"Memphis Belle" Takes Flight Over Chattanooga

  • Tuesday, October 21, 2014
  • Dennis Norwood
A Replica of the B-17 Flying Fortress known as the Memphis Belle has landed at the Collegedale Municipal Airport. This particular aircraft was built in 1945 and was used to ferry troops and equipment and was later restored by Dave Tallichet of the Military Airlift Restoration Company, in 1982.
 
Tallichet, a wartime B-17 pilot with the 100th Bomb Group, and his staff restored the B-17G to closely resemble a B-17F model. In 1989 the aircraft was hired for use in the filming of the movie Memphis Belle and, along with another B-17, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to film the movie.
 
While the movie depicted the crew of the "Belle" as the first to complete 25 missions over Germany, in actuality this honor belonged to the crew of the B-17 "Hell's Angels," which flew its 25th mission just ahead of the "Memphis Belle." However, the War Department felt that it would be more 'family friendly' to have a plane named the "Memphis Belle" do a bond drive than one named "Hell's Angels."
 
Along on Tuesday's media flight was Chattanooga resident and 93-year old World War II veteran and B-17 pilot Jack Rolfsen.
Mr. Rolfsen completed his 25th mission just a month after the crew of the "Belle."
 
Mr. Rolfsen said of the B-17, "I love this airplane. It took an awful lot of punishment." He went on to say that, "We had a mathematician in our group who figured out that only 18 of every 81 aircrew members who went over came home. Those are not very good odds."
 
Today the "Memphis Belle" is flown by the Liberty Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in an effort to allow its visitors to take a step back in time and gain respect for the men and women who gave so much to protect our freedoms.
 
According to its press release, World War II was the single greatest challenge to freedom in the 20th Century. Through the 46 months of war, over 300,000 American soldiers, sailors and airmen died defending the beliefs that they held dear.
 
This is the 71st anniversary of the original "Memphis Belle's" last historic mission over the skies of Germany.
 
On Sunday, the crew of the "Belle" will be offering flights and ground tours to the public. The B-17 flight experience takes 45 minutes with approximately a half hour in the air. Flights are $450 per person. Passengers can become Liberty Foundation members and receive a $40 discount. Membership is $40 per person.
 
While the cost may sound expensive, crew members said, it must be put into perspective when compared to the cost to operate the B-17. It costs over $4500 per flight hour to operate the aircraft. 
 
The foundation spends over $1.5 million annually to keep the B-17 airworthy and out on tour.
Flights will occur Sunday morning beginning at 10 a.m. with ground tours in the afternoon.
 
(Email Dennis Norwood at newswriter614@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DennisENorwood.) 

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