DAYTON, Ohio - A restoration team from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has completed a project to restore the iconic Memphis Belle™, a Boing B-17F aircraft which completed 25 combat missions over Europe during World War II and return home safe. The famed aircraft and its crew became iconic symbols of the heavy bomber crews and support personnel who helped defeat Nazi Germany.
The aircraft and crew were also the subject of two popular Hollywood films (one in 1944 and another in 1990). The Memphis Belle has returned to public display at the museum starting from May 2018. The curious name was given by the pilot, then-Lt. Robert Morgan, who named the aircraft after his wartime girlfriend, Margaret Polk, of Memphis.
Among the interventions, the team, composed of specialist conservators and volunteers worked on both the metal body, mechanical parts and the engines. Structural repairs were also being performed on the horizontal and vertical stabilisers.

For more information about the restoration project please visit the Restoration Projects page