Airplanes Online Home Page Background and story of the B-17 Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby"


B-17 Flying Fortress Survivors: Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby

B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" S/N 42-32076

This B-17G Flying Fortress was on static display inside the World War II hangar at the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, near Wright-Patterson AFB until 2018.

A B-17G-35-BO, serial number 42-32076, manufactured by Boeing, it was named by her crew for a song of the same name made popular by The Andrews Sisters, the favorite song of its crew chief T/Sgt. Hank Cordes.

It flew 24 combat missions in WWII, receiving flak damage seven times. Its first mission ) was on March 24, 1944, and last mission (Posen, Poland) on May 29, 1944, when engine problems forced a landing in neutral Sweden where the airplane and crew were interned.

In 1968 Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby was found abandoned in France, and the French government presented the airplane to the U.S. Air Force. In July 1978 the 512th Military Airlift Wing moved it to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for restoration by the volunteers of the 512th Antique Restoration Group. After a massive 10-year job of restoration to flying condition, the aircraft was flown to the museum in October 1988.

Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby was replaced in the World War II gallery by the restored B-17F Memphis Belle in March, 2018, and is now in storage at the National Museum of the US Air Force's restoration facility. The aircraft will be transferred at a future date to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, D.C. for permanent display.

Other Surviving B-17 Flying Fortresses

A total of 39 surviving B-17 airframes are located in the United States. Eight (8) B-17s are still airworthy today. An additional eighteen (18) B-17s are on static display around the United States, and thirteen (13) aircraft are undergoing restoration or are in storage.

Seven (7) more B-17s are located in the UK, France and Brazil.

View a list of all surviving B-17 Flying Fortress with models, serial numbers, aircraft name, restoration status and location by state.


B-17 Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" Photos by the Author

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" when it was on public display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It is currently in storage pending transfer to the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum.
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" nose art
Nose view of the B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby"
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" nose art