Operators/Controllers) and five enlisted men (Plane Captain (now referred to as Crew Chief), 2nd Mechanic, Electronics Technician, and two Radio Operators). First delivered to Patrol Bomber Squadron 101 (VPB-101) in the spring of 1946, the Navy was eventually to have twenty-two, out of thirty-one post-war B-17s, fully upgraded to PB-1W standard. Late in 1946, VPB-101 would move to NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and be redesignated Airborne Early Warning Development Squadron Four (VX-4). SB-17G From 1943 to 1948, as part of Dumbo missions, 12 B-17Gs were converted to SB-17G equipped with an airborne lifeboat and ASV radar for USAAF air-sea rescue duties. PB-1G After the war, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) realized the need for a long range search and rescue aircraft to supplement its peace-time Sea Air Rescue (SAR) capabilities. Concurrently, the Army Air Force was retiring thousands of B-17 four-engine bombers, many still "factory-new" as they were delivered too late to see action. The USCG, always quick to take advantage of anything they could get inexpensively, requested that the Army Air Force loan eighteen of the bombers to the Coast Guard. The powerful, long-legged and stable bombers proved to be excellent additions to the Coast Guard's aviation fleet. The Army Air Force had developed a lifeboat that was slung underneath the fuselage of a B-17 that would be dropped to survivors in the water. A parachute rig would deploy from the lifeboat after its release and allow it to descend safely to the surface. The Coast Guard adopted the A-1 lifeboat for many of its PB-1Gs (the naval designation for the Flying Fortress).Furthermore the PB-1Gs were equipped with an ASV radar to assist in the SAR operations. Additionally, these aircraft were also used for the International Ice Patrol while another of the versatile PB-1Gs was modified to carry a nine-lens, 1.5 million dollar, aerial camera for mapping purposes. Interestingly, the Norden bombsight, used by the B-17s in their bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, was kept with this PB-1G and used to pinpoint targets for the camera. In total 17 PB-1Gs served with the Coast Guard from 1945 through 1959. The final flight of the last PB-1G in USCG service ended at 1:46 p.m. on Wednesday 14 October 1959 when PB-1G 77254 landed at AIRSTA Elizabeth City. She had faithfully served the nation's oldest continuous sea service for fourteen years. See also List of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying