Memphis Belle

Margaret Polk, a Memphis resident and graduate of the Hutchison School, dated pilot Robert Morgan while she was a student at Southwestern in Memphis before his overseas deployment, and he named his B-17F Memphis Belle in her honor. For the rest of her life, she gave her presence and support as the “real” Memphis Belle. The Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, was one of 12,731 B-17 heavy bombers built under the direction of the Boeing Aircraft Company. With a crew of ten, it was among the first B-17s to retire from service in the European Theater of Operations. After 25 officially credited missions, the crew and their Scottie dog mascot, Stuka, returned home without major injuries. In September 1942, the Army Air Force assigned a crew to the aircraft in Bangor, Maine, and they flew it to Memphis on a shakedown flight, where it was christened in honor of Margaret Polk, the pilot’s wartime sweetheart. From there they flew to their combat base in Bassingbourne, England, north of London, and the aircraft flew in combat from November 7, 1942 to May 19, 1943. After completing these missions, the aircraft flew home first to Washington and then to Memphis to visit Margaret Polk. It then made a 32 city War Bond Tour to Army Air Force bases, aircraft manufacturers, and equipment suppliers to raise public awareness and support. After the tour, it went to the Spokane Air Depot in Washington State for a complete overhaul, then to MacDill Field near Tampa, Florida, to serve as a training aircraft. After Germany’s surrender, it was flown on July 2, 1945, to Altus Army Airfield in Oklahoma, placed on storage status on September 9, and nine days later passed to the Reclamation Center of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for disposal of surplus military equipment. The City of Memphis rescued the aircraft and flew it to Memphis on July 17, 1946. It remained in Memphis for 59 years at various locations, including the Army National Guard Armory Building on Central Avenue, the Memphis Airport, Mud Island, and Millington, while undergoing preservation and restoration, much of that time in the care of the Memphis Belle Memorial Association founded by Frank Donofrio. On October 5, 2005, the aircraft was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, to be restored as a “Plane of Record.”

Memphis, Tennessee · United States