B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 42-5846 / Tinker Toy

Geschichte der
B-17 42-5846 / Tinker Toy

Delivered Long Beach 19/3/43; Pueblo 10/4/43; Smoky Hill 6/5/43; Presque Is 21/5/43; Assigned 535BS/381BG [MS-X] Ridgewell 26/5/43 with Capt Landon Hendricks, Capt John Hamilton, M/Sgt Marshall Peavey line chief, M/Sgt Rhea Rutherford radio, Lt Ernie Murray, Lt Gerald Platz HQ, Lt George Kelly HQ, S/Sgt Mike Duffy HQ, T/Sgt Gerald Reisen HQ; Missing in Action 19+m Bremen 20/12/43 with Dorman Lane, Co-pilot: John Johnston, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Peanoske (3 Prisoner of War), Navigator: Everett Anderson, Bombardier: Dick Mitchell, Radio Operator: Alphonse Melchiorre, Ball turret gunner: Henry Cramer, Waist gunner: Bill Hrapsky, Waist gunner: Joe Fecko,Tail gunner: Frank McDonald (7 Killed in Action); coll with Me109, crashed Ganderksee, three miles W of Delmenhorst, near Bremen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 1723. (A/c shown in film shot in Hers To Hold, with Deanna Durbin). TINKERTOY.

Zuletzt aktualisiert: 8. Februar 2020

B-17 42-5846 / Tinker Toy Details

Photo shows #42-5846 / Tinker Toy after returning from the October 8,1943 mission to Bremen, Germany. A German fighter attacking the bomber hit it in the cockpit with 20mm cannon shells, decapitating the pilot, 1st Lt. William J. Minerich (O-795807), and wounding the copilot, 2nd Lt. Thomas D. Sellers (O-678337), in the left arm. The cockpit was completely covered in blood and brain matter but Lt. Sellers, with the help of T/Sgt. Henry L. Miller – Engineer/Top Turret Gunner (33206929) flew the plane home and kinda safely landed her, ground looping it. The plane was such a bloody mess that the top turret gunner couldn’t stand in his turret without slipping… Sellers had to fly the plane for probably 3 hours in that cockpit.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18532986@N07/4851640230/

Lt. Thomas Duncan Sellers aka “Dunc” is far left

B-17 42-5846 / Tinker Toy Crew