Fortresses Under Fire

Fortresses Under Fire (1975) by Keith Ferris showcases the 25′ high by 75′ wide mural in the World War II Gallery of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The B-17G, 42-38050, “Thunder Bird” of the 303rd Bomb Group, based at Molesworth, England, is seen at 11:45 AM, 15 August 1944, over Trier, Germany, on its return to base from a mission to Weisbaden. B-17Gs “Bonnie B”, “Special Delivery”, and “Marie”, are seen below as a Messerschmitt 109G and Focke Wulf FW 190 attack “Thunder Bird’s” element. Jeff Ethell’s research for the mural revealed the names and aircraft identities of all U.S. and many German participants in this battle in which the 303rd lost nine Fortresses in this attack by Luftwaffe fighters.

The Artist In Action

An actual image of Keith Ferris painting the 25′ x 75′ Fortresses Under Fire mural at the NASM in Washington D.C. This visually stunning mural depicts Thunderbird’s 70th mission to Wiesbaden, Germany on August 15th, 1944. Specifically, Keith Ferris’s piece showcases the B-17 Thunderbird flown from Molesworth during World War II (WW2). The Air & Space Smithsonian commissioned this painting in 1975 – looking to highlight the B-17’s aerial bombardment. While no specific mission, craft, or battle was to be depicted, Ferris worked with aviation historian Jeff Ethell to create a historically-accurate scene of the exact events of that day. According to Keith himself, “that just wasn’t my way of doing things. I like to paint a specific moment in time.”