This shadow-box was used to display information on the bomber’s current bombload, changing out the charts inside as necessary.

On Es and early-Fs, this box was made of aluminum, though for late-Fs like Lucky Thirteen, the box was made of 3/16 inch plywood.  Reference photos confirm that, while the metal versions were unpainted, wooden boxes were painted to match Boeing Bronze Green.  The window in the box is 1/16 inch Plexiglas.

Interestingly, the blueprints called for the box top’s hinge to be made from OD canvas.  Sacrificing an old duffel bag for the material, we had to cut the grooves out by hand for the canvas to attach.  It took a lot of work to get right, but in the end, the top bounces open just like in the photos.

An original bomb fuse tag is in the box as a nod to the reference photo.  The tag was a gift from my wife.

The only missing pieces now are a pair of metal tension clamps to hold the top shut. Ray will handle that later.

I am currently building two more of these boxes for the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California and the B-17 Cockpit Project in Braintree, England.

We used a high-quality Plexiglas normally used to protect artwork, so in theory, it should never yellow with age.

My apologies for the poor photograph – this thing is hard to take pictures of.  Even though the Plexiglas is fairly thick, it is crystal clear.  The cutting and etching on this piece was done by Trophies Unlimited of Aiken, South Carolina, nice people who have been extremely supportive of our work.

The wooden piece is the Azimuth Scale Holder, blueprint no. 6-13392 – a piece used to measure drift.

Photos taken 9 March 2019.

Reference photo of 1LT Bob M. Welty of the 398BG.

The blueprints require the screws and nails be brass to avoid upsetting the compass.  Apparently, this did not help much in wartime service, as the D-12 was replaced by a remote compass mounted inside the wing.

On the topside of the shelf is a Compass Correction Card, along with its card holder. While recreating the card was easy enough, it took a little time to locate the card holder.

The reference photo you see is of the earlier metal version, with the box above being the rarely-used Bombsight Stowage Box.

Photo taken 22 February 2019.

Reference photo shown taken from F-type Maintenance Manual.

This is the BC-706 Inertia Switch for Lucky Thirteen’s IFF system.

Surviving IFF systems on Second World War warbirds are practically nonexistent.  The Boeing B-17 went through three IFFs (Identify Friend From Foe Beacon) in its lifetime: the SCR-535, 595, and 695 – all variants of a British design.  Lucky Thirteen served at a time when the most-likely installed IFF was the SCR-595.

The transponder was placed on a rack on the back of Station 6, near the ball turret, while the controls for the unit were placed on Station 5 above the radio operator’s desk.  High priority was placed on making sure Allied IFFs never fell into enemy hands. As such, both the pilot and radio operator had manual destruct switches at their disposal.

The final major component of Lucky Thirteen‘s SCR-522 VHF radio system: the AN-104-A.

Made by Camfield Manufacturing of New Haven, Michigan (a kitchen utensil company), the AN-104 came in three variants: Army, Navy, and postwar replacement.  This is an original Army variant.

The only modification will be to add a tag to hold the line connecting the SCR-274 to the tail from the radio compartment – but that’s a long way in the future.  I was able to get some advice from Charlie on how to properly clean and refinish the AN-104-A VHF antenna.  

Oddly enough, we took greater care in painting the antenna than Camfield originally did.  They had not properly masked the silver paint, resulting in some of it getting on the wood below.  We carefully fixed this.

Photos taken 26 January 2019.

There was some concern when we began our Parts Drive that it might inadvertently raise the prices of the very parts we need.  While that might eventually happen, the Parts Drive was exactly what motivated Andy Rivera of Delaware to complete the Navigator’s auxiliary equipment for us.

Andy purchased Lucky Thirteen’s astrograph and astrocompass (and since meeting us in person, has located the aircraft’s sextant).

The Kodak B-5 Astrograph and W. W. Boes Mk. II Astrocompass were both used for nighttime navigation and are not typically associated with the B-17.

Photo taken 26 January 2019.

The mounted components are laid out on the replica 55-3518 radio table.  This is exact positions dictated by the blueprints.

The Liaison Master Switch sits on the far right (the switch itself is not yet installed), above which is a tag indicating the airplane’s call number.

Left of the switch is a J-37 Morse Key and dominating the table’s center is the FT-154 Shock Mount for the BC-348 Liaison Receiver.

You might notice the black box on the back of the FT-154.  We recently received a donation of the BC-348’s power plug – a very rare item indeed!

Photo taken 26 January 2019.

Reference photo shown taken from G-type Maintenance Manual.

The fully restored BC-457 and BC-458 Command Transmitters sitting in their FT-226 Rack.  The transmitter on the right was donated by the Asheville Radio Museum.  Kudos to them!

The FT-226 Rack sits in a FT-227 Shock Mount.  The shock mount was acquired still in its air-tight package, fresh from the war.

Steve Williams of Clarkson, Kentucky has offered to donate several parts for the Command Radio system, including the rare Command Relay and Mount, and is currently working on them now.  This means the only major pieces of the Command Radio still needed are the FT-221 Shock Mount for the Receivers and the BC-451 Command Radio Control Box.

*Since this update we have been donated a complete SCR-274 system from Jack Antonio of Warner-Robins, Georgia.

Photo taken 17 January 2019.

Photo taken 14 January 2019.

Reference photo of B-17E interior from Boeing Archives, taken on 2 April 1942.

The B-17 carried as standard three CO2 extinguishers, with one located in each of the enclosed compartments: the nose, the cockpit, and the radio room.

Boeing blueprints specify using the A-17 type, but also make allowances for the 4TB type should A-17s be unavailable.  Both can be seen in period photos.

Today, the 4TB is much more readily available than the A-17, the latter becoming “unobtanium.”  The tank is steel, the fittings are brass, the elbow is rubber, and the horn is plastic.

Recalling my article on B-17 survivors, it is worth noting that every single surviving B-17G is a late-production aircraft – meaning that they all were originally fitted with staggered waists and Cheyenne-style tail guns.

(The only exception to this is Shoo, Shoo Baby, now awaiting transfer to the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center.)

This also means that the navigator’s table we built for Liberty Belle is correct for ALL surviving B-17Gs (except Shoo, Shoo Baby, of course).

Liberty Belle’s table (blueprint 15-13864) was made using 3/8 thick 5-ply yellow poplar, braced as usual with strips of spruce.  Finding this wood proved difficult, and I was not particularly happy with its durability – which is probably why the originals were so heavily lacquered.