There are less than a hand full of B-17's that are still flyable. A couple belong to a non-profit group called the the Commemorative Air Force which specializes in restoring WWII aircraft.
During WWII, B-17's would fly in large groups during air raids on Germany. The photo below shows dozens of B-17 flying in a "combat box" formation. So many planes would fly in formation, they couldn't take off all at once. The military would use retired/used bombers painted in psychedelic colors as "controllers". These planes, known as the "Judas Goat" (a morbid nickname) would take off first and fly in circles while others would get in formation behind them. Once everyone was ready to go, the Judas Goat would land and the formation would leave on their bombing run.
Something to see!
The photos below were originally taken with black and white film but touched up to match the original paint schemes.
This one was known as the "spotted cow".
...I lifted a bunch of these photos from here.
Wanted to provide a follow-up on this post. My parents responded to this post with the following comment:
I enjoyed your photos of the B-17, my favorite WWII bomber. Your mom and I "walked" through a B-17 at the Palm Springs Air Museum a number of years ago. The docent was a former B-17 crew member during WWII. In response to mothers question whether he flew on this plane, he said, "No, my plane is at the bottom of the North Sea"."
