The story about the only B-17 Flying Fortress in the Royal Danish Air Force. Where it came from
and where it went.

Type Boeing B-17G-35-BO Fortress
Construction number 7190
Year of manufacture 1942
Year of registration-
cancellation 1945-1948
ICAO B17
Notes 42-32076, SE-BAP, OY-DFA DDL "Stig Viking", 67-672 "Store Bj?rn", F-BGSH, "42-32076" USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

THE AMERICAN STORY WW2
The aircraft was accepted into the U.S. Army Air Forces inventory 0n January 19, 1944, and arrived
in Great Britain on March 2. After depot modifications, it was flown to the 91st Bomb Group
at RAF Bassingbourn on March 23 and began flying missions the next day.
2nd Lt. Paul C. McDuffee was the first pilot assigned to the aircraft and flew 14 of his 25 missions
in it, but nine different crews flew it on missions. The plane flew 24 combat missions from England
with the 91st BG, with three other missions aborted for mechanical problems, before being listed
as missing in action on May 29, 1944. On its final mission, to the Focke Wulf aircraft component
factory at Poznan Poland, it made an emergency landing at Malmo airport (Bulltofta) Sweden.

The crew on the Poznan mission consisted of:
2nd Lt. Robert J. Guenther, Pilot
2nd Lt. George Havrisik, Pilot
2nd Lt. John M. Lowdermilk, Navigator
2nd Lt. Leonard V. Peterson, Bombardier
T/Sgt. James Shoesmith, Top turret gunner
T/Sgt. John H. Bigham, radio operator, waist gunner
S/Sgt. Nick Premenko, Ball Turret Gunner
S/Sgt. Harry J. Teems, Tail Gunner
S/Sgt. Harold F. Nicely, Waist Gunner

The crew had been formed April 26, 1944 from replacements and had fl own fi ve previous mi
sions together, all in aircraft other than Shoo Shoo Baby.
This crew had been formed April 26, 1944, from replacements and had fl own fi ve previous missions
together, all in aircraft other than Shoo Shoo Baby. The crew?s navigator, 2nd Lt. John M. Lowde
milk, described the circumstances of Shoo Shoo Baby?s final mission:
?Soon after we crossed the German border, we lost number three engine, I believe because of
losing oil pressure. Bob could not get the prop feathered (rotated 90? to put the blade edge pependicular to the airflow). It continued to windmill (turn without power in the airflow) the entire
trip with no vibration. We attempted to stay in formation with three engines but found this i
possible and had to drop out.
We continued on course to the best of my ability. We were losing altitude but continued to the
target and dropped our bombs. Flying alone toward the Baltic Sea, we saw many German fighters
attacking formations of B-17s and could not understand why they didn?t pick us out as a stragler. Before we reached the Baltic Sea, we lost the second engine, and the decision had to be
made to go to Sweden because we could not make it back to England. Bob asked for a course to
Sweden, and I charted one to a little town called Ystad in the very southernmost part of Sweden.
All loose equipment, including machine guns, radio equipment, and clothing, was thrown overboard
in order to lighten the ship. An attempt was made to drop the ball turret, but it wouldn?t move.
As we approached the coastline, Bob was interested in knowing whether or not it was Sweden. I
confidently stated that it was, but after the flak started coming up as we got over land, I wasn?t
so sure. All of it was low, and I believe the Swedes were just telling us ?Don?t try anything.? Just
before we reached land we lost the third engine, and we were losing altitude fast. A Swedish (J-9)
fighter came up and led us to Malm?, Sweden, where a B-24, also in trouble, landed just ahead
of us. Actually, we had to swing wide to keep from colliding.?

THE SWEDISH STORY
Sweden, a neutral country, interned the crews and aircraft, that diverted to the country. A deal
was made between the Swedish and U.S. governments to permit around 300 American crewmen
to be repatriated in exchange for a promise not to use the crewmen in combat again and to formally
turn over to Sweden nine B-17s that had landed intact.
Second World War had put an end to the burgeoning civil aviation across the Atlantic. Before the
war the route was flown by flying boats. Now it was realized that the future lay in the land-based
aircraft. In order to be prepared for the transatlantic traffic after the war ABA/SILA in 1943 had
ordered DC-4 from Douglas in the USA. Due to the war the delivery time was very uncertain. It
was necessary to solve the problem of aircraft by other means.
From 1943 onwards, a large number of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator, made emergency
landings in Sweden following the bombing of Germany. ABA/SILA (SAS) realized the opportunities
to convert the B-17 to the passenger and cargo traffic. That could be used as Atlantic Transport
as soon as the war ended. The B-17 was an aircraft with a substantial range, which could fl y at
higher altitude than the DC-3.
The Swedish government got involved and applied to the Americans to purchase or rent some
?Fortresses? The Americans were willing to help Sweden. This was largely due to the fact that
Sweden has taken good care of American pilots and helped them return to United Kingdom.
It was decided that the five B-17, and later five more, would be put to to the Swedish government?s
disposal. It was considered as a loan. When the war was over, Sweden could buy them
at the price they had before the renovation They would be appropriated by ABA/SILA (SAS). As
most people know, the Americans gave them to the Swedish state as goodwill. The aircraft was
called B-17 Felix after U.S. Air Attach? in Sweden, Felix Hardison
The planes were sent to Svenska Aeroplan A.B. in Link?ping, where 7 were converted to passenger
planes, while the remaining 2 were cannibalize for parts. First, all armament inc. turrets and
armor removed, then the actual rebuilding could begin. This included an extension of the nose of
50 cm, through a pivoting nose tip sheet a cargo of 1.8 m3, the former bomb bay was converted
to a cargo hold, with the left bomb bay door secured in the closed position and reinforced so it
could carry 3 tons of cargo and at the right bomb bay door was arranged with a lift that could
carry 2 tons.
Behind the left seat was the navigator and radio operator, while behind the right seat was seats
for the aircraft engineer flight engineer. In the original radio booth there now was a 1. class cabin
with room for 6 passengers and the rest of the body was arranged as a second class cabin for 8
passengers. At the back of the cabin there was room for a small toilet. In addition, they installed
extra windows in passenger cabins. This rebuilding lasted 5-6 months and the cost of conversion
of all 7 aircraft was about. 450,000 Danish kroner, $ 90.000 with todays exchange rate.

LOAD FACTOR
Felix had a four-man crew and could carry 14 passengers and 3 tons (6600 lbs) of cargo, baggage
and mail, with a maximum range of 1800 km (1118miles).
The aircraft had a modest load at max fuel load: With an empty weight of approximately 16400
kg (36080 lbs), 7575 kg (16665 lbs) of fuel, oil, 490 kg (1078 lbs), 560 kg (1232 lbs) crew,
there was 1 040 kg (2288 lbs) left for paying passengers. This added up to a maximum take
off weight 26 000 kg (57200 lbs). Since carrying mail was a very profitable business, there
was not much weight left for paying passengers. The available seats were high priority and was
priced thereafter.
When the war ended, the borders opened up again and ABA/SILA (SAS) started to fl y to the
United States. On June 13, 1945 began a test run with SE-BAK to Meeks Airfield on Iceland to
gain operational experience of the Atlantic Transport. Yet another test drive was done in Iceland,
before it was time for the U.S. premiere.
On June 27,1945 SEA-BAK flew to the U.S. via Keflavik, on to the Mingan Airport in Quebec
(since closed) and landing La Guardia two days later. On July 4, 1945 it returned to Bromma,
Sweden. In 1945, SILA made 26 return trips to the United States. It was decided to stop in
Gander Newfoundland or Goose Bay Labrador instead of Mingan.
On these flights a total of 52 passengers and 12 tons (26400 lbs) of mail/cargo from Stockholm
to New York. On the return trip New York/Stockholm, the number of passengers was 75
and 17 tons (37400 lbs) of mail / cargo. This clearly illustrates both the low load, and that passengers
paid less than the mail / cargo.
Douglas DC-4?s were Introduced in the summer of 1946 on the Atlantic route to the U.S. It offered
a completely different comfort and economy could take 28 passengers. Atlantic traffic was
over for the B-17 Felix, and it made only fi ve trips to the U.S. during 1946.

Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (SILA)
Swedish Intercontinental Airlines, was an airline and is today a part of the SAS Group. SILA was
established in 1943 under the name Svensk Intercontinental Lufttrafik AB by the Wallenberg family
to start a flight between Sweden and England. The fi rst CEO of the airline was Per Norlin. In
1943, he signed a contract with Douglas to buy 10 DC-4 with delivery when the war had ended.
The first civil flight between Europe and USA was in June 1945 with a modified Boeing B-17 Flying
Fortress with stops at Reykjav?k and Newfoundland. During spring 1946, the B-17 was replaced
by Douglas DC-4s.In 1946, SILA became the Swedish part of SAS and in 1948 the airline was
merged in to AB Aerotransport in 1948.

AB Aerotransport (ABA)
ABA was established in 1924 under the name Aktiebolaget Aerotransport by Carl and Adrian
Florman. The first flight was on 2 June 1924 between Stockholm and Helsinki with a Junkers F.13
aircraft. The aircraft, registered as S-AAAC and later as SE-AAC, is now on display at the National
Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm. In 1925 the company started a route between
Stockholm and Berlin in co-operation with Lufthansa and a mail route between Stockholm - Malm?
- Amsterdam - London. ABA was the first airline with three-engine passenger aircraft when in
1925, ABA bought three Swedish Junkers G.24 from AB Flygindustri. During the following years
ABA used and bought several different aircraft (e.g. Junkers F.33, F.34, G.23, G.24). For the longer
routes a Fokker F.XII was used. In 1937 ABA became the second European operator of the
Douglas DC-3 after KLM. This opened opportunities to fly ?longer flights? for example to Moscow.
In 1939 ABA started to mark their aircraft with Swedish Air Lines.
During World War II ABA tried to maintain their network, but in 1941 the route to Moscow was
closed, and the route to Berlin ceased in 1945. During the war ABA had a courier flight between
Stockholm and Scotland. After the German occupation of Europe ABA started new routes to Paris,
Oslo and Prestwick. In June 1948, after a Swedish report, the government-owned ABA and
privately-owned SILA were merged on a 50-50 basis, to form a new airline named ABA .SILA
had become the Swedish part of SAS in 1946, that was at that time only a co-operation between
DDL in Denmark and DNL in Norway. On October 1, 1950, representatives from the three airlines
signed a consortium agreement where they appointed SAS to run the airline operations and the
three national airlines only to be holding companies.

THE DANISH STORY
On November 2, 1945, SE-BAP performed test flights and November 6 the aircraft was
transferred to Heathrow Airport and surrendered to the Danish Air Line (DDL). Here it was registered
OY-DFA and named ?Stig Viking ? and on November 13 the aircraft was deployed in fl ight
on the UK ? Copenhagen route.
During arrival to Blackbushe Airport on 28 November 1945, with 22 persons aboard, left landing
gear would not come down and the pilot executed a one wheel landing with little damage and no
injuries. In September 1946 ?Stig Viking ? was used on the Copenhagen Nairobi in route, which
from February 1947 was expanded to Johannesburg in South Africa.
In late 1947 the Danish Army Air Corps started to look for an aircraft that could be used for aerial
photography assignments on Greenland for the Danish Geodetic Institute (DGI) and in April 1948
they purchased B 17G OY-DFA ?Stig Viking? from DDL.
The plane was rebuilt with 3 cameras in the nose - one for vertical shots and two to oblique
recordings - plus space for a photographer behind a pivoting glass covered nose. An additional
1,400-liter fuel tank was installed in the bomb bay, and finally the plane got the registration 67-
672 and was named ?Store Bj?rn??, ?Big Dipper?.
In 1949 it flew a navigation tour to Sweden and Norway, went to Greenland and Canada to examine
the route and alternate aerodromes. After returning the plane had an overhaul, and from July to
September it was stationed on Greenland, where it flew a total of 108 hours of aerial photography
for GI. When the Navy vessel ?Alken? disappeared on Greenland, ?Store Bj?rn? assisted in the
search from 23 October - 12. November and flew 48 hours total as a SAR aircraft.
1950 was a busy year, from July to the end of September it flew a total of 137 hours of aerial
photography. Moreover, on the 14th-17th September it flew again as a SAR aircraft for 25 hours
in search of Loftlei?irr?s missing DC-4 ?Geysir?. This DC-4, called ?Geysir? crashed on the middle
of Vatnaj?kull on September 14, spurring a famous rescue operation. For four days no-one
knew where the airplane had crashed or if there were any survivors. In fact, the whole crew
survived, and as the plane had been carrying cargo at the time there were no passengers.
Danish Geodetic Institute (DGI) did aerial photography and surveying on Greenland using
?Store Bj?rn?
In 1950 low-level vertical aerial photography was carried out in the region around Mestersvig,
(Mestersvig is a military outpost with a 1,800 m gravel runway located in in Scoresby Land, on
the southern shore of the King Oscar Fjord in Northeast Greenland National Park. It used to be
the only permanent settlement in Northeast Greenland National Park but all of the 1986 population
of 40 has been split up into the three newer Northeast Greenland National Park settlements
(Danmarkshavn, Nord and Daneborg) except a permanent population of two people,
although tourists visit the station occasionally.
From 1956 to 1963, Mestersvig was a zinc and lead mine.)with the main purpose of constructing
detailed topographic maps in connection with the lead-zinc prospecting. Oblique aerial photography
was also carried out over much of the region between latitudes 69??81?N in the years
1950 and 1952.
After the Royal Danish Air Force was established in 1951 ?Store Bj?rn?? was assigned to 721
Squadron at Air Base V?rl?se. It flew a rescue flight to Greenland to evacuate a seriously injured
man. During the summer photo flight on Greenland, June to September the weather was
not co-operating and only 56 hours of aerial photography was fl own.
In 1952 54 hours of photo flight was done again on Greenland.
When the great flood disaster in Holland happened in 1953 ?Store Bj?rn?? flew blankets, boots
and rubber boats from Heathrow to Valkenburg.
During the summer Greenland flight, from June to September it flew a total of 101 hours of
aerial photography for DGI and the first October 1954 The plane was officially decommissioned.

THE FRENCH STORY
The plane was in storage for two years and was then sold to the Institut Geographique National,
a French aerial mapping company based in Creil outside Paris, where it flew under the civilian
registry F-BGSH. After the sale to IGN 67-672 again modified so that it would corresponded
to the rest of IGN?s B-17 the installation of 2 cameras in the belly for Aerial Photography Survey.
IGN put the aircraft into service in January 1956 with registration FBGSH and used it for aerial
photography until 15 July 1961, where the aircraft flew its last trip and was stored in a corner
of the airfield in Creil with a total flight time 3364 hours. Here, the plane was slowly cannibalize
to keep IGN?s other B-17 flying.

THE AMERICAN STORY POST WAR
Last flown in July 1961 the aircraft was tracked down by Steve Birdsall, a noted military aviation
historian from Australia. The remains of the plane were donated to the U.S. Air Force in
1972 when French officials presented the B-17 to Secretary of the Air Force Robert C. Seamans
for preservation.
The journey from France required the assistance of the United States Air Forces in Europe to
disassemble and crate the plane for truck shipment to Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany and the
eventual airlift to the United States by C-5A transport. Among those greeting the aircraft on its
return were its wartime pilot Paul McDuffee, who had become an insurance salesman in Tampa,
Florida, and retired USAF Major General Stanley T. Wray, the first commander of the 91st Bomb
Group.
A restoration was undertaken between 1978?1988 at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware by the
512th Military Airlift Wing in an effort that tallied some 60,000 man hours, and the aircraft was
flown to Dayton on October 13, 1988, restored as Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby.
Put on display in place of long-time exhibit DB-17P 44-83624 (a converted B-17G that did not
see combat), which was subsequently sent to the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air
Force Base (sans its top turret, which it gave up for the restoration of Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby)
the reborn veteran can be seen today at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
near Dayton, Ohio.
The name has been restored to the original Shoo Shoo Baby and due to the amount of skin
work required to restore its wartime appearance, it is finished in olive drab and grey instead
of bare-metal as it was in operations. When the Memphis Belle restoration is complete, it will
replace Shoo Shoo Baby as the museum?s B-17 exhibit.
The name seems to be in dispute. The nose art at the US Air Force Museum says Shoo Shoo
Shoo Baby, Other places it is ?Shoo Shoo Baby? The song the Andrews Sisters and or Frank
Sinatra sang was
Shoo, shoo, shoo, baby.
Shoo, shoo, shoo, baby.
Bye, bye, bye, baby.
Doo-dah-doo-day.
Your papa?s off to the seven seas.

STATUS ON B-17?S AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
There are a total of 53 surviving airframes worldwide:
? 15 active flying
? 9 on static display
? 2 currently undergoing restoration to fly
? 3 currently undergoing restoration for display
? 5 in storage
? 19 partial airframes/hulks
? Aluminum Overcast ? flying example
? Liberty Belle (Emergency landing and fire June 2011)
? Memphis Belle
? My Gal Sal
? Nine-O-Nine Flying for the Collings Foundation
? Old 666
? Piccadilly Lilly II
? (The) Pink Lady
? Sally B ? flying example
? Sentimental Journey CAF
? Shoo Shoo Baby US Air Force Museum (flyable condition)
? Swamp Ghost
? (The) Swoose
? Texas Raiders CAF
? Thunderbird
? Ye Olde Pub ? the B-17 that Franz Stigler did not shoot down, as memorialized in ?A
Higher Call? by John D. Shaw

General characteristics
? Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, fl ight engineer-top turret
gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner[148]
? Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
? Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
? Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
? Wing area: 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m2)
? Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
? Aspect ratio: 7.57
? Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
? Loaded weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
? Max takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
? Powerplant: 4? Wright R-1820-97 ?Cyclone? turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp
(895 kW) each

Performance
? Maximum speed: 287 mph (249 kn, 462 km/h)
? Cruise speed: 182 mph (158 kn, 293 km/h)
? Range: 2,000 mi (1,738 nmi, 3,219 km) with 2,700 kg (6,000 lb) bombload
? Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
? Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
? Wing loading: 38.0 lb/sq ft (185.7 kg/m2)
? Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)

Armament
? Guns: 13 ? .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 4 turrets in dorsal, ventral,
nose and tail, 2 in waist positions, 2 beside cockpit and 1 in the lower dorsal position
? Bombs:
o Short range missions (<400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
o Long range missions (?800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
o Overload: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)

Short Story
B-17G-35BO c/n 7190 42-32076
Accepted 17th January 1944 ex-8th AF 91st BG 401 st BS ?LL-E
Shoo Shoo Baby?
24 combat missions
Interned 29th May 1944 Bulltofta Sweden
SAAB conversion to 14 seat passenger plane (Felix) SE-BAP,
fl ew domestic airline service for SILA
DDL Danish Airline (OY-DFA)
Royal Danish AAC 67-672 ?Big Dipper?
Institut Geographique National (F-BGSH)
Triangle-A LL-E Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby



Lt. Col. Felix M. Hardison

Lt. Col. Felix M. Hardison arrived in Stockholm in February of 1944 as the Military Air Attach?. An
agreement was reached with the Royal Swedish Air Force whereby all repairs and maintenance of
interned aircraft would be made under the supervision of American personnel.
Hardison?s background was that of a highly respected B-17 bomber pilot with the 19th Bombardment
Group of the 5th Air Force.

Her life in Pictures

42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby"


42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby"


SE-BAP - SILA


SE-BAP - SILA


OY-DFA "Stig Viking" DDL at EKCH


OY-DFA "Stig Viking" DDL


Inside as passengerplane.


Inside as passengerplane.


Model of OY-DFA "Stig Viking"


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" at EKCH


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn"


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" in Greenland


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" in Greenland


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" in Greenland


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn"


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" Nose art


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" model


RDAF 67-672 "Store Bj?rn" model


26 May 1957 - F-BGSH at Criel, France


18 June 1983 - 42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at Dover AFB, DE


18 June 1983 - 42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at Dover AFB, DE


18 June 1983 - 42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at Dover AFB, DE


13 Oct 1988 - 42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at Wright-Patterson AFB


13 Oct 1988 - 42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at Wright-Patterson AFB


42-32076 LL-E - "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Written By Kai Hansen
Victoria BC Canada August 2011
Edited for forum use and added extra pictures compared to the original story. By RAF_Loke June 2013

Wow great article mate.
Thanks

Nice

I can add after cross checking with a Swedish book I have about emergency landings in Sweden during WW2 the following..

It was Saab who rebuild her into a passenger plane.
Her main duty for RDAF was in Greenland.
While working for Institute Geographique Nationale in the years 1955 - 1961 she was used in Northern Africa for photo jobs and mapping.
She was discovered at a French scrapyard firm in 1972 and moved to Dover AFB, Delaware.

There is a photo of her in Sweden in the original paint before the rebuild in the book. Will try to see if I can find it on the net, if not I'll scan it.

Cool article, thanks. I quite like the look of her in the civil scheme with the long nose

I'm pretty sure "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" is the only flyable (while it's been on static display at NMUSAF for years, it is kept in good enough condition to fly) B-17 that actually flew combat missions in WWII.

As for the name dispute, that's because the name originally only had two "Shoos" with the third being added later. What makes it even more confusing is that there were many other B-17s that were named "Shoo Shoo Baby".

Jim, not only on B-17s but several other types too.

And then as promised, and a little more..


Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby in formation.


Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby Bultofta in Sweden.


Original Noseart.


Under resturation at Dover AFB, Delaware.


Profile drawing by Torstein L. Wallmo.

And last a video where she is transportet from France to the US.
Also in this video is "Nine O Nine".
Not the best video I've seen but better than nothing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_Gd9DpVQg

---

What puzzles me, is why she is now painted green and not as she originally were - bare metal?