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

Delivered Long Beach 10/9/43; Assigned 323BS/91BG [OR-N] Bassingbourn 16/10/43; Missing in Action Oschersleben 22/2/44 with Ken Sutherland, Co-pilot: Stan Jordan, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bob Kyle, Radio Operator: Malcolm McCurry, Ball turret gunner: Raymond Butler, Waist gunner: Andy Tarasuk, Tail gunner: Rathel Bennett (7 Killed in Action); Navigator: Fred McBride, Bombardier: Les Price, Waist gunner: Fred Tabor (3 Prisoner of War); flak KO’d #1, then enemy aircraft riddled ship, crashed a mile W of Lugde, six miles SW on Hameln, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 2641. EMEIGH.

Delivered Cheyenne 3/6/43; Kearney 14/6/43; Dalhart 27/6/43; Gr Isle 26/7/43; Assigned 569BS/390BG [CC-R] Framlingham 6/8/43; Missing in Action Knaben (Rjukan) 16/11/43 with Ray Becker, Co-pilot: Bob Stuart, Navigator: Ben Myers, Bombardier: Tony Moyto, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Loeser, Radio Operator: Claude Farber, Ball turret gunner: Leo Whitemore, Waist gunner: George Schneller, Waist gunner: Roy Ball,Tail gunner: Chas Reed (10 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft, caught fire and crashed North Sea, off Norwegian coast at Varhoug; Missing Air Crew Report 1400. SCHIFLESS SKUNK.

Delivered Denver 31/12/42; Cheyenne 13/1/43; Ainsworth 19/1/43; Rapid City 8/3/43; Lowry 29/4/43; Rapid City 5/5/43; Portland 15/6/43; Geiger 12/11/43; 247 BU Smoky Hill 10/6/44; 4136 BU Tinker 26/7/44; 235 BU Biggs 17/1/45; 4202 BU Syracuse 18/4/45; with Bob Steve force landed base 27/8/45; Recl Comp 3/1/46.

Delivered Cheyenne 31/12/42; Salina 10/1/43; Morrison 5/3/43; Brookley 8/3/43; Morrison 10/4/43; Assigned 416BS/99BG Navarin 5/6/43; Oudna 4/8/43; battle damaged Messina 6/8/43 with Barton, Trentadue {Wounded in Action}, Lesney {Wounded in Action}, May, Shay, Harper, Valleau {Wounded in Action}, Steele, Kellerman, Cunningham; force landed Comiso, 2 engines out & 3 WIA, aircraft repaired 12/8/43; Tortorella 11/12/43; transferred 483BG Tortorella 31/3/44; Salvaged 2/8/45. JIG-JIG.

Delivered Cheyenne 13/4/43; Gore 21/4/43; Smoky Hill 22/4/43; Morrison 4/5/43; Assigned 12AF – 97th BG/414th BS; 31/5/43; Returned to the USA Bradley 4/7/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Altus 9/10/45.

Delivered Cheyenne 3/5/43; Smoky Hill 17/5/43; Dow Fd 21/5/43; Assigned 534BS/381BG [GD-L] Ridgewell 15/6/43; Missing in Action 5m Schweinfurt 17/8/43; enemy aircraft, crashed Oostmalle, nine miles W of Turnhout, Bel. Missing Air Crew Report 381. LUCKY LADY.

Delivered Long Beach 28/1/43; Denver 30/1/43; Assigned 4Ferry Gp Memphis where line chief Sgt Oscar Penrod ground looped aircraft 20/3/43; Morrison 14/4/43; Assigned 347BSA/99BG Navarin 5/5/43; Oudna 4/8/43; damaged by fire 16/9/43, repaired at depot; transferred 840BS/483BG Tortorella 4/44; Missing in Action Nis, Yugo. 15/4/44 with Jim Preston, Johnston, Gresham, Lindholm, Toutant, Cieslak, Cooper, Pierce, Cline, Brown (10 Killed in Action); flak hit between # 3 & 4. The main fuel tanks took fire as the wing folded back all in seconds; crashed Nis, W/O. Missing Air Crew Report 3909. WHIZZER II.

Delivered Cheyenne 11/5/43; Gore 24/5/43; Smoky Hill 25/5/43; Kearney 27/5/43; Dow Fd 2/6/43; Assigned: 338BS/96BG [BX–] Snetterton 12/6/43; MIA Kassel 30/7/43 Pilot: Carmelo Pelusi, Navigator: Mayer Hurwitz, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Walter Koch, Ball Turret Gunner: Bob Holleman, Waist Gunner: Earl McCloy (5KIA); Co-Pilot: Don Falk, Bombardier: Bruce Yarwood, Radio Operator: Delbert Williams, Waist Gunner: Don Ross, Tail Gunner: Elmon Fisk (5POW); Enemy aircraft, two engines out, another smoking, so jettisoned bomb load, crashed Tielrode, 12 miles W of Antwerp, Belgium. MACR 145. LUCKY LADY II.

Delivered Long Beach 24/9/43 Gr Island 6/11/43; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-Z] Thorpe Abbotts 11/11/43; on mission to Frankfurt 24/1/44, with Frank Valesh, Co-pilot: John Booth, Navigator: John Johnson, Bombardier: Maurice G Zetlan, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Herscell H Broyles, Radio Operator: Ernest M Jordan, Ball turret gunner: Louis G Black Jr, Waist gunner: Paul Carbonne, Waist gunner: Herschel Broyes (9 Returned to Duty);Tail gunner: Roy Ulrick (Prisoner of War); flak hit in tail, limped home to RAF Eastchurch, Kent, UK & repaired. TG was blown out of tail and became POW; witnesses swear he flew through the air still in his seat and hanging on to Browning gun handles!; transferred 351BS [EP-Z]; retUS 6/45; 121 BU Bradley 19/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 22/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 11/12/45.

Delivered Dallas 27/6/44; Langley 24/7/44; Dow Fd 18/8/44; Assigned 839BS/487BG Lavenham 29/10/44; transferred 833BS/486BG [2N-M] Sudbury 10/44; 2m transferred 410BS/94BG Rougham 29/5/45. Used for photography along Belgian-Dutch coasts (coded WIPE); crash landed with Walt Sutherland at Vils, Austria 16/7/45. Salvaged 9AF Germany 20/2/47.