The Truth About the Memphis Belle (No Hollywood)

in 1943 over Nazi occupied Europe thousands of Allied bombers filled the skies but in the pages of History one single aircraft stands above her name synonymous with the men who flew the Fortress with American perseverance and With Victory the Memphis Bell but why what made her special and what parts of her story are true and what is not today we dive into the history of the Memphis Bell the real story without Hollywood without dramatization and see what is the real story and who were the men who flew history's most famous B7 it is October of

1942 and here in England a brand new aircraft fresh off the production line comes into land at Raf basenor this heavy bomber would be an americanmade b77 also known as The Flying Fortress at this time the very first forces of the United States Army airp had begun to arrive here in England to bring the war to Hitler's doorstep these bombers would be the first American aircraft assigned to that job beginning very soon a campaign that would reain down down Terror from above and here this particular aircraft b741 d244 85 would be destined to become the

most iconic bomber in the war and perhaps in all of history but for now she was just another bomber no name no art and no story however all of that was about to change upon arriving this Fortress was assigned to the 324th Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group along with her crew this initial group of young men would be pilot Robert Morgan co-pilot James Venus Navigator Chuck Leighton Bombadier Vincent Evans top turret engineer Levy Dylan radio operator Bob Hansen ball turret Gunner Cecil Scott right waist Gunner e Scott Miller left Wati Gunner Clarence Winchell tail

Gunner John quinland and mascot Stuka the Scottish Terrier after joining The 91st Captain Morgan's crew were ready for combat and like most other Crews wanted to name their Fortress before they flew her into battle and at this point Captain Morgan already had an idea in mind to name the bomber after his sweetheart back home in Memphis Tennessee a young girl by the name of Margaret pulk but this name isn't what you might think the original name that he had in mind was little one his pet name for pul but that changed one night when he

and his co-pilot Jim venes went to the theater and watched a film by the name of Lady for a night starring John Wayne in this film Wayne's character owns a riverbat and that boat's name is one that might be a little more familiar I told you Memphis Society wouldn't put up with making a queen out of your Memphis Bell save that FES shuffle for the num skulls that come to the Memphis Bell after watching this film Captain Robert Morgan had his new name in mind the Memphis Bell he proposed it to his crew soon after

and they all agre greed thus the legend of the Memphis Bell was born but this Legend still needed a face an image to go along with her name fortunately during this time many Publications and artists back in the states were happy to do their part to help the men at War so when Captain Morgan contacted George Petty a pinup artist at Esquire magazine asking for a beautiful woman for their aircraft he gladly obliged sending them a pinup from the 1941 issue here we have located a copy of this exact issue and found this a beautiful

pinup with a caption that reads simply I'm the one with the part in the back from here the rest is history shortly after receiving this pinup the group had 91st Bomb Group artist Tony starer add the art to the newly named Memphis Bell on each side of the nose with one in red and one in blue the Bell was now ready as beautiful as could be and her first date was scheduled before she knew it this would take place on November 7th of 1942 this would be the first official mission for the 91st Bomb Group

a raid to the submarine pins at breast France this would fortunately be an easy mission for for the 91st Bomb Group and the other participating units the bombing was accurate and damage was done to the Target all for no losses to the group if this continued the crews would be able to get to their magic number of 25 missions in no time the number needed to complete a tour and punch your ticket back home one down 24 to go but they were in for a rude awakening and this was not to be the case 2

Days Later the Bell and The 91st Bomb Group were assigned to another mission this time to bomb the docks of St Nair a place that would soon gain the notorious title of flak City and also noteworthy is the fact that for this Mission The 91st Bomb Group attacked from an altitude of only 10,000 ft unfortunately the leaders of the Eighth Air Force had not yet realized how poor of a strategy this would be and the 91st Bomb Group would pay their first price of the war when the closest aircraft to Captain Morgan and the Memphis

Bell took a direct hit this would be B7 Delta Rebel number two injuring two crew members on board Delta Rebel number two however would fortunately make it back to base with all of her crew alive but not everyone was so lucky in one of the other 91st Bomb Group squadrons flying nearby a B17 took heavy damage from flag where Bombadier second Lieutenant Lewis briglia was injured badly upon arriving at the airbase ambulances rushed to the bomber and took him to the hospital but their efforts would be in vain and he perish during the night becoming

the first combat casualty of the 91st Bomb Group this would be the first of many but the Bell had made it two missions down 23 to go and this is where we see the truth of daylight bombing in 1942 the brutality and the cost in the 1990 movie The Memphis Bell one of the things that we first hear is that the Bell has never taken combat damage so that's the crew of the Memphis Bell huh those are the enlisted Men You're me the officers this afternoon first they volunteer for all this then they fly 24

missions without a scratch but this could not be farther from the truth on her second mission in fact the Bell was listed as having taken slight damage and from here on out would actually take damage of varying degrees on nearly every single mission on mission number three for example they would take their first injury to crew this this would be on yet another mission to flak City on November 17th but this time their primary threat would be German Fighters which came up in force the bells Gunners did well here but one of her crew top

turret engineer Levy Dylan was shot in the leg by a fak oful 190 however there were no injuries on the postm mission report for Morgan's crew this would be because Dylan did did not report the injury but simply had it bandaged by a friend as he didn't want to miss any action nonetheless this would be her first mission that showed that her crew was in fact vulnerable three missions down 22 to go just 2 weeks later the crew of the Memphis Bell likely had their greatest Stroke of Luck in the entire War when they had

to abort their first mission on this day The 91st Bomb Group was sent for another attack to St Nazir this time to bomb the entrance of the submarine pins but as the bell took off two of her engines failed shortly after getting airborn because of this Captain Morgan was forced to abort the mission returning to Bass andorn this left the other three planes in their Squadron and the rest of the 91st Bomb Group to continue on with the mission the crew of The Bell was no doubt upset that they had to sit this one out

but in reality it may have been a Saving Grace the November 23rd mission to St Nair would be a disaster for the 91st Bomb Group a summary of The Daily report for this Mission reads as follows first disasterous mission first aircraft lost in group we lost our squadron commander Squadron Navigator and a crew pilot 322nd lost their Squadron commanding officer Len Corman got his plane back but had to make a crashed landing on two engines with serious damage it killed half the crew no bombs were dropped on target due to bad weather final losses from

our Squadron one aircraft missing one aircraft destroyed 11 Men missing five killed and eight wounded this would be a long day for the boys from the Bell finding out what had happened to their fellow Squadron mates but also it began to create more challenges the loss of numbers in 1942 the numerical power of the Eighth Air Force was extremely low for many of these missions actually saw the American Air Corp putting up less than 40 aircraft at a time almost always with no fighter escort so when a squadron like this lost multiple aircraft it meant

that that unit for their next mission or two would likely have smaller numbers until replacement aircraft or Crews were made ready this could expose them even further to German fighters who preferred attacking smaller formations but fortunately the brass would see this and gave them a break with the next mission for the 1st not coming until a few weeks later on December 6th and Another Blessing this would be a milk run with no losses and only light resistance the days went on and the missions continued December 20th another one in the books to romaly France with

moderate fighter resistance December 30th Captain Morgan gets a day off and co-pilot Venus takes control of the bell for another mission to Laurent France here the commanding officer of the 41st Squadron died from wounds received another aircraft was missing but yet again the Bell made it home with only slight damage on January 3rd The 91st was sent yet again to their most frequented Target St Nair but on this day they would be accompanied by none other than major Claude putam the commanding officer of the entire Bomb Group he opted to lead by example and frequently

flew with his men and the mission that he chose to join them on today would be a long one with the combat report listing the Flack as the heaviest and most accurate to date in addition the lwaa also answered the raid putting up a heavy force of fak of Ulf 190s but on this strike the Bell would get a tally of her own when her Gunners claimed their first kill of the war Downing a German fighter over the target upon Landing back at the Airfield the Bell had her first swastika painted on her now a

credited killer of German aircraft seven missions down 18 to go on January 13th another raid to the marshalling yards of France here the Memphis Bell would lead the entire 91st Bomb Group and no losses were taken on January 23rd the Memphis Bell once again was selected as lead ship due to her pilot Captain Morgan's reputation as a solid flyer this time however she took more serious damage along with nearly every other ship in the Squadron this would create a bottleneck for the grounds Crews who were forced to work overtime to try and get the aircraft

operational once again and it was here around this time in late January that a crucial event in the history of the Memphis Bell took place a man by the name of William Wier approached Captain Morgan asking if he could film him and his crew Wier was a renowned Hollywood filmmaker and had recently been assigned to the Eighth Air Force in Europe to document and shoot a film on the b7s in in England he was at this time already following another crew as the feature for this film this would be a bomber by the name of

Invasion 2 flown by Oscar O'Neal but he was aware of the risks of war and wanted to make sure that he had a backup crew to focus on for his production giving him a better chance of not betting all of his focus on the survival of one single crew why Tyler had apparently taken a liking to the Bell because he thought her name had a certain Mystique to it and he knew that Morgan was a good pilot and would give him a good chance of coming back home so Captain Morgan agreed that Wier could film

him and the men of the bell and even accompany them on missions as long as he agreed not to interfere with the operations of the aircraft wer agreed and began shooting what would become some of the most important footage of the second world war but interestingly the first mission that he flew with Morgan and his crew to film would not even be on the Memphis Bell but instead on a different Fortress by the name of Jersey bouns on February 4th of 1943 this was because of the damage that the Bell had received on the last

mission and she was not fully repaired yet so Morgan and his crew were forced to take the next available plane the Jersey bounce and this would be no normal Mission either but the group's first official mission to bomb a Target in Germany imden here leading the group once again Morgan and his crew made it out with only slight damage their Squadron lost no aircraft but the rest of the group was not so lucky losing two of their b7s 10 missions down 15 to go February 14th the marshalling yards in ham were targeted but bad weather

prevented the bombs from being dropped no enemy aircraft spotted an easy mission in the books on February 16th back to St Nair and back to the newly repaired Memphis Bell here bombs were dropped on the target with high accuracy and and substantial damage was confirmed but damage also taken to the Bell one important note here that we can also see is that in the log books of the Bell air-to-air bombing attempts were noted from the fakes of the LT wafa this would be a rare tactic that did not last long but the fascinating truth is

that one of the first targets of this strategy of air-to-air bombing would be indeed the m Memphis Bell on February 27th another raid to breast lucky Mission 13 in the books and once again luck seemed to stay with the Memphis Bell on the next strike on March 4th of 1943 Captain Morgan was once again forced to abort with yet another engine failure so they turned back to base sitting out this Mission while the rest of the 91st car carried on straight into a massacre the following is a summary of the 324th Squadron report after this

mission Attack on ham Germany heavy attacks by enemy aircraft The 91st was left all alone after other groups had turned back Lieutenant Henderson and crew were missing on his first mission as a first pilot Lieutenant Brill ditched seven of his crew picked up in North Sea after after three others were lost in the waves also missing one aircraft from the 323rd and one from the 322nd final Squadron losses from the five aircraft launched from the 324th two aircraft lost three dead three wounded 10 missing note to Squadron commanders never go again alone with just one

Bomb Group but again by the hand of Fate the Memphis Bell was at home far from the action March 6th was another raid to laurian France no damage taken March 12th marshalling yards no damage taken bombing results here were listed as excellent with good RAF Spitfire cover over the target through these missions William Wier and his crew continued to shoot the men of the 91st Bomb Group getting footage sounds and photos of the men flying the bombers over Europe all was going well and the production was on track for now on March 13th back-to-back missions

for the first time a near collision with another group forced The 91st to drop their bombs on the secondary Target but it still counted 16 missions down nine to go March 22nd would be a raid to vilam Haven Germany this would be one of the first raids to another notorious dock Target here one aircraft from the Squadron of the Bell was lost an aircraft by the name of Liberty Bell flown by Captain hasell mclen and what is important to note here is not only the fact that a B7 very close to the Memphis Bell was

lost but how exactly it was lost this truth would not be made clear until many years later when a German Ace by the name of Hines no published his Memoir in it the entry for March 22nd of 1943 reads as follows March 22nd 1943 1424 hours alert sounds I have a 500 lb bomb slung at top speed under my plane but in the meantime we ordered to take off my weighted plane rumbles awkwardly down to the far end of the runway with the bomb I cannot take off downwind I open the throttle start rolling with

Gathering speed and then the crate again begins to list to Port I managed to pull it off the ground however after a run of some 600 ft and just barely clear the roof of hanger 2 by in I climb at Full Throttle up into the cloudless Sky heading out to sea overhead are the vapor trails left by our own aircraft and the Yanks they are already engaged in combat 22,000 ft my plane reacts sluggishly under the infernally heavy load it climbs wearily up to 30,000 ft taking 25 minutes to do so the Ys have bombed

bhel's Haven as I can tell from the smoke and fires below they are over heligoland on the return flight now I Edge forward slowly until I am over the tip of the enemy formation which consists entirely of fortresses for several minutes I am under Fire from below while I take a very rough sort of aim at my target weaving and dipping each wing tip alternately in order to see the formation below two or three holes appear in my left wing I fuse the bomb take final aim and press the release button on my stick my

bomb goes hurdling down I watch it fall and Banks deeply as I break away then it explodes exactly in the center of a row of fortresses a wing breaks off one of them and two others plunge away in alarm 20 mi west of Helo land my third heavy bomber crashes in into the sea there is no sign of fire it is followed by the torn wing fluttering down like an autumn leaf this attack by German Ace hin nooke would be the first successful air-to-air bomb attack by the lwaa this happened just a few planes away

from none other than the Memphis bell captain mlen and the crew of Liberty Bell who were on on their very first mission were indeed all lost killed in action over the North Sea and again we can see how this might have clearly inspired a compelling scene in the fictional 1990 movie here another rookie crew with a patriotic bomber name suffered a similarly horrific [Music] fate I got him I got him [Music] it's the rookies they got the rookies Memphis B mother and Country come in Memphis B the mother and Country come in my despite the

horror however the Memphis Bell again made it back home with no damage 17 missions down eight to go March 28th would see the Bell up again this time to strike locomotive repair shops in France the bombing was successful and the target was seen in Flames but fighter attack was Heavy the bell's Gunners claimed another kill of a German fighter but it was a hollow Victory as another aircraft from their Squadron was lost that of lieutenant John Cohen with their entire crew also killed in action 18 down seven to go on the 5th of April aircraft

engine works at Anor Belgium were the target heavy fighter attack over France were noted but no damage was taken the bell's Gunners strike yet again claiming one fighter destroyed and one other damaged April 16th would be a quiet raid to laurri and France this would have normally not been a noteworthy mission for the 91st had it not been for an incident in the nearby 93rd Bomb Group here William Wier the filmmaker currently shooting the bell's crew had a devastating loss to his production his sound director for the project and a veteran from the first world

war was a young man by the name of Harold Tannon bomb on this Mission he was tasked to fly with one of the b-24s of the 93rd for their mission to France this would allow him to get some good photos and film of the b7s from a farther distance during the mission however on the flight back home his B24 an aircraft named Daisy May exploded and everyone on board was killed this was a major loss for the production but more importantly to Wier and the rest of the crew shooting the film they had lost a

good friend and it reminded them just how dangerous this job truly was the very next day things would get no easier in backtack missions The 91st Bomb Group was assigned to strike an aircraft Factory in Breeman Germany this would be the first time the eth Air Force had ever targeted The crucial German City and if this name sounds familiar that might be because in the 1990 movie the 25th mission of the Memphis Bell was to Breman and the reaction of their crews in this picture says it all I hope you all had a good time

last night but now it's back to business the target for today is [Music] Breman but this is not accurate this 21st Mission would be the only time that the Bell attacked bran and while it was not their final mission it certainly was one to remember the following is a section taken from the 91st bomb group's postm Mission sum summary on April 17th of 1943 attacks by enemy aircraft were more numerous and more vicious than anything previously experienced by this group every type of enemy aircraft was sent against us and most of the attacks repressed home

as closely as possible some less than 100 ft many of the attacks came between 10 and 2:00 although attacks were made from every position many of the attacks were made on the nose and just below the range of the nose guns many other attacks were also made from high and at very rapid speeds attacks were made by formations of several enemy aircraft flying in line a Stern and by elements of three aircraft a total of not less than 150 aircraft were sent out against us this formation and it is thought that some of the me

1110s fired at ranges of 1,000 yd with 40 and 50 mm cannons one aircraft reported that enemy aircraft were shooting at our men as they were parachuting after bailing out it appeared that the enemy was again trying to drive the lead elements of the leading group off the bomb run after they were committed to it apparently in hope that the bombing would be rendered inaccurate a significant number of aircraft from the group were lost one B17 with tail shot off was seen spinning towards the ground 20 mi South east of wilhelm's Haven six parachutes seen

another circling and going down over Germany under control five parachutes seen one fort was seen with two engines and the fuselage on fire heading back towards enemy territory no parachutes seen another two bombers were seen to make good crash Landings near the coast five shoots and eight shoots seen from those two aircraft as they came over the city German aircraft came up in force and defended well the 401st Squadron simply happened to be the lowest flight the easiest Target for the Germans in this position their unit was slaughtered losing six aircraft the Bell and the

324th simply happened to be in a better position and because of that were not hit this would be the largest loss to this point in the war for the 91st Bomb Group with 60 Men missing from the group and six aircraft lost across the entire eth Air Force on this mission 15 b7s were downed to a German loss of only three fighters to make matters worse it would also be a terrible day for William Wier as the primary subjects of his film the crew of Invasion 2 were shot down over briman by a Direct Hit

from Flack and German Fighters here we can see the actual aircraft positions in the formation with Invasion second leading the be flight on the opposite side of the Memphis Bell it could have easily been the Bell flying there but instead it was O'Neal and his crew lost on their 23rd mission in this tragic turn the Memphis Bell and her crew had just become the new Focus of his production they could only hope that they wouldn't have the same fate as the first 21 down four more to go after a couple of weeks off to recover

from this difficult loss Wier notified The 91st Bomb Group commanders that the Memphis Bell would now be the focus of his film and as such needed to have a consistent crew at this time in the eth Air Force it was common for Crews to be traded around as needed or for phillins to regularly join other Crews for various reasons in fact the Bell by now had gotten a new top turret Gunner Harold lock and their co-pilot James Venus had become a Captain himself taking over his own Flying Fortress but for the purposes of this film

the crew of The Bell had to be brought back together to fly their final missions and and would not have Replacements unless absolutely necessary they would now have a seasoned crew who all knew each other well to them it was the ideal setup it would allow them to have an experienced group of men giving them the best chance to survive and they would need it because mission number 22 would be back to flax City this would be on May 1st of 1943 another race to St nir this would be an extremely strange mission for the

91st Bomb Group over the target all was fairly normal until another potential Collision Course with another group forced them away from the target their bombs would be jettisoned over the water instead of dropped on the Target only one bomber was lost from The 91st but the real story came on the return flight here ACC according to the postm mission reports two different bombers in the 324th reported seeing a strange B7 with no markings flying by itself this aircraft was likely a captured B7 that the Germans were using to try and deceive or attack the American

fortresses but in addition on the return flight the crew reported a German radio beam directing them towards breast trying to lure them back towards France and confus their navigation and apparently this tactic worked but not on the 91st Bomb Group in another unit flying right by the Bell and The 91st on their way back to England The Navigators got confused likely baited by the German radio signals so they began to slowly peel away from the rest of the flight while Captain Morgan and the bell had to watch as the poor flight flew back towards breast

right into the devil's teeth that they had just made it through this unit would be led by none other than Claude putam who had already flown One mission on board of the bell and was now the current commanding officer for the 306 Bomb Group This Disaster would also be the very same flight that mayard Snuffy Smith the famous ball turret Gunner won his Medal of Honor after his bomber was hit heavily as they flew over breast at low altitude here multiple bombers were lost in this tragic mistake but yet again the Bell survived 22 down

three to go the next mission on May 4th was a much needed milk run over Belgium factories were hit and air-to-air bombing was once again attempted by 190s but to no avail the group listed no losses to Personnel or aircraft mission number 24 was now upon the crew of The Bell as they entered the briefing room on May 15th they saw the target the docks of vilam Haven Germany vams havin was one of the most difficult targets that they had yet struck and the last time that they attacked this target the rookies in Liberty Bell

had been blown out of the sky this would be no easy mission fortunately we have this Mission shown in detail thanks to the film put together by William Wier the job is to buom vilhelms hen effectively and economically the enemy is strong skillful determined to stop us here are his defenses each plane indicates a stle or Squadron of Fighters heavy anti-aircraft highly trained and accurate all along the coast and defending his vital installations radar to warn him of our coming here is our plan to divide his defenses and weaken his opposition at 13:30 hours shortly

after takeoff six groups of planes will be heading toward the enemy Coast from six directions the enemy alerts all his air drones but which is our main Force what are our targets where should the Nazi controllers send their Fighters it's our job to make them guess and guess wrong at 14:30 hours the Blue Force will threaten this entire Coastal area of Northwestern Germany which Target will it be flansburg the Keel Canal or will it turn suddenly in bomb Hamburg vasak or mden actually it carries no bombs at all it's a decoy and keeps the fighters

from the Northern Area busy while the white Force the main effort heads for the submarine pens of vilhelms haben this is the plan of battle for today drawn up by the combined operations planning committee and approved by the Commanding General now in this film The vams Haven raid is actually shown as the 25th and final mission for the Memphis Bell but in reality this was not the case this would be the 24th mission for most of her crew more than 100 enemy aircraft of all types were seen in the Skies over Germany but the bell's

Gunners did their job claiming one fighter damaged in the defense of their Fortress the air-to-air footage in this engagement was also Illustrated very well by Wier committed to our bombing run we can't Dodge Flack or Fighters here's the first top turret Fires at him Evans must ignore the battle crosshairs lined up on target adjustments for Wind Drift made two more Fighters diving from 9:00 Flack now has the range too they've hit this fort but he keeps on his buming run as lead Bombadier evans's aim must be good every other ship in the group will drop

its bombs when he drops his now one pointer on the bomb site moves toward another stationary pointer the instant they touch bombs will [Music] release they touch bombs away fortunately the Memphis Bell and The 91st were once again lucky and the Germans did not score any hits on the aircraft of their group no losses were Tak taken and the mission was completed 24 down one more to go 2 days later on May 17th of 1943 the final briefing would be called for the crew members of the Memphis Bell the target was revealed the submarine pins

of Laurent France the crew of the bell for one more time packed their things and crawled into the B7 that had carried them safely across Europe so many times in one last moment of nervousness Captain Robert Morgan reportedly asked William wer what was he going to do if the crew of the Bell did not come back in an honest answer Wier told him the truth he had another crew that they had been filming in one of the other b7s of the 303rd Bomb Group as a backup This Crew had actually just complet completed their 25th

missions a few days prior a bomber by the name of Hell's Angels Robert Morgan likely smiled and laughed and then headed to his bomber the docks at laurant were not quite as treacherous as briman or vams Haven but they were no milk run in fact that had been where wier's cinematographer and close friend had been lost in April and it had also been where the Bell had taken substantial damage in January putting her out of commission for two weeks but that was the assigned Target one more Mission so the Bell taxied down the runway and

got in the air after forming up and approaching their Target in France The 91st lined up with a clear view and bombs away was sounded the b7s hit their target with multiple aircraft reporting direct hits on the submarine platforms Below close to the Target German Fighters arrived they dove in for attacks on the American bombers trying to strike head on in their normal method of attack but the Gunners of the Bell and the other forts were locked in on this Mission left waste Gunner on the Bell Clarence Winchell scores the final confirmed kill for the

Memphis Bell helping to repel the German Fighters soon enough after repelling the attackers the bombers are back over the channel and the fighters are headed home The 91st Bomb Group receives no losses over laurant and are now closing in on England just like that the Bell is home free after arriving back at basenor the Memphis bell comes in low and buzzes the tower something that William wier's film made sure to cover the bell comes in for her Landing but first Morgan buzzes the field cuts the grass with a giant Fortress it's against the rules but

this is a special [Music] occasion after touching down with the wheels the crew leapt out of the bomber they were officially going home with the 25th and final bomb painted onto the nose of the Bell her tour was over she also had eight swastikas now painted on her side for the claims made by her Gunners shortly thereafter she was sent home for a war bond tour with most of her crew joining and becoming National Heroes Captain Robert Morgan the pilot LED this tour and actually went on to fly a b29 named dauntless doy in the

Pacific being the lead pilot for the first b29 raid over Tokyo in 1944 co-pilot James venis and the bell's mascot Stuka came back to the United States for a little RNR but he eventually returned to the European theater flying his own B7 named Connecticut Yankee Navigator Chuck Leighton the man who detected the false German radio beacons and saved the Bell from a trap worked as a school teacher for many years after the war Bombadier Vince Evans became good friends with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Stewart and went on to become a race car driver that is

after he followed Captain Morgan into the Pacific and finished another Tour on his b29 the first engineer of the Bell Levy Dylan who hid his leg injury flew only four missions on the bell and was then transferred to the 3066 Bomb Group the second engineer of the Bell Eugene Atkins flew only six missions on the Bell but then experienced severe frostbite and had to be removed from the crew he too survived the war the final engineer and top turret Gunner on the Memphis Bell Harold lock flew the remainder of the bell's missions and settled down

and started his own construction company radio operator Robert Hansen served the entire tour with the bell and kept a detailed log book of all of her missions during one flight it was hit with a bullet and likely saved his life ball turret Gunner Cecil Scott survived the war and went on to work with the Ford Motor Company for 30 years right waist Gunner Scott Miller who flew 15 missions with the bell went on to become the Lost crewman as he dropped out of sight after the war he tragically missed out on going on the war

bond tour as he missed a few missions earlier in the tour and did not have his full 25 complete when the bell finished hers instead replacement RightWay Gunner kazimer Tony nostal who flew only one mission in the Bell was sent on the war bond tour in his place his sole mission on on the Memphis Bell was her final one but he had 25 missions completed and so he was instead selected for the tour here he can be seen posing in the waste gun position still named after Miller the Forgotten crewman from West Virginia tail Gunner

John quinland was likely one of the best Gunners in the eth Air Force in his tour with the Bell he was credited with one kill and one probable after the war bond tour he tried to get assigned to Morgan's crew in the Pacific but was instead sent to the Chinese Theater where he downed three more aircraft from the taale of his b29 the unsung hero of the Bell Crew Chief Joe GM Bron kept the Bell flying for 6 months in combat in that time period he replaced nine engines both Wings two tails and both of

her main landing gear William Wier went on to release his film in 1944 titled the Memphis Bell the story of a flying fortress it was a hit across the country and solidified the B7 place in history and last but not least Miss Margaret pul the namesake of the Bell did not end up staying with Robert Morgan but she did go on to become become one of the greatest fundraisers for the Memphis Bell supporting the aircraft's restoration and upkeep until her death as for the Bell herself she was eventually retired after the war bond tour and

essentially assigned to be scrapped after all with the war progressing there were many other more important things to worry about but following the end of the conflict the city of Memphis became aware that the Bell was in an aircraft graveyard in Oklahoma they then purchased the bell for $350 and flew her back to Memphis Tennessee where she was kept for 60 years eventually she was moved to the national museum of the United States Air Force where she has been fully restored and is on display to the public for her story and that of the brave

men who flew her to be told to all who come and visit if you if you enjoyed this documentary please consider supporting my work at the links below so that I can continue to tell these stories thanks for watching and I'll see you next time