B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress – The Queen Of The Skies

Delivered Cheyenne 7/2/44; Gr Island 15/2/44; Presque Is 4/3/44; Assigned 710BS/447BG Rattlesden 4/3/44; Missing in Action Brussels 20/5/44 with Archibald E. Town, Co-pilot: Bob Lewis (2 Returned to Duty); Navigator: Duane Kesterke, Bombardier: Chas Oulehla, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Harwell, Radio Operator: Gustave Secunda, Ball turret gunner: Simpson Gray, Waist gunner: John Schomburger, Waist gunner: Everett White,Tail gunner: Art Baker (8KIA- actually drowned); en route to target was shot down accidentally by a B-17 of another group testing its guns, crashed Channel. Missing Air Crew Report 4939.

Delivered Cheyenne 26/2/44; Kearney 16/3/44; Grenier 2/4/44; Assigned 337BS/96BG [AW-U] Snetterton 8/4/44; Missing in Action Berlin 8/5/44 with Milton Fancher, Co-pilot: Olin Kuhn, Navigator: Sam Archer, Bombardier: Clifton Dover, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ed Mathis, Radio Operator: Gerald Amon, Waist gunner: Cecil Ruder (7 Killed in Action); Ball turret gunner: Jim Young, Waist gunner: George Parkinson,Tail gunner: Leon Greco (3 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Hiddesdorf, six miles W of Verden, 19 miles SE of Bremen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 4570.

Delivered RAF [AN525] as part of Lend-Lease; 90 Squadron [WP-D] Polebrook 21-Apr-41; Missing in Action on mission to bomb the Admiral Scheer on Oslo harbour 8-Sep-41 with D. Romans, F.Hart, P. Corbett, J. Brown, W. Honey, H. Merrill (RCAF), R. Beattie (7 Killed in Action); shot down by two Bf 109s, but shot down one of them first; the bomber went on to crash in mountainous country, Norway. Crew buried in Bygland churchyard, Setesdal Valley, 100m north of Kristiansund.

Delivered Denver 18/1/44; 1SAG Langley 13/2/44; Assigned 49BS/2BG Amendola 2/3/44; transferred 414BS/97BG Amendola; Missing in Action Weiner Neustadt 10/5/44 with Col Jacob Smart (Gp CO), Hill, McCarthy, Lassiter, Kehberger, Flamingo, Zohler, Anderson, Carter; flak, crashed Stinkenbrunn; Missing Air Crew Report 4722.

Assigned 427BS/303BG at Bangor 24-Sep-42; Molesworth 25-Oct-42; Missing in Action 23-Jan-43 on a mission to bomb the port area and U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft sustained damage from AA fire over the target and was ditched into the sea near Lorient, France. Was also named „What’s Up Doc“ at one time. 10KIA MACR 15473.

Delivered Cheyenne 10/8/44; Kearney 21/8/44; Grenier 7/9/44; Assigned 546th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, Squadron Code BK-C, Grafton Underwood on 23 September 1944; Missing in Action on a mission to Pilsen, Czecho. on 25 April 1945 with Andrew Gordon Lovett, Stanley Frank Kloss, Milton J. Haney (3 evaded capture); Donald John Unger, Conrad W. Brown, Louis V. Froelinger, Robert j. Blasé, Walter Arthur Carney (5 Prisoner of War); shot down by flak, crashed near Pilsen, CZ. Missing Air Crew Report 14317. SWEET CHARIOT.

Assigned 324BS/91BG [DF-C] Bangor 31/8/42; Bassingbourn 26/9/42; JACK THE RIPPER. Missing in Action 27+m Oschersleben 22/2/44 with Jim Considine, Co-pilot: Norman Stuckey, Bombardier: Jack Remers, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Melvin Washburn, Radio Operator: Jim Naughton, Ball turret gunner: John Dias, Waist gunner: John Stipewia & broke leg on landing, Waist gunner: Don Day,Tail gunner: Vernon Pochardt (Wounded in Action) (9 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Henry Schaub (KIA-chute failed to open); two Me 109s KO’d #2, dropped back aiming for cloud cover but more enemy aircraft KO’d two more engines, crashed Gremmendorf, near Albersloh, SE of Munster, Germany; Missing Air Crew Report 2640. (last original aircraft lost).

Delivered Dallas 14/7/44; Langley 17/8/44; Grenier 14/9/44; Assigned 95BG PFF Horham 25/9/44; 1m, transferred 350BS/100BG [LN-B] Thorpe Abbotts 26/9/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 2/7/45; with Rich Voight to Tulsa, OK, 5/7/45; Independence 24/8/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 21/12/45. JUMBO.

Delivered Cheyenne 31/7/44; Hunter 8/8/44; Grenier 30/8/44; Assigned 482BG Alconbury 2/9/44; transferred 350BS/100BG [LN-Y] Thorpe Abbotts 2/9/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 2/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 6/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 18/11/45. „HEAVEN SENT.“

Delivered Cheyenne 25/5/44; Kearney 5/6/44; Dow Fd 27/6/44; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-L] Thorpe Abbotts 28/6/44; 75+ missions, transferred 482BG Alconbury 20/5/45; Returned to the USA Bradley 2/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 13/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 28/11/45. YOU CAN’T LOSE.