PBY and B-17 Restoration Status

B-17G Flying Fortress

The Collings Foundation’s PBY-5A Catalina (Bu. No. 2459) served the Allied forces well in WWII. This aircraft was the United States’ highest scoring U-boat destroyer in history, and is the oldest operational PBY Catalina. In 1942 it was sent to Iceland as part of Squadron VP-73. There it made one of the first acoustic honing torpedo attacks, sinking three U-boats, and shared the kill of a fourth. The Catalina has been in restoration for several years and completion to flying status is expected sometime near the end of 2023. Top left photo shows the PBY with work on the nose, sides, gear, and wing. Top right illustration depicts the PBY in its original VP-73 markings. We can use your help! Please consider a donation to this amazing restoration project.

In 2015, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon sold their B-17G Flying Fortress to help the Museum during a restructuring and reorganization. The Collings Foundation acquired this aircraft through the generous support of donors. At that time, a crew of mechanics and pilots were sent to the Museum to prepare the aircraft for a ferry flight from Oregon to Florida. After several weeks of preparation, the Evergreen B-17 made a flawless flight across the country (photo top right). A thorough restoration has been underway to restore the aircraft back to its original WWII B-17G model configuration. A tremendous amount of work has gone into the restoration of this iconic bomber. The aircraft is being restored from nose to tail. Over the last several years experts have completed most of the work on the fuselage, engines and internal wiring and components. Please support this project with a donation. Any amount helps!