WWII bomber landing in PI

    PRESQUE ISLE – The residents of Aroostook County and neighboring New Brunswick will have the opportunity Monday, June 30 to view one of the few remaining B-17 bombers in flying condition.     According to Nate Grass, the Presque Isle Air Museum has been informed that the Liberty Belle, a restored B-17 “Flying Fortress,” will make a stop at the Northern Maine Regional Airport in Presque Isle. The Liberty Belle is reenacting the flight of the 390th Bomb Group that left the Presque Isle Army Air Field July 4, 1943 destined for Europe, in support of World War II. Liberty Belle was part of the 390th BG.
    The arrival time is scheduled for mid-morning June 30. This time may vary (earlier or later) depending on weather conditions at Goose Bay, Labrador, the first stop. The aircraft is scheduled to be on the ground for approximately one hour for refueling. The crew has agreed to a flyover of Presque Isle prior to landing. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, there has never been a B-17 land at Presque Isle since WWII.
    During WWII, Presque Isle Army Air Field was the major base for combat planes departing for Europe. It was the Wing HQ for the entire Northeast. Thousands of planes departed from this base and many were B-17s. The Liberty Belle was one such aircraft.
    On Sept. 9, 1944, the 390th Bomb Group attacked a target in Dusseldorph, Germany and suffered its second largest single mission loss of the war. Over the target just prior to bomb release, one of the low squadron B-17s was hit in the bomb bay by flak. The 1,000-pound bombs exploded, and nine of the 12 aircraft in the squadron were instantly destroyed or knocked out of formation.
    Six of the nine went down over the target, one flew two hours on a single engine and landed at Paris, another “crippled plane” landed in Belgium, and the other struggled back to its home base and landed long after the other 39 B-17s had returned from the mission. The one that came home was “Liberty Belle,” where she went on to complete 64 combat missions before being salvaged Feb. 18, 1945.
    The Liberty Belle is owned by The Liberty Foundation of Tulsa, Okla. The Liberty Belle returns to England to commemorate the brave airmen who valiantly fought the German forces and won. To honor those men, the Liberty Belle will be participating in many events while there.
    For more information, contact any member of the Presque Isle Air Museum or Nate Grass at ngrass@maine.rr.com.