B-17G Flying Fortress 44-8S734 Liberty Belle was lost in a fire following a forced landing near Oswego, Illinois on 13 June. The aircraft was on its annual tour 'barnstorming' around the USA, offering rides to enthusiasts and educating the public about WW2 history. The blaze began shortly after take-off on a routine positioning flight between Aurora, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana. The crew noticed an acrid smell, but couldn't determine from where it emanated. Cullen Underwood, flying an SNJ-4 in formation with the B-17, informed the bomber's captain John Hess that he could see a fire in the left wing trailing edge behind the inboard engine. The fire had already burned a hole through the wing. Underwood advised Liberty Belles crew to put the Fortress down immediately, rather than make for an airport as initially planned. Hess and his co-pilot, Bud Sittig, rapidly located a suitable cornfield and made a textbook and uneventful wheels-down landing.
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