Stormy Weather depicts a B-17 Flying Fortress mission during the final months of the air war over Germany. By March 1945, Eighth Air Force bomber crews were still flying heavily defended missions while weather increasingly complicated target identification and bombing accuracy.
The B-17 Relic: Texas Raiders
The relic associated with the artwork comes from B-17G-95-DL 44-83872, later known as Texas Raiders. Aluminum wing skin was removed from the outer port wing during a major wing-spar restoration in 2001. Craig Tinder served as a loadmaster and restorer on the aircraft and personally acquired material removed during that work.
B-17G wing skin removed from Texas Raiders during restoration.
The Mission
The artwork centers on the 11 March 1945 air campaign over Germany, when heavy bomber formations encountered extensive cloud cover while attempting to reach their assigned targets. Crews depended on formation discipline, navigation and instrument bombing methods when visual identification was impossible.
The title Stormy Weather reflects the conditions that could shape an entire mission. For bomber crews, weather was not simply background—it affected formation integrity, navigation, enemy interception and whether a target could be attacked visually at all.
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