Walter C. Chips
Sun City, Calif.

Sharing Support for Two Forts
The “Restored” article about the B-17 Champaign Lady (by Terry Turner in the September issue) reminded me of an anecdotal connection between that aircraft and Memphis Belle, which is now at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

When the Memphis Belle Memorial Association received the loan agreement from the U.S. Air Force Museum (as it was then known) and took possession of Memphis Belle in 1977, the plane had a seriously corroded no. 7 bulkhead. We conveyed that information to Colonel Richard Uppstrom, the museum’s director. On August 24, 1981, a truck sent by Arnold Kolb, owner of the wrecked aircraft that was to become Champaign Lady, pulled up at the Memphis Area Vocational Technical School-Aviation and offloaded the lower tail section from that airplane, including a complete no. 7 bulkhead. In short order the bulkheads were switched. Today that plane and also the original bulkhead are at the NMUSAF.

Harry Friedman
Memphis Belle Memorial Association
Memphis, Tenn.

Correction
In the November “Mailbag” the letter headed “No Yaks for Czechs” was attributed to the wrong author. Joe Krybus, of Krybus Aviation in Santa Paula, Calif., actually sent in that letter and accompanying photo of La-5FNs.

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