Texas Raiders  Texas Raiders is an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Douglas-Long Beach built B-17G-95-DL. The Commemorative Air Force’s Gulf Coast Wing "Texas Raiders" group maintains and flies the aircraft. She is hangared at General Aviation Services, which is located at Conroe North Houston Regional Airport in Conroe, Texas. The Commemorative Air Force’s Gulf Coast Wing maintains and flies the B-17G Flying Fortress (former U.S. Navy PB-1W) named "Texas Raiders", which is based at Conroe North Houston Regional Airport (KCXO) in Conroe, Texas. The plane was built in 1944 by Douglas Aircraft Corporation at the Long Beach, California plant under license from Boeing. On July 12, 1945, she was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps as B-17G-95-DL 44-83872. Number 44-83872 was one of the last 20 B-17s built by Douglas. On July 21, 1945, all 20 were transferred to the U.S. Navy to serve as PB-1W Patrol Bombers. 44-83872 was assigned the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics Number 77235. The Navy used PB-1Ws as the original Airborne Warning and Command System or AWACS aircraft, as well as for electronic countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and hurricane hunters. The Navy sealed up the bomb bay doors and installed 300 gallon wing-mounted drop tanks and the AN/APS-20 Seasearch radar equipment in a bulbous housing below the former bomb bay. Radio direction finder (RDF), instrument landing system (ILS), and long range navigation (LORAN) was also installed at this time. She was not painted, but waxed to prevent corrosion, and kept her original Browning M2 machine guns. In January 1955, VW-1 phased out PB-1W operations for the new Lockheed PO-1W and WV-2 (Navy versions of the EC-121 Warning Star) based on the Lockheed Constellation airframe. January 1955 BuNo 77235 was placed in Flyable Storage Status until officially retired from Naval service on August 25, 1955 with 3257 hours flying time accrued. It was one of the last B-17s left in service at the time and one of only 3 PB-1Ws saved from the scrapyard or scavenging. Aero Service Corporation bought BuNo 77235 for $17,500 and on October 1 of 1957, was registered as N7227C and then used as an aerial surveying platform.