B-17 external bomb load?

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Hi Folks,
I’m sure you folks can tell me this in a heartbeat.

Here’s a picture of 42-97286 ‘Skipper and the kids’, a B-17 flown on June 11th 1944 by Dong Ong to Pontaubault in France (as featured in the book ‘A Bomber Crew Mystery’). She suffered the most tragic of endings on the Isle of Arran in December that year with the loss of 11 men in a flying accident.

Here’s a technical question for B-17 buffs out there. Why is Skipper carrying external bombs in this shot, and not in the bomb bay?