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Source:
www.fightingcolors.com
Production-block:
B-17G-35-DL: 42-106984 to 42-107233
Manufacturer:
Douglas
- Bomb Group:
- 91st Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 322nd Bomb Squadron
- RCL: LG-T
MACR: 7898
Missions: 54
History of
B-17 42-107030 / Fifinella
Delivered Tulsa 2/2/44; Grenier 5/3/44; Assigned 322BS/91BG [LG-T] Bassingbourn 25/3/44; Missing in Action 54m Le Manoir RR bridge, Fr 13/8/44 with Tom Smith (Killed in Action); Co-pilot: Joe Vukovich, Navigator: Alex Calder, Ball turret gunner: Jesse Britton, Waist gunner: Calvin Seiler,Tail gunner: Leon Rogers (5 evaded capture); Bombardier: Bob Bell, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Sturgeon, Radio Operator: Delmar Spears (3 Prisoner of War); flak hit set oxygen bottles off to burn hydraulic fluid in cockpit, crashed Epreville, SW of Rouen, Fr; Missing Air Crew Report 7898. FIFINELLA.
Last updated: 23. March 2019
B-17 42-107030 / Fifinella Details
Fifinella flew 54 sorties before being lost on 13th August, 1944 on a tactical mission in support of the Allied ground forces. The target was a railway bridge at Le Manoir, France, and 1Lt Thomas Smith’s crew flew the plane as lead. It was the 16th mission the crew had flown in Fifinella and most of the crew‚ 20th mission. Just prior to bombs away the ship took a direct hit in the cockpit and fire broke out. Smith held the plane steady, staying with the formation to bomb.
Pilot Thomas P. Smith, Jr. was killed in action but kept the plane going long enough for the rest of the crew to bail out safely. Charles Sturgeon, Delmer Spears, and Robert Bell were taken prisoner and remained POWs until war’s end. The rest of the crew were rescued by the French underground and found their way back to England.
B-17 42-107030 / Fifinella Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1LT | Thomas P Smith, Jr. | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Joe Vukovich | EVD | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Alexander W Calder II | EVD | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Robert E Bell, Jr. | POW | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Charles F Sturgeon | POW | - |
| RO | T/SGT | Delmar C Spears | POW | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Jess W Britton | EVD | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Calvin M Seiler | EVD | - |
| TG | S/SGT | Leonard Rogers | EVD | - |
21. May 2023 access_time 4:12
I have a couple of photos of the salvage operation after the crew lost an engine over the upper peninsula of Michigan 4-44. They’re old photos and only 3×4, but original?!! I would like to send one but don’t know how?
21. May 2023 access_time 10:46
Hello Joshua,
I am sorry, it’s not possible to upload photo in the comments.
But you can send me the photo via email: info@b17flyingfortress.de
Cheers
Jing
07. September 2023 access_time 15:17
The photo attached is not of the crew listed in the details. My father, Charles Sturgeon has a photo of the crew listed — it can also be found on the 91st Bomb Group webpage.
04. March 2024 access_time 17:37
Thank you for this information. My uncle, Leonard Rogers was also part of the last crew of Fifinella.
25. October 2024 access_time 15:44
Hello, I am French. His plane, the B17 Fifinella, crashed near my home in Incarville, France. I have photos of the people who hid it, as well as others of the crash. Tell me his name. Was Rogozinski Americanized to Rogers?