Boeing B-17G 42-31322 'Mi Amigo', 364th BS, 305th BG, Chelveston, 22nd February 1944

Scale 1:72

Model No AA33319

Brand new, never removed from box, highly detailed and fully finished, ready to display. Comes complete with Limited Edition Certificate being one of 1,500 produced.

The crew of B-17G Flying Fortress 'Mi Amigo' had just taken part in a bombing raid against the Luftwaffe airfield at Alborg in Northern Denmark and having come under sustained attack by flak and Luftwaffe fighters, fell out of formation and made for home. With several crew members injured and radio/navigational equipment not working, the aircraft struggled to find a relief landing airfield in low cloud and found itself over the city of Sheffield at low altitude and with damaged engines – they needed to put the aircraft down and quickly.

The bomber was heard to circle the area of Endcliffe Park for some time, before a change in engine tone immediately resulted in the aircraft plummeting to the ground, crashing on to a wooded bank at the far end of the park and the tragic loss of all on board. Nobody on the ground was injured in the incident and it has been reported that the crew were waving children playing on the park away from the area, fearful that they may be injured by the stricken bomber. What is certain is that the crew of 'Mi Amigo' averted what could have been a catastrophe for the city of Sheffield and paid the ultimate price as a result. One of over 12,700 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers built during WWII, 42-31322 would leave the production lines at Boeing Seattle in October 1943 and embark on a tour of several locations across the US, where various additional items of internal equipment could be fitted, prior to its journey to Britain and the European Theatre of Operations.