Tracy White Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 The passing of Terry Moore caused me to pull out my HK 1/48 B-17F to build more or less in his memory. It has also caused a welcome re-examination of what I knew of the aircraft and with that the realization that bare aluminum interiors were not limited to the G model. The excerpts from the Boeing "Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Army Model B-17F/British Model Fortress II." posted on hangar 13 are helpful, but I find myself with questions still. I have some general book references but I've found that an extremely high percentage of photos are from restored aircraft where the entire interior was painted zinc chromate and thus are not good examples of a war time aircraft. So, my question for the masses is: are there any good books, websites (I'm not on Facebook so Facebook groups, while welcome to mention for others' benefit, aren't going to work in my case), or online videos (Youtube, critical past, etc) that people would recommend to show good, clear shots of the various interior compartments in such a way as to aid in choosing accurate color representation in this build? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Taylor Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Hi Tracy: David Doyle has a couple of books, including one specifically on the B-17F: https://daviddoylebooks.com/piston-engine-aircraft/b-17f-flying-fortress-visual-history-mblpd https://daviddoylebooks.com/piston-engine-aircraft/b-17-flying-fortress-vol-2-boeings-b-17e-through-b-17h-in-world-war-ii-legends-of-warfare-aviation-hardcover-february-28-2021-pltww Cheers, Scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tracy White Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 I'm looking for good war time photos (i.e. unrestored aircraft) or film. I have Volume 2 (even contributed a photo to it) above and there is one interior photo of the B-17F that is a war time image - the others are all post-war restored aircraft, including one where the entire inside is in zinc chromate green. Not to belittle the time you spent linking David's books, I'm just hoping for something a little different. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Taylor Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Hi Tracy: Ah, I understand. I'll check through my books to see what else might have what you're looking for. In the meantime, I would recommend watching William Wyler's Memphis Belle, the 1943 documentary. I haven't seen it in a while, but it was filmed in colour. Cheers, Scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tracy White Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 I need to post this here before I forget yet again. The Memphis Belle movie isn't incredibly useful for interior detail, but the clearest copy and most useful is the one the US Library of Congress posted to youtube. There are a lot of less clear ones out there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 With your website being 'Researcher' this has likely been thought of, and probably even acted on, but I'm going to add it anyway, What is the potential that Boeing or the companies who now own Douglas and Lockheed-Vega who license built some B-17 would still have company archives with appropriate photos? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tracy White Posted April 10, 2023 Author Share Posted April 10, 2023 Boeing has a good archives but it's run by one very busy employee (last I checked) who doesn't really have the time or inclination to talk to model builders. Additionally, they guard copyright ferociously so no one's going to just post photos from there as long as there is potential to make licensing dollars from it. Another possibility is spending some time on one of my research trips to the National Archives, but that time is precious and I already have a lot of topics slated for a number of books that I'd prefer not to take away from. I did leaf through Terry Moore's book collection and found one or two decent photos here and there but none of them had an equivalent to a period walk through, which really isn't surprising. The owner / operator at the time wasn't as interested in every little bolt..... I'll be talking with Dana Bell and David Doyle soon at archives and just might cast a line for photos and see what comes up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 7 hours ago, Tracy White said: Boeing has a good archives but it's run by one very busy employee (last I checked) who doesn't really have the time or inclination to talk to model builders. Additionally, they guard copyright ferociously so no one's going to just post photos from there as long as there is potential to make licensing dollars from it. Another possibility is spending some time on one of my research trips to the National Archives, but that time is precious and I already have a lot of topics slated for a number of books that I'd prefer not to take away from. I did leaf through Terry Moore's book collection and found one or two decent photos here and there but none of them had an equivalent to a period walk through, which really isn't surprising. The owner / operator at the time wasn't as interested in every little bolt..... I'll be talking with Dana Bell and David Doyle soon at archives and just might cast a line for photos and see what comes up. AF Museum per chance? They have an e-mail address for researchers. It's on a work computer, so I can't get it until tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tracy White Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 (edited) It's a possibility. Their restoration of Memphis Belle suggests they have some pretty good references, considering that this slide show appears to show her being taken down to bare metal. I'll check with a research buddy who may have other good contacts there. Edited April 11, 2023 by Tracy White missed a word Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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