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

Delivered Cheyenne 1/7/42; with Capt Jim Ellis to Australia 29/6/42; Assigned 63BS/43BG Mareeba, Aus 3/8/42; t/o 7 Mile Drome, Port Moresby, Missing in Action Finchhaven, NG 4/12/42 with Lewis A. Anderson, Co-pilot: Bill Box, Navigator: Bob Schleh, Bombardier: Joe Conde, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Archi Hodge, Radio Operator: Vernon Kaylor, Ball turret gunner: Rich Keeley, Waist gunner: Milton Kelkey,Tail gunner: Albert Nies (9 Killed in Action);. Written off 5/12/42. Crew remains found by RAAF in 1946 in wreck. Missing Air Crew Report 15685. DUMBO.

Delivered Kearney 5/8/44; Grenier 24/8/44; 273 BU Lincoln 4/9/44; Assigned 340BS/97BG Amendola 15/9/44; Missing in Action Kalmaki A/fd, Greece 21/1/45 with John Potkalitsky, Cummings, Hill, Chapman, Poovey, Gorman {Wounded in Action}, Shea, McKinlay, Whalen {Wounded in Action}, Couvillion {Wounded in Action}; ditched, all rescued.

Assigned 323BS/91BG [OR-P] Bangor 10/9/42; Bassingbourn 11/10/42; Missing in Action 9+m St Nazaire 1/5/43 with Bob Rand, Navigator: Don Sternglanz, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Clarry King, Waist gunner: Thad Kusowski,Tail gunner: Dick Shurnard (5 Killed in Action); Co-pilot: Major Mo Rosener (94BG CO-wia), Bombardier: Walt Wawrzynek, Radio Operator: Dave Hatch, Ball turret gunner: Jim Farrar, Waist gunner: Alvar Platt (5 Prisoner of War); several enemy aircraft attacked, KO’d #2 and set cockpit ablaze, ditched Channel about four miles of Brest and quickly sank. Missing Air Crew Report 3573. VERTIGO.

Delivered Denver 24/9/43; Gr Island 7/10/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 15/10/43; Missing in Action Oschersleben 11/1/44 with Gustav Hoehn, Navigator: Don Modarelli, Radio Operator: Byron Wiberg{wia, but died in hospital four days later}, Ball turret gunner: Pete Zaskiewicz (4 Killed in Action); Co-pilot: George Owens, Bombardier: Lieudell Bauer{evd but captured in Maastricht 31/3/44}, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Rigdon, Waist gunner: Harlan Mann, Waist gunner: Ed Hincks,Tail gunner: Gerry Brinker (6 Prisoner of War); flak, crashed Zwolle sportsground avoiding town, Hol; Missing Air Crew Report 3140. BERLIN AMBASSADOR.

Delivered Cheyenne 3/2/44; Kearney 15/2/44; Grenier 25/2/44; Assigned 711BS/447BG [IR-A] Rattlesden 7/3/44; Missing in Action Hannover 18/6/44 with Ken Schreiner, Co-pilot: Carroll Knutson, Navigator: Cliff Kulenburg, Bombardier: Gene Richardson, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Hall, Radio Operator: Herb Ruggles, Ball turret gunner: Jacob Long, Waist gunner: George Wolters, Waist gunner: Leon Swift,Tail gunner: Jim Jones (10 Prisoner of War); flak, crashed mountains near Egestorf, 11 miles SW of Hannover, Ger.{as per German Air Force Comman records). Missing Air Crew Report 5903.

Delivered Cheyenne 24/1/44; MacDill 5/2/44; Morrison 9/3/44; Assigned 840BS/483BG Tortorella 13/3/44; Missing in Action Budapest 14/7/44 with 1Lt Ewald A Swanson, 2Lt Paul Berndt, Gramenzi, Simonelli, Hish, Bell, Kelley, Tucker (8 Prisoner of War); Henderson, Dudley (2 Killed in Action); flak, nose blown off, crashed Solt; Missing Air Crew Report 6901. MIZPAH.

Delivered Long Beach 30/4/43; Sioux City 7/5/43; Dow Fd 15/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG [–E] Knettishall 16/6/43; suffered battle damaged at La Pallice, Fr. 16/9/43 with Henry Cox, Co-pilot: Albt Rubin, Navigator: Bob Leaventhal, Bombardier: Frank Broach, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Herman Ball, Radio Operator: Don Gromis, Ball turret gunner: George Martin, Waist gunner: Otto Kloza, Waist gunner: Francis Curry,Tail gunner: Joshua Lewis (10 Killed in Action); crash landed Upper Cilgee Farm, Llanure, two miles from Llandrindod Wells, Wales, after being diverted to RAF Shobdon, Worcs., in poor weather; Salvaged. Missing Air Crew Report 3119. SONDRA KAY.

Delivered Denver 28/1/43; Salina 9/2/43; Assigned 324BS/91BG Bassingbourn 15/3/43; Missing in Action 1m Wilhelmshafen 22/3/43 with Capt Hascall McClellan, Co-pilot: Glenn Brooks, Navigator: Claud Green, Bombardier: Clarry Buckman, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Sam Williams, Radio Operator: Ed Trelawney-Ansell, Ball turret gunner: Felix Makela, Waist gunner: Ben Billingsley, Waist gunner: Chas Shapiro,Tail gunner: Wallace Roberts (10 Killed in Action). A/c hit by rocket from Me 109 above, crashed in North Sea 20 miles W of Heligoland. (only McLelland, Williams & Billingsley were 91BG, rest 92BG) Missing Air Crew Report 16291. LIBERTY BELL.

Delivered Tulsa 15/10/42; Salinas 18/12/42; Assigned 414BS/97BG Biskra 15/1/43; Chateau-du-Rhumel 8/2/43; Pont-du-Fahs 1/8/43; Depienne 15/8/43; transferred 346BS/99BG Oudna 14/11/43; Tortorella 11/12/43; Missing in Action {11m/99} Innsbruck 19/12/43 with Art Simpson (KIA-drowned); Thorne, Smith (2 Prisoner of War); Rayson, Jacks, Eder, Tramble, Lawson, Scott, Bradbury (7 Returned to Duty); ditched Adriatic Sea. Missing Air Crew Report 1528.

Delivered Denver 28/11/43; Kearney 19/12/43; Oklahoma City 8/1/44; Assigned: 338BS/96BG [BX-L] Snetterton 5/2/44; MIA Brux 12/5/44 Pilot: Chas Filer, Co-Pilot: Fred Lavigna, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Lido Mochetti, Waist Gunner: Fred Beck, Waist Gunner: Carl Brogren (5KIA); Navigator: John Dink, Bombardier: George Turcott, Ball Turret Gunner: Chas Prince, Radio Operator: Chas Williams, Tail Gunner: Chas Thornhill (5POW); Enemy aircraft KOd three engines plus other damage, crashed Bellmuth, 22 miles NE of Frankfurt, Germany. MACR 4856. STORMY WEATHER.