A particular Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, known today as “Lacey Lady,” didn’t see service during World War II. The famous, or perhaps infamous, bomber was first built in 1945 and only saw service after the war had ended. After its retirement from the Air Force, it became a fixture at—of all places—a gas station in Oregon.

Efforts are now underway to restore the bomber to flight-worthy status—a noteworthy endeavor, as fewer than a dozen B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft are actually flyable today. Although a total of 12,731 B-17s were built between 1936 and 1945, most were sold off after the war, which explains why only a handful remain, with even fewer airworthy. It is unclear if “Lacey Lady” can rejoin this group.

It may seem implausible now, but after World War II ended, the US military had literally more equipment than it knew what to do with. Tanks, warships, and aircraft—many that never saw combat—were sold off to friendly nations, but a lot of items simply headed straight from the factory to the scrap yard. After all, the American defense industry, which didn’t know of the atomic bomb, was still producing equipment at full throttle in 1945, ramping up for an expected invasion of Japan in 1946; the abrupt end of the war caught manufacturers by surprise.

That is why B-17s were still produced even as the war was nearing its end. It is also how Lacey Lady became a roadside icon in Milwaukie, Oregon.

In addition to what was transferred to foreign nations, B-17 bombers were sold at bargain-basement prices to those interested, with most eventually being used for air freight,........

© The National Interest