The end of the B-15

I’ve seen pictures of the B-15 – the forerunner to the B-17 – being constructed at Boeing Field, and parked outside on the apron – there is also a famous picture of it in flight. It is known that it never saw combat, and was always employed in the Zone of the Interior and seems to have a somewhar sketchy recorded history.

I recently came across the attached as part of our new project, taken, according to the original caption in Panama. It also reveals more of the aircraft history. This reads:

“‘Grandpappy’, sire of the Superfortress is being dismantled at Albrook Field in Panama. The big B-15, which had seven feet more wingspan than the B-29, never saw combat but did achieve an enviable transport record. Over an 18 month period ‘Grandpappy’ carried more than 100,000 pounds of freight and 5,350 passengers to various bases of the 6th Air Force in Panama and elsewhere”.

The picture – a USAAF image – is recorded as having appeared in the October 1945 edition of AIR FORCE Magazine – so does that mean it survived until then?