Source:
www.457thbombgroup.org
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Production-Block: | , B-17G-20-BO: 42-31432 to 42-31631 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 457th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 751st Bomb Squadron |
| RCL | D |
| MACR | 11151 |
| Fate: |
, Lost by flak/aa-fire (30 November 1944) |
History of
B-17 42-31505 / Miss Cue
Delivered Denver 16/11/43; Gt Falls 25/11/43; Denver 9/12/43; Wendover 11/12/43; Grenier 19/1/44; Assigned 751BS/457BG [D] Glatton 26/1/44; Missing in Action Merseburg 30/11/44 with Frechette, crew OK, except togg-Ward Price (Killed in Action); flak, crash near Koblenz, Germany; Missing Air Crew Report 11151. MISS CUE.
Information may include corrections and additions based on Jing’s research.
B-17 42-31505 / Miss Cue Details
Moderate to intense, accurate flak was encountered at the target. There was no enemy aircraft opposition. Extend of damage unknown. Flak reported to have burst near the aircraft. Aircraft dropped its bombs, then dived down with number three engine smoking.
Source: MACR 11151
B-17 42-31505 / Miss Cue Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2LT | Joseph C. Frechette | POW | - |
| CP | 2LT | Norman W. Hanson | POW | - |
| NAV | 2LT | William H. Gullette | POW | Also Bombardier |
| ENG/TT | SGT | Granville F. Billingsley | POW | - |
| RO | SGT | Walter B. Lander | POW | - |
| BT | SGT | James F. Hedgecok, Jr. | POW | - |
| WG | SGT | Salvatore Mastrantonio | POW | - |
| TG | SGT | Clarence R. Sheppard | POW | - |
| TOG | SGT | Ward C. Price | KIA | Chute failure |
This page was last updated on 16 February 2021
09. October 2022 access_time 16:30
HI: My father is Joseph Frechette and is still hanging in there. He was 98 this past March 19th. I wanted to thank you for posting this information. My father wrote an account of the loss of ‘Miss Cue’ back in 2004. Would you like to see it? 1/2 page typed. I can confirm Ward Price was killed when his chute failed to open. Granville Billingsley was the first person out of the aircraft and escaped capture for 8 days.
11. March 2024 access_time 23:04
Hi Thomas, is your father still with us? I just read that Miss Cue’s Tail Gunner, Clarence “Bud” Sheperd, is still alive and looking for any surviving crew members.
29. March 2026 access_time 21:52
Yes Clarence Bud Shepard are still alive. His sister, Betty, is my mother in law. Bud still works and drives to this day.
29. March 2026 access_time 21:52
Yes Clarence Bud Shepard are still alive. His sister, Betty, is my mother in law. Bud still works and drives to this day.
01. April 2026 access_time 14:31
My dad, Oscar Richard, was the bombardier on 42-31246, piloted by Neill Britt, that was shot down by flak near Abbeville, France on January 14, 1944. They were members of the 384th Bombardment Group.
I am so impressed by the accuracy of your information! Nine crew members, including my dad, were captured. The navigator, Ernie Lindell, evaded capture and eventually made it back to their base at Grafton Underwood, England five months later with the help of the French Resistance. All ten crew members lived to be old men. My dad was the last to go, on May 7, 2013, the 68th anniversary of Germany’s surrender. Fittingly, his birthday was December 7th (1921). Two important dates in WWII.