Quelle:
www.americanairmuseum.com
| Allgemein | |
|---|---|
| Hersteller: | Boeing |
| Produktionsblock: | , B-17F-50-BO: 42-5350 bis 42-5484 |
| Einsatzgeschichte | |
|---|---|
| Bomber-Gruppe: | , 303rd Bomb Group |
| Bomber-Staffel: | - |
| Schicksal: | |
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Geschichte der
B-17 42-5357
Delivered Denver 20/11/42; West Palm Beach 11/12/42; Assigned 303BG Molesworth 1/1/43; transferred AFSC 19/3/43; Written off 27/8/44.
Informationen können Korrekturen und Ergänzungen auf Grundlage von Jings Recherchen enthalten.
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Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 12. September 2017 aktualisiert
13. Mai 2019 access_time 16:32
Quote from „P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO, by C. Molesworth (Osprey #43).
„[Chase and Gray of 33rd FG] were flying over enemy-held territory between Gabès and El-Guettar on 5 January 1943, when they spotted an apparently undamaged B-17 being towed along a road. Although they did not know it at the time, the four-engined American bomber had force-landed nearby after becoming lost on a ferry flight to North Africa. Captured by the Germans, the aeroplane was being towed toward a Luftwaffe base when the P-40 pilots found it. Chase and Gray did not like the idea of the B-17 falling into enemy hands, so they dove earthward with guns blazing and strafed the bomber until it caught fire and burned to a hulk.“
19. August 2021 access_time 20:55
My father, James Hugh Ross, was the radio operator on this plane. It was shot down on January 3, 1943, and was strafed and burned on Jan 5 by Chase and Gray.
All member of the crew survived the crash, and all of them each spent the next 28 months in various German POW camps.
C. Ross
29. April 2026 access_time 21:22
Hello Carroll,
More pictures available here :
https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/la-carcasse-d-un-quadrimoteur-dont-le-numero-de-serie-est-42-5357.html
BP.
01. Mai 2026 access_time 6:56
Bertrand,
I found these photos and a few others a few months ago. Unfortunately, none of the several photos of this plane give any information as to who took the photos or when they were taken.
The plane left the airfield at Marrakesh around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 3, 1943, on the way to their base at Biskra, Algeria. The navigator of the lead plane made some significant navigation errors, which resulted in all the planes in the formation getting lost.
When theyˌinadvertently flew over Gabes, Tunision, they were attacked by flak and then by German fighter planes.
The 3d & 4th engine of 42-5257 was hit by flak as the bomber flew over Gabes, Tunisia, and it had to force-land on the road between Gabes and El-Guettar. German soldiers were nearby and they were on the plane before the Crewmembers had a chance to destroy or burn the valuable machinery of the plane, including the Norden bombsight. Chase and Gray did the USAAF a great service when they strafed and blew up the plane. Ernie Pyle wrote an article about this plane, which was published on January 28, 1943, and appeared in newspapers across America.
The bombardier of 42-5357 was Carl Holmstrom, who was a graduate of the Pratt School of Art in Brooklyn. He and the other officers were eventually sent to Luft III for the duration of the war. Because of Carl’s great artistic skills, he was tapped by the ‚Escape Committee‘ at Luft III to assist in preparing many of the forged documents used by the British RAF pilors iin their failed escape attempt.
My father spent 10 months in various transit POW camps before being sent to Stalag 17B in late November of 1943. He then spent the next 18 months at that camp.
Carroll