Lacey Lady B-17 bomber

[63 R2 Hawk]

If you've spent much time around Portland, Oregon you are probably familiar with "The Bomber" which started out as a gas station and later became a restaurant. The B-17 that was placed there as a gas station canopy since 1947 has been taken down and is now awaiting restoration in a Salem OR hangar. I went and looked at it and am glad to report it has four Studebaker built R1820 engines. I signed up to volunteer helping out in whatever way I can, lots of work is needed but they are planning on restoring it back to flying condition in about 7 years. The restaurant is still there, by the way. here's a link: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2968

[Commander Eddie]

My wife and I just drove past Lacy's about a week ago and she was startled to see the old bomber was completely gone. I reassured her it was being lovingly restored and would be back on site in the near future. I was not aware of the Studebaker engines it had. If you can let me know where she is currently being restored I may try to drop by there to see the old gal myself.

[63 R2 Hawk]

The plan is for her to not return to the pylons, the hope is she will be restored to flying condition and join the ten that are currently flyable. She is currently hangared at Salem gen av in the last yellow hangar to the left as you are facing the Flight Deck. There is not always someone there so I would make it a side trip if you're in the Salem area unless you can make arrangements. Here's a link:

http://www.b17alliancegroup.com/

[ProStreet50]

I used to stop and eat at the bomber. I recently worked at a facility in Chicago where the engines were made. Its next to Midway airport and has underground tunnels that connect to airport.

[Studebaker Wheel]

A composite I made from a portfolio of art done by Frederic Tellander for Studebaker during WWII. The art was also used for ads in major magazines of the era including LIFE and the Saturday Evening Post among others. I also made a second composite featuring the Studebaker WWII Hercules powered 4X4 and 4X6 trucks, also done by Tellander. This is a low resolution example. Very much moere impressive when printed out on glossy paper using the original high resolution images.

[Bob Bryant]

Mr. Quinn: I lived near and worked in Ft. Wayne in the 50's. A photo mentions that engines were built in Ft. Wayne. Do you happen to know of the plant or address where the engines were made in that city? Maybe the work was sub-contracted to a local company. Just curious.

[63 R2 Hawk]

Curtiss-Wright licensed the design & manufacturing of the Wright 1820 to a number of different companies, including Russian and Spanish (Hispano-Suiza) companies. There were many different aircraft-and tanks-that used that motor, including a diesel version. Wright built many of them, but I have heard & read stories that some pilots and crew chiefs preferred the Studebaker built motors as the felt they were more dependable. I don't know if that was true or not, a lot of superstitions abound in wartime.

http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/cyclone1820.htm

[Gunslinger]

Robert Morgan, who was the command pilot of the B17 Memphis Belle, specified to his crew chief that his aircraft was specifically NOT to have Studebaker built engines installed. Apparently he had an engine failure on a Stude-built engine and he wanted no more of them. Considering the rough environment the engines operated in, the sometimes questionable maintenance and parts supply problems, plus that Studebaker built a huge number of Cyclone engines, it's not surprising failures were as common as they were. Whether Morgan was justified in his opinion, it was his plane and what he said is what would happen.

The Memphis Belle is undergoing restoration at the USAF Museum...it makes me wonder how authentic the restoration staff will be as far as what engines they will install in the bomber...whatever is available that's correct for a B17 or authentic to how Morgan kept the aircraft.

[ddub]

Does anyone know what proportion of B-17 engines were built by Studebaker? They seem to be more available than other makes judging by how many are found on the planes now.

[StudeNewby]

My wife and I recently had the privilege if flying in the movie-version "Memphis Belle" here in NC. What a rush! I knew Studebaker made some of the engines, but I'm not sure if that plane was so equipped. I wrote about the once-in-a-lifetime experience in a local magazine (page 14).

http://issuu.com/boommagnc/docs/boom__magazine_november_2014

[Gunslinger]

Studebaker built 63,789 R-1820's under license during the war. Wright built 77,554 engines of all types and displacements during the war...and for applications such as tanks and aircraft of many types. The R-1820 was license built by a few other companies but nowhere near Studebaker's output. Studebaker was for quite some period the prime and exclusive supplier of Wright R-1820 engines for the B17.

What numbers of Wright-built engines have survived compared to Studebaker-built engines would be a statistic worth knowing. By sheer numbers one would think more Studebaker produced engines would have survived but who knows? Organizations like the Commemorative Air Force, Collings Foundation, dedicated warbird restorers and the USAF and others that operate B17's and other aircraft that use the Cyclone engine would keep internal maintenance documents that identify the engine's serial numbers and origins, but there's probably no data base of that outside of each organization.

[Gunslinger]

My wife and I recently had the privilege if flying in the movie-version "Memphis Belle" here in NC. What a rush! I knew Studebaker made some of the engines, but I'm not sure if that plane was so equipped. I wrote about the once-in-a-lifetime experience in a local magazine (page 14).

http://issuu.com/boommagnc/docs/boom..._november_2014

I flew in and got to co-pilot the Collings Foundation B17 "Nine-O-Nine" some time back. That was one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences I've had. Movies and television do not impart the sounds and smells of actually being in one of these birds. That men flew in and fought in the aircraft miles up in sub-zero temperatures while being shot at shows the dedication and caliber of those this great nation has produced. I could never show enough appreciation for them for the freedoms we take for granted.

[70Avanti2]

Memphis Belle had 3 or 4 stude engines when it was stolen from Memphis by the air force.

[63 R2 Hawk]

In 2006 my soon-to-be wife and I flew on Nine-0-Nine from Medford, Oregon to Salem Oregon four days before we were married. I think she was expecting something a little closer to flying on an Airbus though, luckily she borrowed a noise cancelling headset for the journey. Unless you're driving, the best place is in the plexi nose or standing up looking out of the dorsal hatch.

[8E45E]

If you've spent much time around Portland, Oregon you are probably familiar with "The Bomber" which started out as a gas station and later became a restaurant.

Most likely the gas station is the one in the first photo in the link in the first post: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...light=hipspics

Craig