Will Go On Display At Wright-Patterson AFB

One of the most famous warbirds ever to emerge from World War II will soon be on the move. The Memphis Belle is leaving its namesake city.

For 58 years, the B-17 has been on static display at several locations around Memphis (TN) -- but almost always exposed to the elements. As a result, Charles Metcalf, director of the museum at Wright Patterson AFB (OH), said the Belle was in "crummy shape" and would have to be restored for a fourth time.

The USAF announced on Tuesday that it was exercising a clause in its agreement with the Memphis Belle Memorial Association, recalling the aircraft to Wright-Patterson to become the centerpiece of a display at the US Air Force Museum.

The decision to move the Belle generated a mixed response from members of the association. "Among the board members, you have a group that wants to fight (the move) and one group that thinks it's actually lifting it to a higher plane," memorial association president Andrew Pouncey told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

But at least one of the ten men who crewed the Memphis Belle wasn't at all happy with the decision. Harold Loch, 84, couldn't talk to reporters on the phone -- his hearing loss won't permit that -- but his wife, Exie, said her husband wanted the Belle to stay in Memphis.

"I think it belongs in Memphis," she told the Memphis paper. "Everybody in Memphis has been so nice to take care of it. They're not given enough credit for what they're doing."

"There's a name association with the area but the aircraft transcends consideration of locality," said USAF spokeswoman Jackie Hampton in an interview with the Commercial Appeal. "It's not specific to any one locale but, rather, to America."

The Memphis Belle will make what could be its final journey before the end of the year. After that, it will undergo a restoration that the Air Force expects will last at least a couple of years.

FMI: www.memphisbelle.com