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Old 11-21-16, 08:04 PM   #46
razark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockstar View Post
Just a guess. Could be the name Hell's Angels and the graphics on the plane weren't considered to be all that family friendly.
If I recall correctly, Hell's Angels was the first B-17 to complete twenty-five missions, but Morgan's was the first crew to complete a full tour. They decided to celebrate the men, not the aircraft.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian D. O'Neill, Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer, on the return of Hell's Angels to the US for publicity tours
Hell's Angels' reputation had been firmly established in the States long before her return home. She was one of the original bombers the 303rd's crews had taken to England in late October 1942, and on May 14, 1943, she was the first Fortress in the Eighth to complete 25 missions against the Reich. Though this fact was obscured somewhat by the earlier return of the 91st Group's Memphis Belle (the Belle was the first Fortress to fly home with a crew that had completed a 25-mission tour), Hell's Angels soldiered on, establishing a record of reliability unequaled during the early, grim months of the air war by any other bomber in the ETO: 40 straight missions without an abort.
...
Hell's Angels flew her 48th and final combat flight on December 13, 1943, when she was withdrawn from frontline service. She had, in all her raids, established another remarkable record: Not one of her crewmen was ever killed or wounded in action.
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Last edited by razark; 11-21-16 at 08:20 PM.
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