I know this is for ground-based armor, but I thought it appropriate to post this up. The Liberty Foundation's big bird, an immaculate B-17 dubbed Liberty Belle, has crashed today. Apparently, she caught fire, and the pilot performed what appeared through pictures to be one last beautiful landing, protecting the crew and allowing all 7 crew members aboard to safely escape the aircraft. Thank goodness. That is the most important part, of course, but it's still a tragic loss. There are so few of them left. My heart goes out to the crew, owners and the entire Liberty Foundation for their loss.

There's a post over in Aeroscale's general section with images my wife and I took when the noble Fort was visiting Salt Lake City a few weeks ago: http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/forums/177440&page=1

That's a real shame, but I'm glad that everyone is alright.

Thanks for sharing the news Dustin.

Glad the crew are safe, but pity the plane looks to be an organ-donor. It highlights the main problem with trying to get serious mileage from wartime vehicles designed with a life expectancy of mere weeks. There comes a point when the rarity and completeness of a historic vehicle kinda demands that it be parked up safe inside a museum. (They got eight good years from it before the first (and last) major mishap - that's probably about seven more than the USAAF ever expected...) Oh, well.

Tom

Glad the crew is all fine... shame about the aircraft, though.. the B-17 is my favorite aircraft of all time. I remember I had the old Monogram 1/48 kit when I was a kid.. but I never built it!!

Hisham

@ Hisham

Yeah, the B-17 definitely holds a special place in my heart too. My grandfather's brother was a radio gunner in one during the war. I also just finished the new Revell B-17 in 1/72 scale a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful model of a beautiful bird. If there was ever a bomber that was close to a tank with wings, the Fortress would be it for sure. I highly recommend that kit if you're a fan of the Fort.