Air Drops: B-17E Flying Fortress (AD401 + AD708)

The B-17E marked a major evolutionary step in the B-17 lineage, entering service in 1941 with substantial combat-driven redesigns. Most notably, the B-17E introduced an entirely new tail section with a powered tail gun position to counter rear attacks, along with an enlarged vertical stabilizer, and improved defensive armament. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, only 512 were Es.

S/N 41-9210 was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941 and was used by Honeywell to develop the C-1 Autopilot and later in 1945 acquired by the University of Minnesota. After changing hands several times and being traded away in exchange for a Cessna 170 in 1952, the aircraft ended up in Bolivia in 1974. From 1974 to the late 80s it served as a freighter for Fri Reyes Aviation as CP-753 and was known as Super Tigre. It crashed once, was rebuilt, and after sitting derelict for years, rescued by Don Whittington/World Jet Inc in 1989. At that time, it was restored on site in Bolivia for its ferry flight home to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where it underwent a full airworthy restoration. In 1998 41-9210 was acquired by the Paul Allen/Flying Heritage Collection.

This Air Drops release features an updated design for AD401 and an all-new Air Drop (AD708) featuring artwork depicting our B-17E as CP-753 while operating in Bolivia as "Super Tigre."

AD401 Sheet 3 (A, H) - Air Drops cut from the fuselage tail cone removed from 41-9210. Many of these Air Drops feature original green primer/paint, rivets. 

AD401 Sheet 3 Polished - To commemorate the luster of 41-9210 when it was freshly restored in the 90s, the Polished version of AD401 Sheet 3 comes on a metallic card with a lightly buffed/polished Air Drop. The Polished Air Drop is available on release day (13 Feb 2026) only. 

AD708 Sheet 1 (A, H) - Air Drops cut from the same fuselage tail cone as AD401, but these feature original blue paint and come on a Super Tigre card by BVR. 

A B-17E Super Stack is available that includes all 3 (stand not included). For sets and combos that include Air Drops and JETs (tags) cut from this aircraft, visit the JETs Vol. 26-05 listing.