World War II Bomber Gas Station
Thursday, 21st September 2006 by Alex Turnbull
In 1947 a guy named Art Lacey decided he wanted to buy a surplus B-17G "Flying Fortress" WWII bomber, and with little prior experience, fly the plane from Kansas back to Milwaukie, Oregon.
After an incredible (and highly improbable) sounding journey, Mr Lacey used his new purchase... as a forecourt roof for his gas station.
Today the gas station has made way for the family-run Bomber Drive-In restaurant which still operates here, and these days the bomber is one of only a handful of this type of aircraft left intact in the world.
Thanks to Nathaniel.
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
Utterly, utterly ridiculous.
Hey, my dad is (was?) good friends with Art Lacey. I’ve even gotten to climb up in “the bomber” when I was very little (some 35-ish years ago). I also recall when I was small that “The Bomber” used to be located about a mile down the road, and it was a huge deal when it was moved.
Cool!