The Crew of the Memphis Belle After its Last Battle Mission, 1943.

The ten-man crew poses outside the famous B-17 Flying Fortress in England after completing 25 bombing missions successfully. The Army Air Force had decided that 25 missions completed the tour of duty because of the physical and mental strain on the crew. A year earlier, in 1942, the average bomber crew completed 8-12 missions before being shot down or disabled.

To celebrate this success in daylight precision bombing, military authorities sent the plane and its crew on its 26th mission, a tour of training sites in the USA.

The plane had been named in honor of Miss Margaret Polk, the girlfriend of the pilot, Capt. Robert Morgan.

In July 1946, the aircraft was rescued from the scrap heap by crew members and citizens of Memphis Tennessee. The United States Air Force has plans for moving it to the National Museum of the United States, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

The print is housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.

The frame size is 18 x 20 and is black hardwood.

Price: $140.00

Availability: Usually ships in one to two weeks

Product #: FR0004