A Day’s Pay: The Famed B-17 Bomber Lives on in Latest Documentary

Fighting the War Overseas and in the Tri-Cities

As World War Two (WWII) waged on overseas, workers locally at Hanford wondered how they could help.

A Bomber is Born

A worker at the plant had come up with the idea for workers to donate money for a warplane to be built, and the United States Army had advised that the money go to constructing the famed B-17 Flying Fortress. Over a month, the payroll office collected a day's pay for around 51,000 employees to finance the aircraft. All the employees who contributed to the cause got a "stock certificate" for their "share" in the B-17 Bomber. After a naming contest was conducted, employees decided to name the bomber "A Day's Pay."

The Bomber Flew Several Missions into Nazi Germany

The bomber was dedicated in July of 1944 and departed soon after for Europe. The B-17 bomber would fly many WWII missions into Nazi Germany, taking out critical refineries and weapons depots.

A Day's Pay is Featured in the Latest Documentary: Day's Pay - The People's Plane

The plane returned to the United States in 1945 and was later scrapped. However, the famous bomber lives on with a new documentary released last week.

You can watch the documentary here: Day’s Pay The People’s Plane

The B-17 Bomber Lives on in Richland

The B-17 also lives on in the community, as it is seen on the badges of the Richland Police Department and with the Richland High School Bombers.