The Collings Foundations P-51D "Betty Jane" flying escort for the B-17G "Nine O Nine".
Made famous in its role in the Daylight Strategic Bombing Campaign of WWII and the post-war movies that made it an icon, the B-17 flies proudly across the United States with its companion, the B-24 Liberator on a mission of peace and remembrance. No longer avoiding anti-aircraft fire or the terror of enemy fighters, the B-17 stands as a living history exhibit for the nation as it flies on the annual Wings of Freedom Tour into over 130 cities annually.
During the war several of the razorback Mustangs were modified in the field to carry a passenger in a second cockpit just behind the pilot. These former fighter aircraft were used as a high speed transport and gave the Mustang pilot the ability to share the joy of flying the world’s greatest fighter with their trusted ground crews. One of the most famous of these modified two seat fighters was used by Dwight Eisenhower and was named “The Stars Look Down”. Ike rode in the back seat of that Mustang over the beaches of Normandy to direct the invasion during D-Day.
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