B-17G 44-6393 March
Field Museum, Riverside, California. Displayed as Return To Glory.
Photo by Mike Yamada
Photo by Mike Yamada
Photo by Scott Thompson
44-6393 was built by Douglas Aircraft at Long
Beach, California and accepted by the Army on 22 July 1944. Its first assignment
was in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in Italy. 44-6393 flew combat
missions until the close of the war, returning to the United States in
July 1945. She was modified to cargo carrying configuration and assigned
to the 4112th Base Unit at Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania. It was then modified
into a CB-17G VIP transport belonging to the US Ambassador to Canada. In
March 1948, it was transferred to the 16th Air Depot from Bolling Field,
Washington D.C. as a VB-17. Her cargo for the next six months was to be
Gen. Ira C. Eaker and his staff. Gen. Eaker gave this polished B-17 the
name of "Starduster". Upon completion of its tour with Gen. Eaker, 44-6393
was transferred to the 18th Maintenance and Supply Group, flying from Clark
Field, Philippines. It operated in the Northern and Eastern Pacific area
until her return stateside on 21 September 1949. 44-6393 returned to Olmstead
AFB, was downgraded to CB-17G and assigned to the 1130th Special Activities
Group. It was used for diplomatic duty in Ottawa, Canada from 02 November
to late 1953. It was reassigned to the 3510th Flight Training Wing at Randolph
AFB, Texas as a VB-17G for the remainder of its USAF service.
44-6393 was declared surplus and transferred
to Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona, for disposal in September 1955. With cargo
carrying modifications already done, it was a prime choice for the Bolivian
government and was sold in November 1957. Along with seven other B-17s
it was ferried to Bolivia and assigned Bolivian registration CP-627. It
joined 25 other B-17s operated by the government airline, Lloyd Aereo Boliviano,
hauling cargo over the Andes. Extensive modifications were made to better
adapt it to haul cargo, to include large cargo doors in the left side waist.
After a crash in the mid-sixties it was rebuilt using parts from another
B-17 and re-registered as CP-891. When it was retired by LAB in the late
sixties it was transferred to Frigorificos Reyes to haul beef carcasses
from outlying farms to meat markets in La Paz. In 1980 it was returned
to the United States and ended up at the March AFB Museum. Initial attempts
to restore 44-6393 were limited due to the modifications it received over
the years. It had fiberglass turrets installed and was given a coat of
olive drab paint marked as B-17F 42-30092 "Second Patches". Recent information
and
photos on the internet show that another restoration attempt has striped
the OD paint off again. For a while it was marked with the nose art of
Gen. Eaker's "Starduster", but did not have the name "Starduster" applied.
In 1999, an olive drab sceme was applied with the nose art Return To Glory.
