Cumberland was bestowed with its own Boeing B-17F ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber, a veteran of the European campaign according to the Cumberland Times-News. It landed here on April 10, 1946 after a successful flight from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. The trip to Cumberland was the last flight for the big bomber as, under purchase regulations, the aircraft is not allowed to take to the air after reaching its permanent location. The plane cost the federal government in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars but was bought by the city of Cumberland for $350. The four-engine Boeing bomber had been flown by Major General Nathan Twining, Commander of the 15 th Air force, and later by Major General J. W. Jones during WW II. The aircraft was the latest model of the B-17 to be made by Boeing, the manufacturer of its ‘big brother’ successor, the B-29 ‘Superfortress’. The B-17F was to be stationed at the Cumberland Municipal Airport as a memorial to the many men from Cumberland who fought in World War II. The B-17 was placed on display near the first airport terminal building, now occupied by the Civil Air Patrol Squadron.
On the flight of the B-17 to Cumberland the ship circled over the city drawing hundreds of citizens to the airfield to observe the landing at 6:30 pm. Harry Flook, a B-17 pilot veteran of the 8th Air Force in the European Theater of War, piloted the bomber with John Chapman, Cumberland Airport Manager, acting as co-pilot, and Virgil Parker serving as flight engineer. Chapman stated that all three took turns at the flight controls but Flook did most of the flying as well as the navigating for the flight. In transit the aircraft was flown over Nashville, Tennessee, Bowling Green, Kentucky and Huntington West Virginia. The weather was good and they flew at an altitude of 5,000 feet on the non-stop trip from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, a flight time of four hours and ten minutes.
The ‘Flying Fortress’ served as an appropriate memorial for area veterans for many years until vandalism, by folks who should be condemned for their actions, took its toll of the proud ship. The B-17 was eventually scrapped and moved from the site. However, the historical bomber left a memory of an important era in US history for the veterans of WW II. Those veterans who served so well are fast fading as the aged generation slowly disappears.
A photo taken of the B-17 after being flown into Cumberland in 1946.
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Wings Over Cumberland 