B-17E 41-9032Ultimate
Sacrifice Memorial, Blue Ash Airport, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Under restoration for eventual static display.
Crashed on the ice in Greenland.
The bomb bay is the largest section remaining.
Some of the larger pieces in storage at Tillamook.
On 27 June 1942, My Gal Sal was lost in Greenland
while on a ferry flight from the U.S. to England. The pilot made an excellent
landing, the only damage to the plane being bent propeller blades.
The crew were rescued by a PBY Catalina that landed on a lake 25
miles away. It took the rescuers hours to reach the airplane and its crew.
After a night of rest, the rescuers led the 13 survivors slowly and carefully
back to the lake where they boarded the Catalina and took off. The rescued
men had been marooned for 10 days. My Gal Sal was forgotten until October
1964 when it was rediscovered from the air. It was in good condition, although
the tail had been broken off by the constant movement of ice. In 1965,
a winter storm had blown the forward part onto its back, severely damaging
it.
In May-September 1995, Gary Larkins conducted a
site survey, disassembled, and recovered My Gal Sal and delivered it to
the Tillamook Air Museum. In
August 1996, he recovered a B-17F that crashed in 1943 near Ruby, Alaska
for use in the restoration of My Gal Sal. The remains of the two planes
stayed in storage at Tillamook Air Museum with plans for an eventual restoration
to flying status.
On 14 March 2000 My Gal Sal was purchased by Bob
Ready, of Cincinnati, who will restore her for a display siting on her
belly as she was in Greenland on June 27, 1942. Currently the fuselage
has made good progress in California. Read more about it at the Ultimate
Sacrifice Memorial web page.