B-17G 'Flying Fortress' 44-6393 was accepted into USAAF service in July of 1944. The aircraft was initially assigned to the 15th Air Force arriving in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in August of that year. Documented primary source information indicates 44-6393 was acquired as a command transport for the Commander of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, Air Force legend General Ira Eaker, as a replacement for B-17E "Yardbird" his prior command aircraft. At the time of the transfer many of the defensive armaments were temporarily removed (including the turrets) and the aircraft received the name "Starduster" a designator it kept as General Eaker's personal transport for the rest of the war. During its service, "Starduster" flew the General from Italy and North Africa to conferences and planning meetings in England, the Soviet Union and the continental United States. "Starduster" was reacquired by the USAF in January 1981 and flown to the United States for restoration and display at the March AFB Museum. Returned by museum volunteers to its 1944 configuration and graced with General Eaker's "Starduster" nose art, 44-6393 remains on loan from the USAF to the March Field Air Museum.
[marchfield.org]
Photo by Craig Maas on Thursday, August 11, 1994 at the March Air Force Base, Riverside, CA.