This aircraft sat on the gunnery range at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station for many years, where it was all but forgotten. It was recovered from the dessert in the late 1970s. It was totally restored, then flown to March AFB for display in 1981. The records for this aircraft had been lost, so the Museum painted the airplane in a manner representative of B-29s that had been stationed at March. The base was commonly referred to as Mission Inn after a famous hotel in Riverside, so this name was given to the aircraft. The photo below from 1999 shows that paint scheme.
It was later learned that this aircraft carried the name Flagship 500. Photos were located from former crew members that showed the nose art. The aircraft was repainted with the Flagship 500 markings in 2003. Shortly after that, it was learned that this aircraft had a World War Two combat record where it flew as Three Feathers The Third. Since the aircraft is not yet due for a new paint, the museum changed the words Flagship 500 to read Three Feathers, which is shown in the photo above from 2011. It is hoped that this aircraft will be repainted in its WWII markings at some point in the future.
