Memphis Belle 70th

[C]

Along with the Dambusters 70th Anniversary, 17th May, in a remarkable coincidence, marks the official date of the 25th mission of "Memphis Belle" (although for some of the crew it was up to their 29th).

It's not quite as simple as the film: some (all) of the crew had flown in other aircraft at some point in the tour; the original co-pilot was given a command for his last 16 mission on another aircraft etc. Still, quite a notable event.

If you haven't read Bob Morgan's book about his time as the Belle's captain, it's worth a read.

(Although as Guy Gibson pointed out, the Dams raid was something like his 174th operational sortie!)

[Hawkeye07]

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Bob Morgan and Margaret Polk, the lady who the Memphis Belle was originally named after while I was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee back in 1983. Every year the locals put on an airshow to raise money for the 'Belle's restoration and a permanent hangar. The event was not held at the Memphis airport as you might assume but at the much smaller Charles Baker airport. Some of the bigger aircraft like "FiFi" came out of Memphis Int. and did flyovers but the smaller ones stayed at C.B. for the weekend. Mr. Morgan was a very nice, friendly sort, a very approachable guy. I felt very privileged to make his acquaintance.

[C]

Indeed. As well as the book, I managed to source an original copy of TIME magazine, along with the famous photo itself.

[Hawkeye07]

An original copy! How in the world did you do that?