The B-17 Aluminum Overcast returns to the EAA Aviation Museum's Eagle Hangar, May23, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A piece of World War II history is now on display in Oshkosh.
Measuring over 74 feet long and weighing more than 36,000 pounds, the B-17 Aluminum Overcast is the newest addition to the EAA Aviation Museum’s Eagle Hangar. It is being displayed again for the first time in 30 years as officials finalize plans for its preservation and restoration.
“The B-17 is an 80-year-old airplane and we’ve been flying it on tour for nearly 30 years. Well, the point has come where it needs some repair and restoration to get it back up to fighting trim,” said Dick Knapinski, director of communications for EAA.
“While it’s been in the maintenance hangar, we decided [to] bring it over to the Eagle Hangar so everybody can enjoy it in the EAA Museum while we look at all of the options for the preservation, restoration and repair of the aircraft,” Knapinski continued.
B-17s were primarily used as bombers during World War II, but the planes also served other uses, such as transport, antisubmarine and search-and-rescue. Although more than 12,000 were made, only a handful remain airworthy or on display.
According to EAA officials, Aluminum Overcast was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps on May 18, 1945. It was sold as surplus the following year but went on to be utilized as a cargo hauler, aerial mapping platform and in pest control and forest dusting applications.
In 1978, the airplane was sold to a group known as “B-17s Around the World” who aimed to return the Aluminum Overcast to its military roots. However, financial challenges led to the group donating the plane to EAA in 1983.
Aluminum Overcast was on display in the EAA Aviation Museum for the next 10 years before it was moved to start preparations for its first national tour in 1994.
Veterans of the 398th helped fund the B-17’s restoration. Aluminum Overcast carries the colors of the 398th Bomb Group of World War II, which flew hundreds of missions over Nazi-held territory throughout the war.
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