She is named Liberty Belle, a proud B-17 bomber that was built in 1945. The aircraft brings back memories, good and bad, for the veterans who flew them. More than 40,000 men went down in B-17s. Iowa Public Radio strapped in for a ride, in this look back at the Flying Fortress. Historic newsreels are from You Tube, circa 1944. Note: Two years after we did this story, The Liberty Belle was destroyed when she made an emergency landing and burned in a cornfield near Chicago.
Flying Fortress Museum
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The Liberty Belle museum in Des Moines.
Khun Ohm
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Inside the B17 bomber.
Khun Ohm
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A passenger admires the mock machine gun. In war, it was a 50 caliber.
Rick Fredericksen
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More than 12,000 B17's were built. They were deployed as late as the Vietnam War.
Khun Ohm
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Bombs Away! The plastic bubble where the bombardier would target a load of bombs.
Khun Ohm
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Signatures on the bulkhead, of airmen who flew in the B17.
Khun Ohm