Big Ambitions
Hagen had called the restoration project their biggest dream. “Because for some reason it captured the imagination of people from around the world…” he revealed to South California Public Radio. The nickname Flying Fortress was only fitting for the B-17E. Local stories claimed that a Seattle Times journalist gave the plane its nickname after they saw it on a test flight in 1935. The journalist commented that it appeared like a flying fortress. The rediscovery and restoration of the Flying Fortress is an incredible story itself. But what’s even more astonishing is what led to the aircraft submerged in the middle of swamplands.
Big Ambitions
Pearl Harbor Attack
A day before the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, the Flying Fortress was given a special mission. It was supposed to fly with the Kangaroo Squadron but was deployed to what would be one of the first bombing operations of World War II. Tragedy hit a couple of months later. The township of Rabaul in New Britain island was invaded by the Japanese. The attack served as a threat to allied troops and they had to do something to secure their safety. For the Flying Fortress, it was a death trap.
Pearl Harbor Attack
