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

Delivered Cheyenne 12/2/43; Walker 23/2/43; Smoky Hill 28/3/43; Presque Is 5/4/43; Dow Fd 12/4/43; Assigned 96BG Grafton Underwood 19/4/43; transferred gr/crew-Alby McLain (all 6 Killed in Service); left wing dipped on landing and pilot unable to correct, crashed Wood Barns Farm, Belchamp St Paul, Ex, a couple of miles from base. Salvaged. STUFF. 534BS/381BG [GD-D] Ridgewell 7/9/43 MISS ABORTION; {21m} crash landed base 31/3/44 on test flight with Wayne Schomburg, Co-pilot: Capt Paul Stull {an engineering officer, believed to be at the wheel}, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Don Carr, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Carter, Radio Operator: Melvin Wilson,

Delivered MacDill 1/3/42; Assigned 341BS/97BG Polebrook 4/42; transferred 407BS/92BG Bovingdon 8/42; sustained battle damaged Lille 9/10/42; with Capt Jim Griffiths, Lt Col Stuart Porter, crash landed Gatwick, UK, (10RTD remainder unknown); Salvaged. ROKELL’S RAIDER.

Delivered Cheyenne 2/4/43; Pueblo 12/4/43; Smoky Hill 6/5/43; Presque Is 17/5/43; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-K] Ridgewell 19/5/43 NOBODY’S BABY (taken by CO Col Leber to UK as no pilot wanted it !) with Lt Col Joe Nazzaro {Gp CO}, Major Conway Hall {HQ}, Lt Edgar Kurner {HQ}, Lt Warren Berning {HQ}, M/Sgt Russell Faust {radio}, M/Sgt Halston Randall {ettg}, Capt Norman Mackay {HQ nav}, Lt Bill Fullick {HQ bomb}, Sgt Phil Costanzo, Pfc Randall Nichols; {4m} transferred 365BS/305BG [XK-D] Chelveston 22/8/43; RAF 100 Gp 28/12/43, RG 13/1/44; training aircraft 20/3/44 to 27/5/45; Salvaged 26/7/45.

Delivered Hunter 4/3/45; Grenier 15/3/45; Assigned 8AF 28/3/45; Returned to the USA 4100 BU Patterson 12/6/45; 1 BU Bolling 6/8/45; 1503 BU Hamilton 23/10/45; 1 BU Bolling 29/10/45; 902 BU Orlando 13/12/45; 621 BU Pinecastle 17/6/46; 554 BU Memphis 19/6/46; 613 BU Phillips 20/8/46.

Delivered Cheyenne 19/3/44; MacDill 1/4/44; 327 BU Drew 4/5/45; 301 BU Drew 22/10/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Altus 5/11/45.

Delivered 396BG Drew 17/5/44; with Stewart Merwin force landed base 20/6/44; 327 BU Drew 1/8/44; 326 BU MacDill 12/12/44; 300 BU MacDill 20/3/45; 73 WG MacDill 31/3/45; 326 BU MacDill 31/5/45; Recl Comp 30/1/46.

Delivered Cheyenne 14/12/42; Assigned 391BS/34BG Blythe 29/12/42; mech. problems led to taxi accident with Milton Sherman 21/2/43; Assigned 504BS/346BG Dyersburg 20/5/43; 505BG Harvard 19/6/44; 4136 BU Tinker 15/7/44; force landed Dyersburg 16/8/43 with Hiram Fisher when u/c gear collapsed; 235 BU Biggs 28/8/44; 4104 Rome 17/1/45; 235 BU Biggs 19/3/45; 4202 BU Syracuse 17/4/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Albuquerque 3/8/45.

Delivered Cheyenne 13/7/44; Kearney 21/7/44; Grenier 7/8/44; Assigned 838BS/487BG [2C-Q] Lavenham 12/8/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 14/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 16/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 21/12/45.

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 Denver 25/11/43; Kearney 12/12/43; Romulus 17/12/43; Grenier 21/12/43; Presque Is 23/12/43; Newtownards 24/12/43; Assigned 410BS/ 94BG [GL-O] Rougham 30/12/43 FIFI, then BOOTS & HER BUDDIES; Missing in Action Berlin 6/10/44 with Jesse Brasher, Dick Wallace, Jerome Mamber, Don Griesedieck, Herb Greene, Erhardt Barnes, Chas Kennedy, Salvatore Sambasile, Chas Holmes (9 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Neustrelitz, Germany. Missing Air Crew Report 9349. THE FILTHY HAG.