Fort Named 5 GRAND

Air Classics, Jul 2004 by O'Leary, Michael

THE SAGA OF A HISTORIC FLYING FORTRESS THAT DID NOT SURVIVE DUE TO BUREAUCRATIC SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS

During World War Two, American aircraft builders often made a big deal out of milestone aircraft. One such example was the 5000th Lockheed Lightning which was painted overall brilliant red and given the enthusiastic name Yiipee. Flown over the Burbank factory for a special celebration by test pilot Milo Burcham, the aircraft was returned to its standard USAAF markings shortly afterwards. On the opposite end of the scale, North American Aviation celebrated the building of the 10,000th P-51 Mustang by simply having the number 10,000 hand-painted on the cowl.

However, for the 5000th B-17 Flying Fortress built since the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Boeing decided to do something a bit special. Realizing that a great deal of publicity and patriotic zeal could be gained by commemorating this aircraft in some special manner was not lost . upon the officials at Boeing. Accordingly, it was decided to let all of Boeing's "Ralph and Rosie the Riveters" apply their signatures on the aircraft as it rolled down the various assembly lines on the way to its completion as an operational bomber. The 5000th Flying Fortress was B-17G-70-BO USAAF s/n 43-37716.

This was actually a pretty good idea since the project served as a further bond for the tens of thousands of workers that had traveled to Boeing to enlist in war work and escape the debilitating effects of the Great Depression. Work offered by the aviation factories paid a good wage and afforded a large percentage of the American population the chance to work their way up to middle class status.

The zeal with which the workers wielded their paint brushes probably came as a surprise to Boeing brass -even components parts were arriving at the factory plastered with names applied in multi-color paints. As the bomber came together, the plane garnered not only local press but national coverage in magazines, newsreels, and newspapers - often in conjunction with the vital job of selling War Bonds.

The bomber was given the obvious name 5 Grand, and there was almost a party atmosphere as the plane traveled down the production line as workers at each station were allowed to paint their signatures on the shining alclad skin. Some period Boeing press releases refer to the bomber as the "Easter Egg" due to the combination of colors.

The Flying Fortress was extensively photographed as it came together, moving down the line with more and more signatures being added. When it came time to roll the nearly complete bomber out of the production hangar, it was decided to have Boeing workers, manually push the four-engine warrior through the open doors - resulting in yet another great "photo op" with its attendant patriotic publicity.

Once on the flight test line, final equipment was added and engine runs undertaken. 5 Grand was the subject of an elaborate dedication ceremony when it was officially handed over to the USAAF during May 1944 - a bottle of champagne being broken over a chunk of armor plate fitted between the two .50-cal Brownings in the chin turret.

The picking of the crew for 5 Grand even achieved publicity, the USAAF making sure that a "home town boy" was chosen as its pilot - Edward Collins Unger was from Seattle and he picked a co-pilot from the same city. Also, period USAAF and Boeing press releases stressed that Unger "chose an all-bachelor crew," since the pilot supposedly claimed that bachelors could make a complete commitment to combat compared to married men.

By the time the crew picked up 5 Grand at a combat depot at Kearney, Nebraska, on 30 June 1944 for a ferry flight to Great Britain, the bomber had more than 35,000 signatures and messages splashed across its aluminum skin. At this point, some thought was given to stripping the metal of all signatures since it was a distinct possibility that the Luftwaffe would make a special effort to destroy this symbolic aircraft since the resulting publicity would be great for the Nazis. However, it was decided that the names would stay.

On the flight to Great Britain, Unger and his crew discovered that the aircraft was about seven-mph slower than a standard natural metal B-17G. This was due, of course, to the rough nature of the splashed-on signatures which increased surface drag.

The flight was not exactly smooth for 5 Grand and its crew. Departing Newfoundland, the weather was fairly dismal, but the crew made the decision to press on, rather than wait a few days for possibly better conditions. However, the winds aloft were higher than forecast and they were blowing right on the nose of the Fort - odd, since winds were usually favoring the flights to the east. Combined with the wind and the slightly decreased speed of the Fortress due to the paint work, fuel consumption was much higher than planned. As the crew spotted Ireland through a hole in the clouds, the needles on the fuel gauges were swinging towards empty, and one engine cut out as the aircraft taxied to its parking spot after a successful landing.