Anyone for a rare WWII B-17 bomber?

Manufactured by Boeing in 1941, the WWII aircraft never took part in a battle, but it had a long career in both North and South America. Today, in turn, its history may take a completely new course, because this rare B-17 bomber has gone on sale and can be yours for a round $ 9,000,000. But its condition… let’s say it takes a lot of work before it looks like an airplane again.

Today, everyone can buy their own war plane. This time it is a B-17 bomber

This bomber is the B-17E, which was dismantled and then cleaned to the bare metal all the components were in perfect condition. The buyer will have to put it back together, and when he does, he will be able to show off one of the most important planes of World War II. These four-engine bombers were designed specifically for the strategic bombing of factories, railway stations, ports, and military bases of Nazi Germany. The B-17 was armed with six .50 caliber machine guns (two in two turrets and two in hand) and was flying with 1,905 kilograms of bombs.

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Although as many as 12,731 B-17 bombers were built, few have survived so many decades, which is why the -E version being discussed today is unique. Its history dates back to 1941, because it was produced then, but it entered service on May 16, 1942, and the US government invested $ 280,135 on it. In reality, however, he did not live to see the active service, because he spent the war in the United States, where he flew a total of 1,800 hours, as the basis for the development of the advanced C-1 autopilot and most likely the main character of training films.

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After the war, this B-17E bomber was handed over to the University of Minnesota and, under the authority of the university, took to the skies to make aerial maps in Canada, and then operated from Thule, Greenland. In the 1960s, he even served as a delivery truck, transporting perishable goods in Bolivia, where he was forced to make an emergency landing one day. In 1990, the plane flew back to the United States, and in 1998 to Washington, where it is still today and from where it will probably go somewhere else if someone buys it.