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

B-17 #42-32082 / The Passionate Witch II

Delivered Cheyenne 22/1/44; Billings 25/1/44; Cheyenne 30/1/44; Kearney 11/2/44; Presque Is 28/2/44; Assigned 728BS/452BG Deopham Green 3/3/43; with Bob Cook, force landed English base 20/3/44 (10 Returned to Duty); Missing in Action Berlin 28/3/44 with Bob Cook, Radio Operator: George Silva,Tail gunner: John McLaughlin (severely wia, died in hospital next day) (3 Prisoner of War); Co-pilot: Ron Casey, Navigator: John Osswalt, Bombardier: John Rowland, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Gerald Poplett, Ball turret gunner: Carl Blichmann, Waist gunner: Fremont Granade, Waist gunner: Dick Thayer (7 Killed in Action); flak hit #4 gas tank, the right wing broke off and it spun in to crashed near Chateaudun A/fd, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 3488. PASSIONATE WITCH II.

B-17 #44-83259

The fate of this B-17 Flying Fortress is unknown.

B-17 #42-102634 / Mary Jane aka Mis’ter Completely

Delivered Cheyenne 20/3/44; Gr Island 12/4/44; Dow Fd 28/4/44; Assigned: 570BS/390BG [DI-B] Framlingham 3/5/44 MARY JANE; mechanical problems and battle damage, plus # 3 & 4 smoking Saarbrucken 9/11/44 Pilot: ‘; crash-landed continent; crew bailed NE St Quentin, but no credit sortie; Salvaged. 29/11/44. MAIRZEY DOATS aka MIS’TER COMPLETELY..

B-17 #40-2043

Delivered RAF [AN518] as part of Lend-Lease Act; 90 Squadron (WP-B) Polebrook, UK Aug-41; transferred 220 Squadron, Portreath, MIA Bygland, Norway, 8-Sep-41. First B-17 loss (RAF). Salvaged. This was an RAF loss not a USAAF loss.

B-17 #42-97674

Delivered Denver 24/1/44; Hunter 15/3/44; Dow Fd 19/4/44; Assigned: 364BS/305BG [WF-A] Chelveston 30/4/44; MIA Brandenburg 6/8/44 Pilot: Doug Farmer, George Kimball, Renato Roccucci, Lou Goodman, Tom McKee, Bob Meyer, Tony Catala, Chas Rogers, Edwin Denz (9POW); flak, crashed Wittmundehafe, Germany. MACR 7881.

B-17 #44-8693

Delivered Lincoln 20/11/44; Grenier 12/12/44; Assigned 533BS/381BG [VP-O] Ridgewell 11/2/45; 535BS [MS-O]; {26m} battle damaged Plauen 26/3/45 with Hawley; crash landed France & burned; Salvaged 3/4/45.

B-17 #44-6900

Delivered Lincoln 13/12/44; Grenier 20/12/44; Assigned 8AF 28/12/44; transferred 1377 BU Grenier 28/12/44; 716 BU Westover 5/5/46; re-ass AF 30/4/47; 768 BU Narsars 1/1/48; 138 AC Narsars 1/6/48; AMC Olmstead 21/10/48; 1805 ACS Narsars 10/3/49; AMC Olmstead 16/3/49; 1932 ACS Goosebay 29/8/49; 2753 AST Pyote 30/3/50; AMC Hill Fd 13/4/50; Terr Sinistre 28/6/50.

B-17 #44-6808 / Kraut Stomper

Delivered Hunter 18/11/44; Grenier 24/11/44; Assigned 863BS/493BG Debach 29/11/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 6/7/45; Sth Plains 8/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 28/11/45.

B-17 #42-29954 / Devil’s Angel

Delivered Denver 17/3/43; Pueblo 8/4/43; Smoky Hill 7/5/43; Dow Fd 25/5/43; Assigned: 534BS/381BG [GD-D] Ridgewell 25/5/43 Pilot: Bill Wroblicka, Omen Jones, Jim Delano, Lester Schneider, Joe Labushevicz, Fred Smith, Dick Wante, Edwin Jonson, John Kratzer, Walt Cecil; MIA Gelsenkirchen 12/8/43 w/Bill Wroblicka, Co-Pilot: Claude Neeley, Navigator: Dave Harris, Bombardier: Lester Schneider, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Joe Labushevicz, Radio Operator: Fred Smith (6 POW), Ball Turret Gunner: Edwin Jonson, Waist Gunner: John Kratzer, Waist Gunner: John Phelan, Tail Gunner: Walt Cecil (4 KIA); Enemy aircraft, crashed Hemmerich, NW of Bonn, Germany. MACR 383. DEVIL’S ANGEL.

B-17 #42-5787 / Billie K.

Delivered Long Beach 19/1/43; Salina 2/2/43; Homestead 21/2/43; Assigned 323BS/91BG [OR-U] Bassingbourn 9/3/43; Missing in Action {5+m} Gelsenkirchen 12/8/43 with Jerold Kethley, Co-pilot: Ennis Cox, Navigator: Bob Sternberg, Bombardier: Jim Cullen, ttg-Bob Danielson, Radio Operator: Conrad Dussault, Ball turret gunner: Harry Stokes, Waist gunner: Alf Bragg, Waist gunner: John Burke,Tail gunner: Wilf Bacon (10 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft strafed cockpit and KO’d #1, crashed Forsbach, near Cologne, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 262. BILLIE K.