in the restoration of B-17E "My Gal Sal" 41-9032. The rear fuselage will be used to restore B-17G 44-83387 at the National World War II Museum. References Note, other sources list the date of the crash as April 27, 1943 after a bombing mission in the Aleutians. USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-17F-115-BO Fortress 42-30681 "30681 (MSN 5795) Accepted by USAAF 8Jul43. Cold Weather Testing Detachment, Ladd Field, Fairbanks, AK 9Sep43. Crash landed on the tundra 14 miles southeast Ruby, AK 25Sep43 (1KIA), crashed after a mission against the Japanese in the Aleutians. Until 1986, this B-17 remained in situ. In 1996, located by Gary Larkins who salvaged the tail and fuselage. The recovered wreckage was initially stored in Fairbanks. Later, Tillamook Air Museum acquired the fuselage. Artic Warbirds at Fairbanks- Bradley Field, acquired wings and other components. Used in the rebuild of My Gal Sal, 41-9032. The aft fuselage will be used to rebuild 44-83387 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans." Warbird Resource Group Warbird Registry - B-17 Flying Fortress 42-30681 UltimateSacrifice.com 2001 Alaska Expedition recovery of B-17F 42-30681 (via Wayback Machine June 14, 2013) Contribute
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