Swoose

B-17D 40-30977 National Air & Space Museum, Paul E. Garber Facility, Suitland, Maryland. Swoose is in storage awaiting restoration.

	Photo by Wallach

Photo by Gary Hethcoat		Photo by Gary Hethcoat

The only B-17D to survive the war was Swoose 40-3097. It was basically a B-17D but was equipped with parts scavenged from several other B-17s, hence its name, which stood for a cross between a swan and a goose. As newer, more capable B-17s became available, 40-3097 was used as a personal transport by Lt. Gen. George H. Brett, the deputy commander of Allied forces in Australia. During its career, it ferried around a lot of VIPs, including a young Congressman from Texas named Lyndon Johnson, who was then on active duty as a Navy lieutenant commander. Swoose is now with the Smithsonian Institution and is in storage at the Paul Garber restoration facility in Suitland, Maryland awaiting restoration. National Air & Space Museum article on the Swoose.

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