A very fascinating subject and I'm impressed with the amount of knowledge being expressed by posters here.

As Sgt. Shultz said, "I know nutting" about this stuff but I am curious. Seems there's an awful lot of bureaucratic gobbilygook involved that would have you going through hoops until the next millennium and with no guarantees of acquisition. Instead of a wreck, what about starting a search for a neglected but mostly intact B-17 that's been derelect on some old airport apron sitting around for decades previously used as a water bomber or a freighter? Just a thought.