AA33323 Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress - 44-85784 / G-BEDF 'Sally B' (B-17 Preservation Ltd)

When it comes to aircraft stalwarts of the UK Airshow scene, one magnificent machine stands head and shoulders above all others, an aircraft which made its first display appearance over 50 years ago, and is still thrilling crowds to this day. 

Incredibly, this aircraft doesn’t benefit from any form of government sponsorship support, with its success being as much about the resolve and determination of the aircraft’s tireless owner, as it is about the fact that ‘Sally B’ is now the sole airworthy Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress in European skies. 

A mighty airborne tribute to the American airmen who flew from bases in Britain during the Second World War, it’s entirely appropriate that the aircraft calls IWM Duxford its home airfield, as the American Air Museum shares the same site, and also marks the significant contribution of British based US personnel during WWII. 

Between them, they are responsible for encouraging thousands of visitors to the Cambridgeshire area each and every year, many from America, and many looking to tread in the same footsteps their wartime relatives did who served in Europe during the Second World War. 

The successful completion of B-17 ‘Sally B’s’ 50th display season was a proud achievement for this famous aircraft and the team who care for her, who despite plenty of setbacks over the years, remain determined in their resolve to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to see this magnificent aircraft in the sky.