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Memphis Belle

Restored WWII bomber Memphis Belle is moved into Ohio museum

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
The Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress stands disassembled in its hangar across from Naval Support Activity Mid-South during a 2003 restoration. U.S. Navy photo by Susan Hyback, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress, disassembled in its hangar across from Naval Support Activity Mid-South during a 2003 restoration. U.S. Navy photo by Susan Hyback, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – The fabled World War II bomber Memphis Belle has been moved into its new home at an Ohio museum after years of restoration work, but won’t go on public display until May.

The Dayton Daily News reports the aircraft famously decorated with nose art of a pinup girl was towed Wednesday into the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton.

It’s one of the most celebrated American planes to survive the war. It flew over occupied France and Germany, then weathered decades on display outdoors in Memphis, Tennessee, before being moved to Ohio in 2005.

Memphis Belle
A reconstruction of the Memphis Belle used in the 1990 film of the same name was on view at Andrews Air Force Base in 2008. Photo by Manassehkatz, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

It will be unveiled at the museum May 17, the 75th anniversary of its crew’s 25th and final mission.

Curator Jeff Duford says visitors will be able to get close to the aircraft.

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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com

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Memphis Belle