Sentimental Journey (aircraft)

*Sentimental Journey*
Sentimental Journey
	USAF s/n 44-83514
History
Manufactured	1944
First flight	13 March 1945
In service	1944–1959 (military); 1959–1978, Aero Union Corporation
Preserved at	Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum

*Sentimental Journey* in flight in Mesa, Arizona in January 2009

Sentimental Journey (44-83514) is the nickname of a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber. It is based at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona, US.^[3] The aircraft is regularly flown to airshows throughout North America.

The nose art features Betty Grable, the number one pinup girl of the World War II era. The aircraft's name takes after a song made very popular by Doris Day in 1945.

History

Boeing B-17G 44-83514 was built by

Clark Field in Manila.^[4]

In 1950, the aircraft was transferred to

Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. One of its important missions was "Operation Greenhouse", the fourth postwar atmospheric nuclear weapon test series conducted by the United States during the spring of 1951. As a mother ship, the RB-17P directed unmanned, radio controlled B-17 drone aircraft to measure blast and thermal effects and to collect radioactive cloud samples. During the test, a drone aircraft would take off under ground control. A "mother ship", already airborne, would then come from behind, take control of the drone and fly it to the target area.^[4]

On 27 January 1959, the aircraft was transferred to military storage at

Aero Union Corporation of Chico, California, receiving civilian aircraft registration: N9323Z. For 18 years, the converted bomber flew as a forest fire fighter throughout the United States.^[4]

On 14 January 1978, at a membership banquet for the newly formed Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Colonel Mike Clarke announced the donation of the aircraft to the CAF for assignment to the Arizona Wing. A contest was initiated by the local media to name the aircraft, which resulted in more than 800 entries, and the ultimate selection of the name "Sentimental Journey" with nose art featuring World War II pinup Betty Grable. Permission was secured from widower Harry James to add Betty Grable in her most tantalizing pose to complete the newly acquired bomber.[5]

Although flyable, Sentimental Journey was not an accurate representative of the wartime B-17 bomber and in December 1981, the aircraft underwent an extensive restoration. By 1985, the addition of four operational turrets, operational bomb bay doors, navigator and radio operator stations, Norden bomb sight and machine guns completed the transformation to its original condition.^[5]

Over the years, Sentimental Journey has performed across North America, as one of the most recognizable examples of the type, keeping the legacy of the B-17 intact.^[4]

In 1979, Sentimental Journey appeared in a scene in the Steven Spielberg film, 1941. In 1991, Sentimental Journey was used in a "Don't Mess with Texas" ad campaign that later won the best ad in the US over 25 years in 2011.