From Fürstenfeldbruck, the 7499th continued to fly frequent missions in the West Berlin Air Corridors. As the Soviets modernized their units and increased their presence, it was vital to gain as much information on them as possible. For better management of this covert outfit as well as to bring it closer to the major USAFE photo and ELINT interpretation centers, the 7499th moved in August 1950 to Wiesbaden AB, West Germany, within a few miles of USAFE Headquarters.
Beginning in 1950, the unit upgraded to C-54 Skymasters to do both photo reconnaissance and ELINT work, replacing the B-17s. The C-54 boasted better collection capability, and had the additional advantage of actually being a transport, thus attracting much less attention at Tempelhof. C-47s also replaced the RB-26s, the C-47s also being less visible to the Soviets than the Invader bomber overflying East Germany.
Lineage:
Established as 7499th Air Force Squadron, 1 November 1948
Re-Designated as 7499th Composite Squadron, 1949
Re-Designated as 7499th Support Squadron, 1954
Re-Designated as 7499th Support Group, 10 May 1955
7499th B-17 Still Exists
The May 2010 issue of the British aviation magazine FlyPast brought the news that a B-17, which had been flying at airshows all over Europe for many years, was being grounded, at least temporarily. The B-17 in question, serial number 44-8846, has been lovingly cared for by a French association called “Forteresse Toujours Volante” (Fortress Forever Flying), but insurance and maintenance considerations mean that the aircraft must be grounded, at least temporarily.
How does this relate to the 7499th's history? Simple: this B-17 was once a photo collector with the 7499th Squadron, from 1947 until 1953. It is one of only two aircraft that have flown for the 7499th and its successor units that still exist. More about the other bird, also a B-17, later in this article.
44-8846 came to England in early 1945, and actually flew six bombing missions with the 351st Bomb Group against Nazi Germany before VE Day in May. It was then one of several B-17s modified for photo-mapping work and assigned to Project Casey Jones, a combined British-American effort to accurately map as much of Europe and Africa as possible. In that role it flew missions ranging from northern Europe to Liberia in Africa.
By 1947, as the Soviets were growing more hostile, USAFE realized it needed a long-range photo and ELINT collection capability (see article on this website about getting ELINT capability beginning 1946). It acquired several B-17s, including 8846, and assigned them to the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Furstenfeldbruck, near Munich. In November 1948 the 7499th Squadron was formed at “Fursty” to perform these covert reconnaissance missions, and 8846 was assigned in March 1949. From then until March 1953 8846 and its sister B-17s flew numerous missions along the borders with the Soviet Zones of Germany and Austria, as well as into the Baltic and Adriatic seas. It also flew some missions in the corridors to Berlin, augmenting the 7499ths RB-26s and C-47s in that lucrative environment.
But by 1953 the B-17s were being replaced by better-equipped Douglas C-54 transports, also configured with special photo and ELINT equipment. So 8846 flew back to the US in February, and was probably destined for the scrapyard. But then the French photo-mapping agency, the Institut Geographique Nationale (IGN), came looking for aircraft to fits its needs. Lo and behold, 8846 and others, already configured for photography, fit the bill, and 8846 returned to Europe under the IGN. From December 1954 until early 1985 these B-17s flew photo-mapping missions throughout the world.
In 1985, as the IGN replaced its B-17s with more modern aircraft, a French group of aviation enthusiasts formed the “Forteresse Toujours Volante” to keep a B-17 flying. They picked 8846 and refurbished her to look like a wartime US Eighth Air Force B-17. It was so successful at this that it was one of the B-17s chosen to appear in the 1989 movie Memphis Belle. You can see it portraying several different B-17s in that classic. From then on, through the 2009 airshow season in Europe, one could see 8846 performing in US markings, to remind one and all of our role in the liberation of Europe. But, as of March 2010, it has been grounded. The association has a special hangar for 8846 at La Ferte Alais Airfield in France, and will have it on display there. And maybe it will take to the skies again!
There is one more 7499th RB-17 still existing, 44-8889. This aircraft was being ready for combat in England when VE Day came along, and went into storage. By April 1949 it had been converted to be an ELINT collector and had joined the 7499th. Like 8846, it roamed the Iron Curtain from the Baltic to the Adriatic, this time collecting on the growing Soviet air defense radar capability. Its time with the 7499th cane to an end in September 1953, when it too went back to the States. It also was rescued by the French IGN, and, converted to photomapping, flew countless missions. In 1976 it left IGN and became part of the collection at the French national Aviation Museum (“Musee de l’Air”) at Le Bourget Airport near Paris. It was on display in US Eighth Air Force markings until at least 2004, but since has been placed in storage there. We hope that it will again emerge to be seen.
Thus the tale of the only two known surviving aircraft from the 7499th Squadron and its successor units. Interestingly, they are among the very oldest. Only one other aircraft from the 7499th Group is known to exist. This is the Martin RB-57A 52-1492, “Sharp Cut,” from the 7407th Support Squadron at Rhein-Main 1955 and beyond. This now resides at the museum at Hill AF Base, Utah. If you are in the area, check it out!
