According to the information, Slovaks in Cleveland and Pittsburgh gave away two B-17s to the US Army. One of them was the B-17F ‘The Greater Cleveland Slovaks’.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551752068432083/posts/2819678474972763/
B-17F ‘The Greater Cleveland Slovaks’ Details
According to the information, Slovaks in Cleveland and Pittsburgh gave away two B-17s to the US Army. One of them was the B-17F ‘The Greater Cleveland Slovaks’.
This action was also mentioned in a newspaper article dated 10 March 1943.
It is assumed that this B-17 belongs to the production block B-17F-25-DL to B-17F-30-DL. However, also not much earlier and also not much later.
Published: 7. July 2021 / Last updated: 9. July 2021
03. April 2024 access_time 20:01
Cleveland and Pittsburgh both had large Slovak communities during the war years. The Slovak communities were a pretty tight-knit group, and most people were part of a financial institution known as the “First Catholic Slovak Union.” This institution also published a newspaper in the Slovak language known as Jednota (Union). I’d bet money that this newspaper (which still exists) has archives telling all about the purchase of this plane through funds collected at the First Catholic Slovak Union. You can contact them at: https://www.fcsu.com/contact/ I’m sure they would be happy to assist you and may even be interested in mentioning your quest for information in a future edition of Jednota.
21. November 2024 access_time 22:51
Hello, I may have a photo of the 2nd B17F that is from the Pittsburgh Slovaks. In a book Pittsburgh Slovaks there is a pic of B17 with nose art The American-Slovak in same script as the Cleveland B17. If you send me an email I could upload the image for
The book. Cheers, John
25. November 2024 access_time 16:55
Hello John, can you send me a copy of the picture please?
my email: info@b17flyingfortress.de
Cheers
Jing